At 12 months, your toddler is likely completely aware of their own actions and their effects on their environment. They spend time observing how they move their hands and feet, experimenting with both sides of their body — starting the process of establishing handedness.

What you can do: Offer bilateral activities — clapping, holding two objects, banging two blocks together. Note which hand they reach with most consistently — you may already see a preference forming.

Gross motor development builds progressively through the first year. The strength and coordination your baby is developing right now through tummy time, reflexive movement, and daily activity is laying the foundation for crawling, standing, and walking ahead.

Twelve-month-olds are starting to manipulate their environments using more complex fine motor movements. Your toddler may be able to move an obstacle out of the way while reaching for a toy, showing the ability to split focus between a goal and an obstacle — a sophisticated dual-task cognitive/motor milestone.

What you can do: Set up simple reach-around challenges. Place a favourite toy behind a soft obstacle. Let them work out how to get to it.

Balance and coordination milestones begin to emerge from Month 6 when sitting develops. The foundations are being built right now through tummy time, reflexive movement, and your baby's growing muscle strength.

Object curiosity and deliberate exploration build steadily through the first months. Your baby is taking in everything through observation right now — every face, sound, and sensation is being catalogued and processed by their rapidly developing brain.

Imaginative and creative development begins to emerge around 12–18 months. Right now, your baby is building the sensory and cognitive foundations that will support creativity later.

Your toddler loves to make things happen! They know their actions affect their environment and are constantly experimenting. They'll be delighted by their ability to make a noisy mess by knocking over blocks and will repeat actions like that over and over.

What you can do: Let them knock things down, knock them down again, and knock them down a third time. The repetition is how they confirm their understanding of cause and effect.

Your 12-month-old's memory is getting better every day. If they've started talking early, they might now know about 50 words. They're packing in factual knowledge and are now able to point to the correct body parts when you ask: "Where's your nose?"

What you can do: Play "Where is...?" games consistently. Point to your own nose while saying "nose," then ask them to point to theirs. Body part recognition is one of the clearest academic milestones of this stage.

Social sharing and cooperation emerge from Month 6 onward. Right now the most important social development is the bond forming between your baby and their primary caregivers through consistent, responsive, and loving care.

Careful what you say — your little toddler is listening and understands almost everything, even if they haven't mastered speaking yet. They're very busy absorbing everything you have to tell them. It's a great time for teaching.

What you can do: Narrate everything. "We're going to put on your shoes now. First this foot, then that one. Now we're ready to go." Every sentence is input for their rapidly developing language system.

Monkey see, monkey do! Your one-year-old is sorting out their identity by mimicking the things they see you and others doing. They may like to play pretend that they're on the phone, or using the TV remote.

What you can do: Provide toy versions of the adult objects they're most fascinated by — a toy phone, a toy remote, play kitchen items. This pretend play is identity exploration and cognitive development in one.

Security and happiness are built through consistent, responsive caregiving in the early months. Every time you respond to your baby's cries, you are building the secure attachment that underpins all future emotional development.