At sixteen months old, your baby, or rather, child is a ball of energy. She has grown so much in the last few months that every single week you will be surprised at how much she develops. This is an amazing time in your child’s development as she begins to cultivate her own personality and accumulate her own little character quirks. Some of them may simply frustrate you, like the fact that she loves to throw her food across the room, while others will make you fall in love with her again and again, as she cuddles up with you to listen to her bedtime story. During this pivotal month, what new developments can you expect out of your child?
Around this month, your child will want to act more like a grown-up. She may grow frustrated as you try to “baby” her by attempting to feed her. Do not be surprised if she wants to begin to feed herself with her spoon. More importantly, you must bear in mind that her small hands are still getting used to these new objects, so most of her attempts will result in mushy peas and strained carrots all over her face and clothes (and possibly your kitchen floor).
She tries so very hard to communicate with you about how she is feeling and what she wants at any given moment; however, with only a few select words in her vocabulary arsenal, she may become frustrated or upset that she cannot convey her feelings properly. If she comes up to you and points at her foot and say something in her baby talk, she may be thinking that she wants you to change her shoes. Meanwhile, you will be asking her if her foot hurts or if she loves her new shoes. It is very common for a sixteen-month old to get frustrated over her inability to communicate effectively.
You have probably heard about the “terrible twos,” right? What you may not have heard of is the terrible one and a halves! This is a time of testing the waters for your child. She will continually want to be the center of attention and will do anything she can to make sure she always remains the focus of the family. You may be thinking, “Well, that’s not so bad! She will be a little performer!” However, when I say she will do “anything” to be the center of attention, I mean anything, whether it is good or bad. She may try to backtalk to you or simply say, “No,” when you ask her to do something, like put up her toys or clean up a mess she made. Be both patient and firm with her, so she understands that negative attention is not what she should desire.
Continue to read every single day with your child. By this time, she will be able to page through the books herself, albeit a little clumsily. Instead of you holding the book, allow her to do it as you read it to her. At sixteen months old, she should be able to point out certain pictures from the book, so constantly point out new objects or animals in her books and repeat the name so she understands.
At sixteen months old, your child will indeed be a huge ball of constant energy. She will probably love to scribble a lot, so provide her with plenty of construction paper and crayons so she can draw. Always be sure to keep a close watch on her as she is starting to climb on your furniture, like your sofas and tables. This would be an excellent time to invest in plenty of child safety items, if you have not done so already.