11 Developmental Milestones of an 18 Month Old Baby

Most children can reach some developmental milestones by the age of 18 months. At this time, the babies start to walk show more interest in the objects around them and try to reach out for them or play with them. This age or thereabouts tends to be where children hit critical developmental milestones, although there is no schedule.

Read the article to discover what typical milestones your baby can achieve at this age and how to further your toddler's growth.

Children at least 18 months of age achieve precise nutraceutical and extra-environmental categories, showing considerable advancement. They focus more on their environment, using voice, actions, and even a few words. Your 18 month old toddler is now walking and using basic words. At this age, children love to play and explore.

By that period, the children start fine-tuning their muscle movements to interact with their surroundings. Every child is unique and develops at a different pace and rhythm. However, one can expect specific development patterns in most children at this age.

Walking Milestones for an 18 month old:

• Independent Walking: Moves about, walking steadily with body confidence, without help from anybody.
• Running: When one begins to run, let it be understood that it is more like a brisk walk or trot than a full-on run.
• Walking Backward: Walks backwards for specific spacings with better coordination and development.
• Stairs: Ascends stairs with assistance while may decide to descend with help to develop the baby’s strength.
• Balance: By 18 months, a toddler can demonstrate a more even stance while moving on rough patches.
• Walking with Objects: Can walk while pushing or pulling a toy or stroller. A child can also walk around by pushing or pulling a toy or a stroller.

Visual Milestones:

Visual milestones refer to the critical stages in a child's visual development. These milestones help track how a child's vision progresses from birth through early childhood.

• Appealing Visual Things: Easily identifies familiar objects and people at a distance to visualise.
• Tracking Movement: Visual pursuit of objects in motion, such as following the ball on the floor as it rolls.
• Examining Images of the Visual Representation: More inclination to books with illustrations and want to point at things that they know.

Hearing Milestones:

Hearing milestones mark the important stages in a child's auditory development. These milestones are crucial for understanding how a child’s hearing and response to sounds evolve.

• Responding to Name: When they hear their name being called or someone speaking to them, they look in the direction of the sound.
• Understanding Simple Commands: Without looking at someone, they can understand and accomplish simple commands, for instance, “come here” or “sit down”.
• Sound Imitation: They like to make sounds within their mouths that they hear as living things or that are very common.

Smell Milestones:

By 18 months of growth, babies start recognising and responding to different smells, showing preferences for familiar scents.

• Scent Recognition: Able to differentiate between familiar smells like their parent's perfume or food they frequently eat.
• Reaction to Strong Scents: May show clear preferences or dislikes toward strong smells, such as pleasant or unpleasant food aromas.
• Curiosity about New Smells: More likely to sniff new items, demonstrating curiosity about new smells they encounter.

Touch Milestones:

At 18 months, babies become more skilled at using their sense of touch to explore their environment.

• Tactile Exploration: They love to touch everything from soft blankets to rough surfaces, using their hands to gather sensory information.
• Understanding of Textures: Begin to identify and react differently to smooth, bumpy, soft, or hard surfaces, showing preferences.
• Self-Soothing through Touch: Use favourite textures (like a soft toy or blanket) for comfort and reassurance.

Sleep Milestones for an 18 month old:

• Night Sleep: Most toddlers are expected to sleep between 10 and 12 hours at night, although some can still wake up briefly.
• Daytime Naps: The morning nap may be gradually removed until the child is at least 18 months old, at which point the longer afternoon nap usually becomes customary.
• Routine: The process of getting ready and going to bed is framed so that the evening is spent winding down and preparing for sleep.
• Conscientious Sleep Routine: Even timing when the toddler goes to bed and when they wake up is not too much in this problem statement.

Feeding Milestones for an 18 month old:

• Self-Feeding: Most children between 15 and 18 months of age try self-feeding(with parents' guidance and supervision).
• Variety in Diet: Able to eat solid foods, including soft fruits, vegetables, and small pieces of meat.
• Food Preferences: Starting to develop taste preferences and may express likes or dislikes more clearly.

Here are key cognitive milestones for an 18 month old:

• Problem Solving: Young children start experimenting with some basic problem-solving activities after 18 months, for instance, figuring out how a box can be opened.
• Object Permanence: Realising something is there even if it’s not visible to the person.
• Memory: Recalls and expects certain activities or events to happen, for instance, bedtimes.
• Attention Span: Engages in one activity or plays with one toy for a relatively long time.
• Pretend Play: Participates in simple make-believe playing, like ‘cooking’ or ‘feeding’ a doll.
• Cause and Effect: Investigates and manipulates causal relations, such as pushing a button to cause a doll to glow.

Social Milestones for an 18 month old:

Social milestones demonstrate how children relate to others and function better within society, indicating readiness to become more independent and understand issues better. A few Social milestones for an 18 month’s baby:

• Play Interaction: Starts parallel play with simultaneous children and begins some elementary group activities.
• Attachment: Indicates strong bonding with caregivers and may have difficulties being separated from them.
• Sharing: Children around this age will still struggle to appreciate the concepts of sharing, although they will be in the early stages of understanding them.
• Emotion Recognition: Understands the feelings of others by viewing their facial gestures, such as wiping the tears of a kid who is crying.
• Imitation: A child this age will engage in role-play, such as acting out cooking or answering phone calls.
• Social Smiles: Children respond to interaction by smiling and laughing at games played with them.

Emotional Milestones for an 18 month old:

• Self-Mirroring: Able to identify themselves at times within a mirror or picture, often using words to describe themselves.
• Empathetic Behaviour: They are beginning to demonstrate empathy in the early stages, for instance, in the ability to console a sad peer.
• Ability to Control Frustration: Able to express frustration and anger more clearly, like throwing tantrums or screaming.
• Showing Affection: Playing around and calling family members or friends with whom one is familiar; this involves hugging and kissing.
• Desire for the Child to be Self-Sufficient: This shows the need for the child to be self-sufficient and perform some activities independently without assistance.
• Attachment to a Particular Item: Develops dependence on certain playthings or things to aid in comfort, enhancing their sense of safety.

Language and Speech Milestones Development for an 18 month old:

• Vocabulary: Understands and communicates around 10-20 words and may also utter two words combining them.
• Understanding: Respond to some simple instructions and comprehend some essential words.
• Gestures: Indicate with hands some needs or things that arouse the child’s interest using gestures like pointing.
• Interaction: Responds to their name and is eager to engage and talk with others.
• Emotion Expression: Communicates emotions such as happiness or fury in words and actions.

Physical and Motor Milestones for an 18 month old:

• Walking: Toddlers may start running or walking backward, making them more interactive.
• Climbing: Toddlers climb furniture and walk upstairs with someone's help, supporting their physical development.
• Kicking: The art of kicking starts when someone strikes forward with a ball or tries to throw something for the first time to aim at something.
• Dancing: Strutting to music appealing more than ever. The coordination of movements is above the previous levels.
• Squatting: The dog sits down, trying to get something, usually a toy or an object, and stands up, deploying no external help.
• Exploration: Moving around, exploring, and using new or improved motor skills for development.

1. Building Blocks

2. Sensory Bins

3. Reading Picture Books

4. Musical Instruments

5. Playdough Fun

6. Water Play

7. Solving Puzzles

8. Outdoor Echildrenration

9. Pretend Play

10. Treasure Hunt

1. Encourage Physical Activity

2. Promote Language Skills

3. Foster Social Interaction

4. Support Cognitive Development

5. Ensure Safe Exploration

6. Enhance Fine Motor Skills

7. Establish Consistent Routines

Developmental Concerns:

Behavioural Issues:

Health Issues:

Nutrition Concerns:

Sleep Problems: