Every parent cares about the full development of their baby. After all, there is no greater happiness than a healthy and intelligent child!
Your baby has made a big difference during the first year: he or she understands a lot, takes his or her first steps, tries to say short words, and continues to learn about the world. What affects the physical and mental development of a child at the age of 12–18 months? And most importantly, how to support the further harmonious development of your baby? We will consider the main factors that influence the balanced development of a baby.
Balanced Nutrition
A child’s brain also needs proper nutrition to develop fully. A five-meal schedule is recommended for young children, with three main meals and two additional meals. Pediatricians advise adhering to a feeding routine, offering meals at about the same time without long breaks. In order to ensure that your child receives all the necessary nutrients and simultaneously avoids an excess of certain nutrients, parents must provide a balanced diet. A baby’s diet should include meat or poultry, dairy products, vegetables, fruit, bread, cereals, vegetables, butter, and fish and eggs 2-3 times a week. Dairy products (whole milk, yogurt, milk formula, cottage cheese, cheese, etc.) still play an essential role. Milk contains more than 100 different components, including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, which are well balanced and, therefore, easy to digest.
Nowadays, milk formulas for babies over 12 months are designed to replace milk products in a child’s diet. If you want to ensure that your baby gets all the vitamins and minerals he or she needs, you can supplement his or her diet with baby formula after discussing it with your doctor.
Social Interaction
During the first year of life, the mom spends most of the time with her baby, developing her baby’s future trust in the world. If the mother is calm and happy, smiling and transmitting her love to her baby, the baby feels this and learns to generate positive emotions. In addition, the baby feels safe.
Conversely, the brain develops poorly if the baby grows in constant fear or stress (mom cries, yells, scolds him/her). It is fraught with bad behavior, health problems, and learning difficulties in the future.
If your baby happens to behave badly or does things that are not allowed or are dangerous to his or her life and health, of course, the parent should react quickly to such behavior, but it is not necessary to yell and scold him. It is important to show your displeasure and explain why it isn’t allowed or shouldn’t be done. Avoid punishments and numerous prohibitions that can enhance the child’s sense of fear and insecurity. And it is also essential for all family members to follow the same rules so that the child learns them faster.
Physical Activities
Experts say that a child’s mental development depends directly on their physical development. After all, a one-year-old baby learns the world through activity, which is movement. And this means that the more a child moves, the faster his or her brain grows and develops.
Little explorers are interested in all the doors, locks, shelves, and boxes. So remember that your child’s space should always be safe!
Your little one’s day should be joyful and full of different games. In order to not bore your baby, they must constantly be changing and alternating. It is desirable to have a schedule for the week ahead. Such a schedule allows you to prepare materials for games and cover all areas of the child’s development. The more attention and care your child gets, the better his or her brain develops and the happier he or she grows.
Developmental Games can Boost Your Kid’s Emotional and Cognitive Skills
To start with, your baby does not need to have special education, or have the most expensive educational toys or educational materials. Your love, desire, and enthusiasm will be quite enough for your baby to grow into a versatile personality.
Joint activities, especially in the form of play, are excellent for the child’s mental development. Remember, the basic rule of any action with your baby is: “Both parents and kids should enjoy the learning process, as if it were an exciting game.”
But do not forget that games must be under strict supervision. Small children at this age love to put tiny objects in their ears, noses, or mouths, and this is very dangerous!
After one year, a child can already be considered a creator and explorer. Children learn about the world around them by studying objects using all of their senses: visual, auditory, gustatory, and sensory. Babies can arrange things in a particular order, creating simple images. Providing a supportive, safe environment for them to develop is essential for their growth and development.
The home should be full of love, laughter, and a desire to learn something new!
It is important that parents talk to the children constantly, not only during these activities. Parental speech contributes to the accumulation of vocabulary and the first skills of communication. Simple questions that suggest “yes” or “no” encourage the child to talk, and soon he will begin to answer you. And don’t doubt that your child will be the smartest and most talkative! At the same time, your child’s facial expressions and body language are enriched. One-year-old babies love to listen to music and repeat movements; they don’t mind drumming on the pot with a spoon or ladle! Don’t be lazy about giving your baby massages and doing morning exercises, as it stimulates speech development.
In Conclusion
It is essential to provide a harmonious development for your baby. This means that all aspects of the child’s development should be taken into account: physical, mental, emotional, and social. A balanced approach to child development will ensure that your baby grows up to be a healthy and well-rounded individual.
