15-18 Months
Milestones: 15-18 Months
Topics covered: Cognition, Movement, and Language
Milestones in Language:
At around 18 months of age, you will find your child really starting to understand and take in the world around them. This is when they learn the bulk of their language! You will find your child possibly responding and answering questions. They will also be able to point to familiar objects, and people in pictures! When your child is saying yes or no to questions, you may find them nodding or shaking their heads.
Milestones in Cognition:
At this age, you will see a wide range of incredible moments. Pretending is such a big part of this age range, so you may even see your child pretending to feed their babydoll. It is also common for your child to start having some temper tantrums, so a different range of emotions will be present here. You will also find them:
Clinging to caregivers in new situations (Totally normal, and expected! New things can be scary to them!)
Handing things to others to play
Pointing to things, including body parts
Here are some specifics of what you might see at 15 months old:
A child might have approximately 5-10 words they know how to use properly
Might use a combination of sounds and gestures
Can imitate simple words and actions
Now, you will find them to be consistently following simple directions
They will be able to start to identify some body parts, 1 or 2 when named
Milestones in Movement:
As for movement, your child will be on the go! You will find them being active in many different ways as they will be walking alone, and may even run! They will also become independent during this time, and you may even see them undressing themselves. You may also find them:
Eating with a spoon
Pulling toys when walking
Scribbling on paper
A child holding her spoon, eating her bowl of cereal
Here is a toddler looking and pointing at the camera
This toddler is coloring a paper with crayons