How to Entertain a 12 Month Old

Children develop so quickly, it is hard to keep up with age appropriate activities. Staying at home all day with my 12 month old, I find it difficult coming up with new ideas to entertain her. Here are some activities for you and your baby to enjoy at this age.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Babies this age love filling containers and dumping them out. You probably have a large bowl or pot in the kitchen that would be perfect for this activity. Place the container on the floor in front of baby and show him how to put blocks or other random objects inside. Your baby will take it from there.

2. One year olds are just starting to understand language. They love big board books and will enjoy flipping the pages as you read to them. Point out the images and name them for you baby. Soon, your baby will be able to make connections between the objects and their names.

3. Your twelve month old loves to 'walk' with your assistance. It can be exhausting to hunch over and hold your baby up while they practice, not to mention the injuries it could cause to your back. Invest in an inexpensive push toy which you can find at most toy stores. Your baby will be thrilled to push all by himself.

4. You may not like loud noise, but your baby does. Musical instruments are useful at this stage. Your baby will love to bang on drums, tambourines, triangles, etc. You can use household items as well, like a big plastic bowl and spoon. Just make sure your baby doesn't bang himself!

5. Stacking is another activity 12 month olds love. Stack objects and show baby how to knock them down. You can also 'bowl' by rolling a soft ball and knocking down several objects you've set up.

Tips & Warnings

• Obviously, all children develop at different paces. These ideas are just suggestions which your child might enjoy. Not all babies will enjoy and/or be able to do these activities. As with any activity, you must supervise your baby to avoid injuries.

[itsmeagain1234]

on 10/2/2009 pushing things on the floor, learning to throw a ball -- sit on a couch and put it in their lap -- it will go far to the floor -- retrieve, repeat, buy goodwill toys for $1-2, recycle when bored, make sure there are no recalls and clean them up in a weak bleach solution, outside on a blanket good for 1 hour, stroller rides, keep one low shelf/cabinet accessible with lots of plastic utensils, containers, etc. to empty, very short videos, bouncing to music in a bouncer, bath time is good when desperate for 1/2-1 hour entertainment.

[stacie5]

on 9/25/2009 Good ideas! 5*

[vlmccauley]

on 12/12/2008 Just where we are at right now...thanks!!

[reyescristy]

on 11/19/2008 really good tips, will use them for my niece tomorrow :) thanks

[MommyBear]

on 10/26/2008 This is all so true! My daughter LOVED to stack things at that age. She also loved to be stimulated by loud sounds like clapping. Definitely get those board books! Babies adore pictures. Great article! Thank you for this. :)