Your Child’s Development: 12-18 Month Milestones

Their first birthday has been and gone, and now you have a toddler.

Just like a baby's development, we still see children develop at a fast pace in this age range. Their ability to understand language, communicate, play and interact will continue its development from previous stages.

This age range is considered to be a fairly big one because your child may well hit some important milestones in key areas, such as physical movement, language and social interaction.

This is also the first time experts start to talk about six-month development windows, because things start to become a little more stretched out after a baby turns one.

Nevertheless, let's breakdown the 12-18 month development milestones so that you know what to expect.

Understanding child development

The fact that they're called developmental milestones can give parents the impression that they're hard timelines. You may well have come across parents who think their child is going to be an elite athlete because they started walking before most children. Conversely, you may have experienced parents who are worried their child is going to be a mute because they're not saying a few words when most

It's important to remember that children reach milestones at different times. You may grow concerned when you see other children doing things your toddler can't. But your child will likely have different skills that other children don't possess themselves. Every child develops at their own pace and milestones give a general idea of when you can expect your baby to show progress.

That being said, there are milestones that should be met by a certain age. We have an explainer on what to look out for later in this guide.

Another thing to bear in mind at this stage is that child development can become a little more blended. As your child progresses and their skills become more complicated, you may notice development across different areas. For example, they will develop both social and communication skills when engaging in social play with other children.

Your child's physical development milestones

This is a big stage in child development because their ability to move around independently progresses so much - whether it's taking more than a few steps, starting to run or climbing. As a parent, this is where the fun starts. Gone are the days when you could put your baby somewhere, turn around for half a second, and find them exactly where they were. Now, blink and they're gone!

Over the course of these six months, your child will learn to stabilise and balance themselves - trips and falls are inevitable, but you should see them become more steady on their feet day-to-day.

You should also start to see a range of new skills - things like being able to walk up stairs on their own, pull toys while walking, or fine motor skills like being able to undress themselves, and using utensils at meal times.

They may also start show interest in different ball games (be warned, this can also result in them throwing small objects as they practice throwing skills...).

Cognitive developmental milestones

In the six months to your toddler reaching 18 months, their cognitive skills will grow at what can feel like an alarming rate. It may seem like they're picking up a new skill every few days or so.

They will have shown a strong improvement in their problem solving skills. This will be seen in puzzle-like toys like shape sorters. Children develop better memories, longer attention spans and an early understanding of cause-and-effect. You may well see this come out in some of the more 'complicated' toys.

Book-loving toddlers may regularly get their favourite books and shove them into your hands, asking for another story. Or, they may event want to turn the pages themselves, especially when it comes to texture books or flap books.

A combination of ever-growing physical abilities and curiosity will also see them wanting to explore their environment a bit more. They may try to open cupboards they haven't seen before, for example.

Although most don't until the age of two or three, some children start to engage in pretend play as early as 12 months.

Your child's communication and language developmental milestones

According to Stephanie Jeret, MS, CCC-SLP, speech and language therapist and founder of Speak With Stephanie, your toddler's understanding and comprehension of language will come on leaps and bounds in this development window.

"They will understand prepositions, new words, and identify body parts. They will enjoy nursery rhymes and respond to simple requests. These comprehension skills are critical for building a foundation for understanding and using language."

By the time your toddler is 18 months, they will understand roughly 50 words and be able to say roughly 15 basic words. In fact, they are more likely to try using words rather than pointing or using other gestures.

You should also notice your child's growing ability to vary the tone and pitch of their speech as they imitate what they hear around them, and learn to express their emotions.

The social and emotional milestones

At 18 months, children really start to develop emotional intelligence, which is only helped by growing communication and language development. Most children will be able to communicate simple emotions like happiness and sadness, and also recognise these emotions in other people through facial expressions.

As they continue to play with other children, they will also learn key social play skills like taking turns and sharing. Don't be surprised if you find your child taking toys from others to begin with - this will change as they develop.

Stephanie Jeret adds: "Your child will start imitating other children and responding to their vocalisations. They will initiate turn-taking routines and use vocalisations more frequently during interactions, incorporating more words during turn-taking. These behaviours help your child engage socially and practice communication skills."

Sleep and food developmental milestones

Sleeping

At the start of this development window, your child will be sleeping roughly 12 hours overnight. Most children are still having two naps, but may have dropped to one. By the time they reach 18 months old, they're likely to be sleeping around 10-12 hours overnight and will have dropped to one nap.

This will probably last for between 90 minutes and two hours, and typically happen in the afternoon.

Some toddlers will go through a sleep regression at around 15 months of age and again at 18 months. However, the 15 month regression is less common.

Hopefully by now, sleep is feeling pretty good for everyone. Of course, no one is promising unbroken sleep every night - but the mornings where you look at your partner and ask each other, 'Did you get up last night?' are hopefully a regular occurrence.

Food and nutrition

At 18 months old, solid foods now make up the bulk of your child's sustenance, even if they are still breastfed. They will be eating three meals a day as well as snacks.

They should be eating a healthy, balanced diet across meals, snacks and drinks. Your child will also be able to eat 'tougher' foods like chicken when cut up into small chunks.

Water should be their main source of liquid throughout the day. And they should continue drinking whole milk until they are two years old to ensure their fat stores are built up.

When to seek help

As we explained earlier, child develop at their own pace. Your toddler may not hit a milestone that your friend's kids hit at fifteen months until eighteen months or maybe later.

However, it's important to be aware that developmental milestones should be met by a certain age and it’s essential to monitor your child’s developmental milestones to identify potential issues.

You should seek the support of your child's doctor pediatric experts if your child:

• Cannot walk

• Does not point to everyday things

• Doesn't try to imitate others

• Is not picking up a range of new words

• Doesn't recognise when you or your partner leaves a room or returns

• Does not recover lost skills after a short period

Although other parents are often our first port of call, be wary of seeking more parenting tips from friends because their child's development may be totally different to yours.

FAQs

Should I be concerned if my child isn't walking yet?

Most experts recommend seeking professional guidance and support if your child isn't walking by the time they're 18 months.

When should a child be able to say full sentences?

Most children don't learn to speak in full sentences until they are two, but most children can string simple sentences together using a two or three words by 18 months.

When does a child learn to play pretend?

Most child start to engage in pretend play at the age of two or three. However, some do start earlier, between 12 and 18 months. This largely comes from observing others and imitating them.

Can temper tantrums start before the age of 2?

We typically associate tantrums with the age of two, but most parents will experience an uptick in tantrums from around 18 months. And some children may start as young as 12 months.