16-17 Months
Follow these milestones to see how your baby aligns with these stages of development.
Fine motor skills
- May turn knobs and open screw-on lids
- May start to scribble on paper
- Enjoys finger painting
- Rakes and picks up cards lying flat on the floor
- Enjoys tearing activities; tearing old scrap paper or newspaper
- May start threading with large beads and a shoelace
- Enjoys dropping small objects into tiny holes or slots
Gross motor skills
- May climb and sit on a small chair independently
- Is able to roll a ball forward
- May pick up a ball and throw it forward in a standing position
- May throw a ball forward, overhand
- Carries large toys while walking
- Starts to run
- Enjoys dancing
Communication and language development
- Speaks approximately 7 words but understands many more
- Uses mostly pointing and gesturing as means of communication
- Will take hand of parent and show what they want
Social and emotional interaction
- Enjoys playing hide-and-seek where parent hides and child must seek
- Uses social gestures such as waving, smiling and blowing kisses
- Scared of loud, unfamiliar and unexpected noises
- Explorative and destructive phase while experimenting with objects and how it works
- Can indicate “YES” and “NO” by nodding or shaking the head
Cognitive development
- Parent can name object and ask child to point towards it, for example, “Where is the dog?”
- Enjoys hiding-and-finding games
- Understand the concept of putting toys away after play
Self-help and imitation skills
- May sit independently at a small table to eat
- Enjoys playing with toys that imitate real-life objects and behaviours of parents like a toy tool kit, kitchen set, small broom for sweeping and pushing a doll pram
- Enjoys assisting parent with self-help activities such as applying lotion on face or combing hair
- Enjoys playing dress-up
- Feeds herself with a spoon
17-18 Months
Fine motor skills
- Uses both hands during activities; hand preference not yet established
- Enjoys fishing out small objects from a container with many toys or objects
- May have the coordination to position and drop a card into a slotted hole
Gross motor skills
- Enjoys climbing activities including climbing up and down stairs while holding on
- May try to hop up and down while holding parent’s hand
- Enjoys ride-on toys like scooters
- Is able to walk sideways, backwards and forwards while holding parent’s hand
- Can kick a ball from a standing position
Communication and language development
- Enjoys naming objects that parents point out
- Continually point out the difference between concepts like big and small when exposed to it
Social and emotional interaction
- Very clear on wants and needs
- Has a need for immediate gratification
- Might throw a tantrum or hit out of frustration when she doesn’t get what she wants
- Becoming more reluctant to interact with or wave to strangers
- May establish a relationship with someone, like a teacher, who is outside of the immediate family
Cognitive development
- Responds to simple requests and can follow two-step instructions
- May sort toys in different colours
- May start to position shapes accurately into a form board
- Enjoys making own decisions, for example, choosing between two options
Self-help and imitation skills
- Starts undressing with minimal assistance
- Feeds herself a variety of food
- Thrives on a set routine
- Enjoys trying out and imitating daily activities of parents
- May insist on wiping own face while taking a bath
18-19 Months
Fine motor skills
- Picks up small objects with a pincer grip
- Picks up objects with one hand while dumping it in a container or bucket held by the other hand
- May start to grip and open a clothes peg by holding it in both hands
- Drops small objects through a tiny hole, for example, dropping a toothpick through a colander hole
- May start to thread large beads with a shoelace
Gross motor skills
- Walking confidently
- Needs to hold onto parent’s hand while climbing down stairs
- Enjoys pushing large toys or small chairs
- Enjoys climbing on the sofa
- Kicks a ball from a standing position
- Enjoys an obstacle course with elements of climbing and crawling
- May start riding a scooter bike
- Enjoys jumping on a trampoline
Communication and language development
- Vocabulary of approximately 20 words
- May start to say two-word phrases
- Starts to sing along to familiar tunes
Social and emotional interaction
- Cries hysterically when hearing loud noises, especially when parents are not around
- Anxious and emotional when parents leave
Cognitive development
- May sort 2 different colours in separate boxes
- Names more than 5 body parts
- Stacks a tower with more than 5 blocks
Self-help and imitation skills
- May start imitating outfits and accessories of parents
- May insist on doing some self-help activities independently such as washing hands and putting on socks