| Your Baby... | You Can... |
|---|
| Uses her gestures and sounds to communicate. She may point to the juice and say "ju-ju" to show you what she wants. She may push the cracker off the highchair and say "nuh-nuh." | Help her show you what she wants. Offer two toys and ask, "Which do you want?" Encourage her to respond by pointing or reaching. If she looks at or talks to one toy more than the other, say, "You want this one!" |
| May become more choosy about foods (and everything else!) and want to eat on her own. | Offer her choices. Be patient and experiment with foods to help her find what she likes. Allow her to feed herself. She can practice using a spoon and drinking from a sipper cup. She will be proud to be independent, but she'll still need some help. |
| Discovers "No!" and uses it with great abandon. | Learn to distinguish what your baby means by "No!" It can be her way of declaring her independence. When she kicks and shouts and shakes her head, "No," as you lift into the car, she may be saying, "I'm the boss of me!" She may be sharing her likes and dislikes - "No peas...more carrots." Or, she may be telling you, "I'm too tired to cope," as she protests, "No" when you carry her to her crib. |
| Loves to explore, but she still needs grown-ups to keep her safe. | Create a safe home. It helps to get down on all fours to see your home from your baby's viewpoint to make sure no dangers are within reach. Install baby gates, outlet covers and other safety items where necessary.
Create a stimulating home without spending a lot of money on expensive toys. Fill each room with things that interest her, like big, colorful books in the family room or a drawer full of plastic containers in the kitchen. Explore ideas like "in" and "out," by putting clothespins in an oatmeal box. Talk about "bigger" and "smaller" using simple tools like nesting measuring cups. |
Source: ZeroToThree.org, Magic of Everyday Moments