Raising Children Network: the Australian parenting website
  • Suitable for 1-3Years

At thirteen months

 

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Health professionals talk about a child’s age in terms of months, for example the 13th month or the 16th month. The way to make sense of this is to begin counting from the beginning of the previous month. For example, the 13th month begins when a child is 12 months old and ends when she is 13 months old. Or the 16th month begins when a child is 15 months old and ends when she is 16 months old.

 

The 13th month

By the end of this month, your toddler:

… should be able to:

  • pull up to standing position
  • get into a sitting position
  • cruise (move from place to place, always holding on)
  • clap hands (play pat-a-cake)
  • indicate wants in ways other than crying 

 … will probably be able to:

  • put an object into a container 
  • imitate activities 
  • stand alone 
  • use one recognisable word

 

  • If your toddler has not reached these developmental milestones or doesn't use her hands for purposeful activities like picking things up, consult a health professional or doctor. This rate of development may well be normal for your child (some children are late bloomers), but it needs to be evaluated.
  • Also check if your toddler seems unresponsive, doesn't smile, makes few or no sounds, doesn’t seem to hear well, is perpetually irritable, or demands constant attention.
  • Remember, the one-year-old who was born prematurely often lags behind others of the same chronological age. This developmental gap progressively narrows and generally disappears entirely around age two.

… may possibly be able to:

  • drink from a cup
  • use two recognisable words 
  • point to a desired object 
  • scribble
  • walk well

… may even be able to:

  • use a spoon or fork (but not exclusively)
  • remove an article of clothing
  • point to one body part when asked
  • dump an object in imitation

Intellectual development

Early in the second year, toddlers are explorers and scientists, picking up, studying, testing, manipulating, maybe still putting in their mouths everything in their path. Cause and effect is a major focus. They live in the here and now, and do not show much imagination or abstract thinking as yet.

Emotional development

As the world begins to open up, the toddler, who has come a long way from the eat-cry-sleep newborn, opens up, too, displaying a wide range of moods, feelings and behaviours. Expect them and accept them – they are part of growing up. This range includes displays of affection, independence, frustration, fear, anger, protest, stubbornness, wilfulness, sadness, anxiety and puzzlement.