The most characteristic feature of the 1-year-old child is “egocentrism”. It would not be wrong if we define this situation as “always asking, taking but not giving”. He wants everything to belong to him alone. During this period, your children do not yet know how to share. Therefore, it would be appropriate not to have such expectations from him.
In this period, the toddler’s world is now what he “discovers”. He wants to put the things in his hands to his mouth and get to know them (especially for the child who is in the oral stage of psychosexual understanding until the 12th month, the mouth is the most important source of pleasure).
The desire to gain self-control…
From birth to 12 months, babies tend to perceive the world as a safe or unsafe place. From the 13th month onwards, they want to gain their own control gradually, with the sense of confidence they have now acquired. We have already mentioned that this period is now the period of “discovery”. Your child not only discovers himself and his environment, but also tries to understand the limits set by you. However, it cannot be said that he did this very consciously. In this period, the baby’s behavior is based on “impulsive” reasons. Dr. With the definition of Maria Montessori, children follow their inner teacher during this period. They are not yet mature enough to understand the difference between good and bad.
The transition from discovery “through observation” to discovery “through action”…
Your baby still depends on you, clings to the mother especially when he is unhappy, but still doesn’t quite understand how to build a good relationship with his parents. The most meaningful thing for your child in this period is the feeling of “I am walking now, I can take control to explore the world”. The most important way of learning is to discover the environment “through action”. From now on, your toddler gains feelings such as self-confidence, separation anxiety, self-sufficiency and independence while exploring the environment. Since there is no imagination, its most important source is clearly visible tangible causes and effects.
Egocentrism
This age is not an easy time for your child. His egocentrism and negative attitudes cannot be described as a real defiance. (Therefore, understanding the characteristics of this age period may make this period a little easier for you.) They do not yet know the difference between good and bad. At the root of negativity lies both the child’s desire to experience loneliness and being stuck with the mother, that is, the feeling of undeveloped independence. In other words, during this period, your baby both tries to explore the environment outside of you and wants to maintain physical closeness with you. During this period, it is very important for the caregivers to be guiding, encouraging and most importantly calm. If you raise your child with this understanding, the process of gaining his/her self will be positively affected. He wants security and comfort in his closeness with you. It also begins to test the very important sense of trust. For example, when he walks away, he expects you to follow.
During this period, we expect children to stand up holding on to something and walk around holding on to things. They can also sit up unaided. Particular attention should be paid to the development of these stages. If your child has not started walking or does not exhibit a purposeful behavior such as picking up a toy, it is necessary to control the situation. However, as we always say, although there are “feasibility” elements according to age, each child’s developmental speed is different. The situation can be very normal. The important thing is to observe and evaluate.
I imitate…
Around 12.5 months, your child may also start to imitate what the people around him do. It can transfer objects (e.g. putting a block into a container). It can stand without any support. Can say a few clear words. He can even drink from the glass and scribble with a pen.
It becomes very difficult for your toddler to stop now. You can organize your child’s environment in order to interact with the environment and the world and enrich his life in the spiritual, cognitive and physical sense, and you can support him in spending quality time.