Learning some new steps
Most eleven month olds are almost completely preoccupied with learning to walk, preferring standing and cruising to sitting, taking small steps and big steps, and using both hands to hold on to things. Moving around in an upright position strengthens the baby’s sense of the independence of her physical self, until she can control her body and move wherever she wants.
But of course bumps, bruises and cuts may become common as your baby tries to walk, either with assistance or when trying to move from a standing or crawling position with awkwardness. Try to give her a safe environment and monitor her as often as possible but don’t discourage her as ongoing attempts to walk are an integral part of learning balance and co-ordination. Negative experiences with pain can sometimes make a child tentative to try again so don’t make a big deal out of falls and accidents when they do happen.
You can encourage your eleven month old to walk by standing or kneeling in front of her and holding out your hands. Stretching out your arms to pull her to you may help as well. She’s likely to her first steps with her arms out to the side and bent at the elbows, her feet pointing outward, while her bottom sticks out behind.
Babies are able to release toys more accurately which leads to more sophisticated use of eating utensils, which is timely because babies at this age can be quite insistent at trying to feed themselves, often with messy results. Your baby will also probably enjoy placing small objects into containers (such as small blocks into a cup). Incorporating simple games into everyday activities are important at this stage and can significantly increase motor and social development.
At eleven months a baby is more responsive to phrases such as “Give it to me”, “No” and his own name. Your baby’s speech can be advanced by asking her things that require her to respond either non-verbally or with babble and pausing for her response as if conducting a conversation. Some may even be able to point correctly to body parts when asked. If your baby says something that sounds close to what the word should be, acknowledge this and say the word the way the correct way. When a baby catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror at eleven months, this will still generate a reaction, just like it did when your baby was several months younger, except now it is often accompanied by a lot of babbling and waving.
They are likely to act friendly towards more people than just their parents and this increase in their social network is likely to have implications for emotional growth, such as when a baby is upset she understands that there can be different sources of comfort which helps with separation and childcare environments.
An eleven month old has a generally sunny disposition but will begin to display individuality and unique personality traits around this time. They may even start to assert some gender roles whereby boys will begin to move around more actively and girls will begin to show a preference for soft and cuddly toys.
The information provided on Essential Baby is, at best, of a general nature and cannot substitute for the advice of a medical professional (for instance, a qualified doctor, child health nurse, pharmacist/chemist, and so on). If you have any concerns about your child’s development please contact a medical professional.
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