Help your child
Learn and Grow!
Try these activities with your 1-year-old.
These are a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.
East Toledo Family Center
One Year Old Activities
Help your child
Babies enjoy push and pul toys. Make your own pull toy by threading yogurt cartons, spools, or small boxes on a piece of warn or soft string (about 2 feet long). Tie a bead or plastic stackingring on one end for a handle.
Babies love games at this age (pat-a-cake, this little piggy). Try different ways of playing the games and see if your baby 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 your baby. Have your puppet talk to your baby or your baby’s puppet. Encourage your baby to “talk” back.
Tape a large piece of drawing paper to a table. Show your baby how to scribble with large nontoxic crayons. Take turns making marks on the paper. It’s also fun to paint with water.
Let your baby “help” during daily routines. Encourage your 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 for your baby to learn.
This is the time your baby learns that adults can be useful! When your baby “asks” for something by vocalizing or pointing, respond to their signal. Name the object your baby wants and encourage them to communicate again-taking turns with each other in a “conversation.”
Cut up safe finger foods (do not use foods that pose a danger of your baby’s choking) in small pieces and allow your baby to feed themselves. It is good practice to pick up small things and feel different textures (bananas, soft crackers, berries).
