What Should Your 1-Year-Old Be Doing?

• Stands alone and walks while holding onto furniture
• Sits without leaning on anything or being held up
• May even take the first solo steps
• Eats with their hands
• Helps their parents dress them
• Turns pages of a storybook
• Crawls forward on belly by pulling with arms and pushing with legs
• Assumes hands and knees position
• Gets from sitting to crawling or prone (lying on stomach) position
• Begins walking upstairs one foot at a time
• Drinks from a sippy cup
• Uses a spoon clumsily to eat
• Points, pokes, and maybe even pinches
• Scribbles with a thick crayon or marker
• Puts things into a bucket and takes them out again

• Responds to simple commands such as "stop"
• Vocabulary expands rapidly and speaks in a sentence with two words
• Uses simple gestures such as shaking head "no" or waving "bye-bye"
• Copies their parents
• Raises their hands when they want to be lifted
• Recognizes family members' names
• Expresses happiness, sadness, and frustration using different sounds or cries
• Says simple words such as "no" and "mama"

• Cries when someone near them is upset
• Has mild temper tantrums when frustrated
• Feels shy in the presence of a stranger
• Has favorite things and places
• Shows fear in some situations
• Plays games such as pat-a-cake
• Cries when mom and dad leave
• Repeats sounds or actions to get your attention
• Hands you book when he wants to hear a story
• Shows affection to familiar people
• Feels comfortable exploring the room when a caregiver is nearby

• Tries to find hidden things
• Knows the purpose of everyday objects such as a spoon, toothbrush, and smartphone
• Shows a reaction to familiar songs and stories
• Copies gestures
• Pokes with the index finger
• Bangs two things together
• Lets things go without help
• Explores things in various ways such as shaking, banging, and throwing
• Starts following simple directions such as "pick up the toy" or "sit down"
• Points to their head, eyes, ears, nose, or mouth
• Starts testing cause and effect, such as what happens when they throw a toy on the floor

The following are other milestones that you can expect your baby to reach around 1 year of age.

• Sleeps less during daytime and more during nighttime
• May require her afternoon nap but may forgo her morning nap

• Your baby needs extra fat for healthy brain growth. Start giving cow's milk to your child.
• It's time to start weaning your baby.
• Be careful while giving whole grapes, pieces of hotdogs, popcorn, or any other foods that could get stuck in their throat.
• Include foods that contain honey.
• Include eggs, nuts, and butter.

• Your baby's birth weight has tripled since birth.
• The baby has grown by 50 percent to about 9 to 11 inches.
• The brain is about 60 percent of its adult size.
• After 1 year, baby's weight gain starts to slow down because their activity level increases.