Your one-year-old uses objects correctly—a phone to the ear, a brush on hair—they understand how the world works.
These activities develop functional object use, build early symbolic thinking, and strengthen the memory and imitation skills that drive toddler learning.
Your one-year-old uses objects correctly — a phone to the ear, a brush on hair, a cup for drinking. This functional object use demonstrates symbolic thinking: understanding that objects have specific purposes. They're also following multi-step instructions and remembering solutions to problems across days.
Support this leap by providing real-world objects for functional play: a play kitchen with utensils, a toy phone, a baby doll with a blanket. Pretend play is emerging, and it's one of the most powerful learning tools in early childhood.
Functional object use at twelve months demonstrates the symbolic thinking that underlies language, pretend play, and all abstract reasoning.
Happy first birthday! Your baby is becoming a toddler. Expect big emotions alongside big milestones—both are signs of healthy growth.
Whether walking or cruising, keep offering safe spaces to practice mobility. Every fall and recovery builds balance and resilience.
Repetition is still the name of the game. The same book 50 times? That's exactly how one-year-olds master new concepts.
Functional play emerges now—using a cup to drink, a brush to comb hair. Provide real-world objects for your toddler to practice with.
Hide a musical toy or phone playing music under a blanket and let your baby search for the sound source. Builds listening skills and early problem-solving.
Set up cups and containers for your toddler to pour water between. This classic Montessori-inspired activity teaches volume, control, and early math concepts.
Count each step as you and your toddler go up or down the stairs together. A natural, everyday activity that turns routine into a counting game.
Stack soft blocks into a tower with your baby and let them knock it down. The build-and-crash cycle teaches spatial reasoning, cause and effect, and pure joy.
Introduce your baby to a simple shape sorter — but forget the rules. At this age, mouthing, banging, and experimenting with the pieces is the real learning.
Walk through your home and find circles, squares, and triangles hiding in everyday objects. Turns your living room into a geometry lesson toddlers love.