Child Development: 18 months
Watching a child grow and develop is a unique and unforgettable experience. Most children develop skills and abilities in roughly the same order, but the timeframes involved aren’t exact. Milestones are things that a child can do at a certain age. Different organizations may have slightly different ways of describing milestones. Familiarity with milestones can help shape the experiences provided to a child or alert us if there are any concerns.
As children grow, they develop skills they different developmental areas. These include fine and gross motor, language, social-emotional and cognitive areas.
Your Developing Baby: 18 Months
- Walks alone or with hands held.
- Squats to pick up a toy from the floor and stands again.
- Enjoys picture books and begins to point to pictures.
- Scribbles with a crayon/pencil
- Builds a tower of three blocks.
- Understands simple questions and directions (“Where is your nose?” and “go get your coat”)
- Uses single words but may not pronounce them correctly.
- Uses babbling that sounds like sentences.
- Asks for “more” or “again” using gestures and/or the words.
- Imitates everyday activities, e.g. talking on toy telephone
- Begins to point to some body parts on self or doll when asked.
- Enjoys nursery rhymes.
- Uses a spoon well and can easily drink from a cup.
- Takes off shoes, socks, hats.
There are many ways you can help your child’s development.
Play is a learning experience for children. Play is a universal and vital process for the healthy development of every child. Play is the living work of children and allows an opportunity to develop and explore the world.
If you have any concerns about your child’s development, talk to your public health nurse or family doctor.
Services related to this information:
- Contact your Public Health Nurse
- 811 HealthLine (Newfoundland & Labrador) – Call 811 or 1-888-709-2929 / TTY 1-888-709-3555