As their first birthday approaches, babies are increasingly autonomous. Many of them will be learning how to stand on their own, and some will be attempting to take their first steps. But most of them will still require your help (or support from furniture) to prepare for walking.

Gross motor activities (like standing, walking, and crawling) are often more interesting during this stage than fine motor activities (like grasping small objects). Be careful of any items left on tables, as babies particularly enjoy throwing anything and everything within arms’ reach! They also enjoy giving people toys and taking them away.

Babies are also becoming increasingly social. They will go the extra mile to get positive reactions like clapping or a smile from the people around them. This makes them feel good about themselves. Their sense of humor is also starting to develop and they enjoy repeating simple actions that have previously generated a laugh from you.

Babies’ comprehension of conversations around them is also quickly improving, and they might attempt to participate using the few words that they know (or ones they make up). They will use these few words in many ways, some of them correctly and some of them incorrectly.