Your baby
Now that your eleven-month-old can sit up happily alone and play more intricately with her fingers she will start what is known as parallel play if there are other children or babies around. This is when babies sit and play near each other, but independently of each other. Just as your baby has always watched and mimicked you to learn, so she'll now start watching other babies as they play near her and learn from their play and ideas.
Of course, not playing with each other doesn't mean that they both won't want to play with the same toy at the same time, and it's quite usual for a parallel-playing baby to grab a toy from another child. If your baby does this, or if someone else's baby does this to your baby, she isn't being mean. Developmentally your baby is still entirely ego-centric: the notion that the world doesn't revolve entirely around her and her needs and wants hasn't occurred to her, so she's completely incapable of trying to see the other side. If another baby does take a toy from your baby she'll probably cry out angrily and, if you're around, look to you for support. She can't understand the idea of sharing a toy yet, but that's no reason not to introduce the idea to her if conflict over a toy arises.
As your baby becomes more accomplished with her hands and can manage more intricate tasks she might enjoy toys that can be stacked on top or inside one another and she might even be ready to try a posting toy where she needs to match shaped objects to holes. Even if she can't post the blocks through the holes herself yet she'll enjoy watching you make them all disappear and then opening up the box to find them inside.
She probably really enjoys some quiet time with you to read a book together now, and will like books where she can use her fingers to lift up flaps and play with textures. You might find that she forms an attachment to a particular book and wants to read it again and again. This will require some patience from you, though you may like having the opportunity of some quiet intimate time now that feeding time offers that less, or not at all.
What you can do
At this age your baby loves objects to disappear so she can delight in finding them. A simple pretend magic trick where you make objects disappear from a bucket or hat and then appear under it again when she lifts it up to investigate may take a long time to wear thin. Try making a big show of putting a brightly coloured object into a bucket and showing her it's in the bucket, saying 'into the bucket it goes, see, it's in the bucket'. Then cover the bucket with a cloth or blanket, discreetly removing the toy at the same time and hiding it behind your back, then say your magic word or count to three and get her to look in the bucket for the object 'it's gone! Where is it? I don't have it.' Make the toy reappear in the same way and see her reaction when she finds it again.
As she's become more mobile and independent the chances are that she'll try to do things that might be dangerous or just not good for her. She understands what 'no' means now, even though she's probably too self-interested to be inclined to obey. If it's important that she doesn't do something then get her attention, look into her eyes and say 'No' with a firm, but not harsh, tone. It's also a good idea to explain to her why she shouldn't do something 'it's hot, you will burn yourself', 'the scissors are sharp, you might cut yourself'. She might not remember what you tell her tomorrow, but gradually she'll start to learn the boundaries.
NB: All babies develop at their own pace and some will reach developmental landmarks more quickly than others. This timeline is meant only as an approximate guide for parents. Premature babies will develop more slowly than full-term babies and can be expected to develop in line with their age calculated from their due date. If you are worried about your child's health or progress consult your doctor.
Newborn |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
