16 Month Old Baby
Contents:
- Physiological Development of the Baby of 16 Months
- Child Nutrition in 16 Months
- Games and Activities with a 16 Month Old Baby
- Medical Care for a 16 Month Old Baby
16 Month Old Baby
After reaching 16-month of age the child's brain begins to work very actively. By that time its division, which is responsible for memory, is already fully formed. The life becomes informative and interesting for the baby: He can remember events that occurred a few hours earlier, and sometimes over the last couple of days. At this age a baby can already learn to play toys, he can imitate the actions of the mother involved in cleaning or cooking in the kitchen, and not once he watched them, but later, as a result of memories. Thanks to this, the child learns, remembers and develops. That is, the kid's brain is accumulating the information and later he uses it, trying to repeat the motions seen before.
Physiological Development of the Baby of 16 Months
At this age, the baby actively develops his motor skills: he confidently stands on his legs, walks, sometimes trying to run, though he goes sometimes clumsily trying to climb in elevation and descend from it. Many of the 16-month children are able to confidently get out of the playpen, descend from the high chair, climb the stairs. Before they had soft hands and legs and a bulging belly – all this helped to crawl. Now, the baby's body is becoming more fit and athletic. Walking skills will be honed every day before the age of three years. In the second year of life the baby's physical development is accelerating: He learns to make a variety of body movements:
- – jump;
- – somersault;
- – dance.
The kid more and more develops motor skills, he learns to more agilely handle the cutlery, take a pencil and try to draw on paper. The vocabulary of the baby in 16-months of age must contain at least a dozen of words. The child gets a chance to do logical inferences at his level. In the process of speaking development the baby needs hands-on situations and visual impressions. It is therefore important to read to him buying the books with bright pictures on the cardboard.
You should not rush while reading, but speak the words slower, making pauses, while pointing on the image of the object in question to the kid. You need to use words that the child says, and the usual words used by the adults, for example, "Kitty, Kitty – is a cat". Thanks to this the development of the child will go faster, and his vocabulary will be constantly replenished. Soon your child will be able to describe with words his emotions.
By 16 months the child's first teeth usually grow, which children's dentists recommend to immediately begin to take care of. Thus the child can get rid of caries and other dental diseases, moreover, he from his childhood will already be habituated to the personal hygiene. Of course, the kid will need a private toothbrush. At this age it is better not to use any toothpaste, because the baby will just swallow it. Instead, use a soft silicone brush put on the finger.
Child Nutrition in 16 Months
Nutrition regimen should remain the same, which includes three main "meals", plus a brunch. Of these lunch should be the most nutritious, and the least loaded – the brunch. You can give the baby clean water between the feedings.
In the diet of the baby closer to 1.5 years low-fat chicken and pork can be added. It is permissible to give him even low-fat varieties of fish: pollock and hake. But fish can be offered not more than twice a week, and only then, when the child has no allergies. The fish can be cooked boiled, stewed with vegetables or to make cutlets of it.
2-3 times a week you can feed the baby boiled chicken eggs, as well as offer him a rye bread.
For the children of a second year of life we recommend the following grits:
- – rice;
- – buckwheat;
- – oat;
- – preliminary well boiled corn.
The seasoning may be parsley, dill, green onions and garlic, spinach. Salt must be minimized. Legumes (beans and peas) need to be input in the ration with caution, because their unpleasant consequences may be indigestion, colic and flatulence.
Reaching 1 year old a toddler begins to show his character and tastes, he begins to give preference for dishes: Some he will eat with pleasure, while others strongly reject. This period can be called the most capricious of a child. Parents need to be patient and constantly keep a check on the changing tastes of the child. Do not be surprised if he will overturn the plate with yesterday's adored gruel, and will choose previously avoided soup as the main dish. Some children require diversity in food and other develop a taste for one thing, and you can only put up with it.
In early years the child was breast-fed strictly by the hour, but as he grows it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the feeding schedule. Thus, in the middle of the night the kid may have a gargantuan appetite, and other times it is impossible to feed him with anything the whole day. Mom already has to think about serving dishes, because not all kids after a year like shapeless mess and the blending of flavors. Moms only have to responsively catch the changes of gastronomic tastes of their children.
Having ascertained from the available nutrition what the baby likes more than anything, they need more often to cook exactly this dish. When the baby is saturated with available nutrients in this dish, then he will switch to something new. Therefore, the guarantee of a healthy baby at this age is the proper reaction to his whims, but in no case he should be stuffed with food.
Many parents are not satisfied with this state of affairs, they think their baby is not fed up, not getting enough vitamins. However, due to the many researches scientists have proved that at the age of 16 months the child already knows what his body needs, and which vitamins are sufficed, so he can regulate himself what to eat and in what quantity.
Games and Activities with a 16 Month Old Baby
The baby focuses on finding causal links in everything. For this reason, the objects for his games are not the only toys at his disposal, but also kitchenware. Children with pleasure "help" mom in the kitchen, especially if she allows to get utensils from cabinets.
The baby learns to combine objects to get the desired result: inserts the key into the lock, closes the jar with a cover etc. He is interested not only in the name, but also in the purpose of the object. In games he begins to copy adults: rides a car, rocks and feeds the doll, gets into mom's shoes.
Children love swimming in the summer, so it is a good idea to get them a children's pool so that the kids receive positive emotions and play with floating toys. No less the children like to tinker in the sand, and this itching is still retained for a long time.
Medical Care for a 16 Month Old Baby
The pediatrician at the next examination can appoint the general urine and blood tests for the child. If you suspect a problem with the child's vision, you should consult a pediatric ophthalmologist, and if the child has developmental problems, you should go to a pediatric neurologist.