Activities for Infants 12-16 Months Old
By Susan A. Gelman
Frederick G. L. Huetwell
Professor of Psychology
530 Church St.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043
| Babies love games at this age (pat-a-cake, This LIttle Piggy Went to Market). Try different ways of playing the games and see ifb aby will try it with you. Hide behind furniture or doors for peekaboo; clap blocks or pan lids for pat-a-cake. | Make puppets out of a sock or paper bag - one for you and one for baby. Have your puppet talk to baby or baby's puppet. Encourage your baby to "talk" back. | To encourage baby's first steps, hold baby in standing position, facing another person. Have baby step toward the other person to get a favorite toy or treat. |
Give baby containers with lids or different compartments filled with blocks or other small toys. Let baby open and dump. Play "putting things back." This will help baby learn how to release objects where he or she wants them. |
| Loosely wrap a small toy in a paper towel or facial tissue without tape. Baby can unwrap it and find a surprise. Use tissue or wrapping paper, too. It's brightly colored and noisy. | Babies enjoy push and pull toys. Make your own pull toy by threading yogurt cartons, spools, or small boxes on a piece of yarn or soft string (about 2 feet long). Tie a bead or plastic stacking ring on one end for a handle. | Tape a large piece of drawing paper to a table. Show baby how to scribble with large nontoxic crayons. Take turns making marks on the paper. It's also fun to paint with water. | Arrange furniture so baby can work his or her way around a room by stepping across gaps between furniture. This encourages balance in walking. |
| Babies continue to love making noise. Make sound shakers by stringing canning rims together or filling medicine bottles (with child-proof caps) with different sounding objects like marbles, rice, slat, bolts, and so forth. Be careful to secure lids rightly. | This is the time baby learns that adults can be useful! When baby asks" for something by vocalizing or pointing, respond to the baby's signal. Name the object baby wants and encourage baby to communicate again - taking turns with each other in a "conversation." | Play " the naming game." Name body parts, common objects, and people. This lets baby know that everything has a name and helps him or her begin to learn these names. | Make an obstacle course with boxers or furniture so baby can climb in, on, over, under, and through. A big box can be a great place to sit and play. |
| Let baby help you clean up. Play "feed the wastebasket" or "give it to Mommy or Daddy." | Make a surprise bag for baby to find in the morning. Fill a paper or cloth bag with a soft toy, something to make a sound, a little plastic jar with a screw-top lid, or a book with cardboard pages. | Play "pretend" with a stuffed animal or doll. Show and tell baby what doll is doing (walking, going to bed, eating, dancing across a table). See if baby will make doll move and do things as you request. | Cut up safe finger foods in small pieces and allow baby to feed self. This is good practice with picking up small things and feeling different textures (bananas, soft crackers, berries). |
| Let baby "help" during daily routines. Encourage baby to "get" the cup and spoon for mealtime, to "find" shoes and coat for dressing, and to "bring" the pants or diaper for changing. Following directions is an important skill to learn. | Baby is learning different toys do different things. Give baby lots of things to roll, push, pull, hug, shake, poke, turn, stack, spin, and stir. | Most babies enjoy music. Clap and dance to the music. Encourage baby to practice balance by moving forward, around, and back. Hold hands for support, if needed. | Prepare baby for a future activity or trip by talking about it beforehand. Baby will feel a part of what is going on rather than being just an observer. it may also help reduce some fear of being "left behind." |
