Wow, it’s exhausting to imagine your once-little new child is now a toddler! At 15 months previous, your child is deep into the toddler years, which comes with many new and thrilling milestones. They’ll proceed to realize new abilities, and their little personalities shall be on full show. This text will stroll you thru these new milestones, provide you with ideas for feeding and sleeping, and share actions to do together with your 15-month-old.
By 15 months previous, your toddler can have made leaps and bounds of their growth and obtain new milestones continuously. Their mobility will improve, and their personalities will proceed to develop and shine. Some milestones you possibly can count on your 15-month-old to succeed in embrace:1
- Taking a number of steps or strolling persistently with out assist
- Feeding themselves with their fingers and making an attempt to feed themselves with utensils
- Making an attempt to make use of objects the suitable manner, reminiscent of pretending to speak on the telephone
- Stacking two or extra blocks on high of one another
- Pointing and asking for assist
- Saying one or two extra phrases, excluding “Mama” and “Dada” (for example, they could say “ball” or “canine”)
- Following easy instructions, reminiscent of, “Go discover your footwear”
- Clapping when excited
- Copying older youngsters
- Expressing frustration with tantrums
At this age, your 15-month-old is beginning to develop a style for the meals they like and don’t like. They’ll proceed to eat three meals a day and have two to 3 snacks all through the day. Their meal occasions will observe the remainder of the household’s meal occasions. They’ll present their dislike for a specific meals by pushing it away, closing their mouth when it’s supplied, or turning their head away from it. It’s vital to proceed exposing your baby to new meals, however don’t power them. Give them a possibility to discover new meals whereas deciding, themselves, which meals they wish to eat.2
As your child begins expressing their likes and dislikes, you might surprise what meals they need to and shouldn’t have. At this age, your toddler needs to be transitioned to complete dairy milk or unsweetened soy milk from method or proceed breast milk and have 16-24 ounces of milk per day. They will additionally have water once they’re thirsty. Your 15-month-old also needs to drink their milk and water out of a cup. Proceed experimenting with straw cups, 360 cups, and open cups. Keep away from different plant-based milks reminiscent of oat, rice, or coconut milk. These sorts of milk aren’t fortified and don’t comprise applicable quantities of protein, nutritional vitamins, and calcium. Your baby additionally doesn’t want toddler-specific formulation or milk; they’ll obtain all of the vitamins they want from their common food plan.2
Usually, round this age, toddlers can grow to be far more “choosy” eaters. Be certain that to incorporate all kinds of meals from all of the meals teams in your toddler’s food plan. Offering them with a spread of meals permits them to discover new tastes and textures. Make sure you embrace fruits, greens, proteins, and dairy in your toddler’s food plan. When exposing them to new meals, it’s additionally vital to keep away from sure meals, together with high-sodium meals, meals with an excessive amount of added sugar, food plan drinks, unpasteurized juices or dairy, and choking hazards like scorching canines, uncooked carrots, popcorn, and nuts.2 rule of thumb is to reveal them to a “rainbow” of meals every week. Your job is to supply wholesome meals, and their job is to determine what to eat.
Through the first yr of toddlerhood, your toddler’s sleep schedule and patterns often stay constant. Your 15-month-old wants 11-14 hours of sleep day by day, together with one afternoon nap that lasts roughly two to 3 hours. Many infants will transition to at least one afternoon nap per day by 18 months of age. Having a bedtime round 7:30 p.m. remains to be applicable to your toddler.3
Sleep regression can happen at any age, so your 15-month-old could expertise one other interval of regression. It occurs when your child, who usually has sleep sample, begins to have issue falling and staying asleep. Widespread causes embrace teething, sickness, a change to their day by day schedule, or a big life change, reminiscent of shifting to a brand new residence or bed room. Fortunately, sleep regression solely lasts a median of two to 4 weeks.4
Sleep regression is difficult on everybody concerned, however there are methods you possibly can assist your toddler overcome this regression. Sleep coaching is protected to do if your loved ones chooses, however do what feels proper to you.8 Some methods to sleep practice embrace:4
- Not letting them sleep in your mattress, as this will extend the sleep regression interval
- Conserving a constant bedtime and bedtime routine
- Eliminating display time earlier than mattress
- Incorporating stress-free actions into their bedtime routine, reminiscent of having bathtub time, studying, or singing mushy lullabies
- Placing them to mattress once they’re drowsy however not but asleep, permitting them to be taught to go to sleep on their very own
- In the event that they get up at evening, permitting them to fuss for a couple of minutes earlier than getting in to consolation them (this helps them be taught to self-soothe)
- Reassuring them of their crib as a substitute of selecting them up once they cry
- Ensuring they’ve entry to their favourite consolation gadgets, reminiscent of a blanket or a favourite stuffed animal
Conserving a schedule will present your toddler with construction and stability. This helps your baby anticipate what’s going to occur subsequent of their day and may help alleviate some tantrums.
It’s important to attempt to maintain the identical wake occasions, meal occasions, and nap occasions in the course of the week and on the weekends. In case your child is taking one nap per day, that nap can begin round 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. and can usually final two to 3 hours. Having one nap as a substitute of two naps in a day supplies your 15-month-old with longer wake home windows. Having a bedtime round 7:30 p.m. remains to be really useful for toddlers at this age.3
It’s okay to vary up the routine every so often for a particular occasion, so long as you keep in mind to count on a rise in large emotions and tantrums for a short while surrounding this alteration.
By 15 months previous, you and your youngster aren’t any strangers to well-child check-ups or vaccines. Your toddler can have one other well-child appointment at this age to evaluate their growth and supply any wanted vaccines. The vaccines your 15-month-old will obtain embrace:5
- DTaP: Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis
- HiB: Haemophilus influenzae Kind B
- PCV: Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine
Even with a well-child check-up, your 15-month-old will probably expertise many frequent childhood diseases. These embrace the frequent chilly, the abdomen flu, and different viral infections. Whereas these diseases can usually be handled at residence, it’s vital to keep in mind that you shouldn’t give infants aspirin or over-the-counter cough and chilly medicines. These drugs aren’t designed for infants and might trigger critical uncomfortable side effects.6 At all times observe the remedy instructions on the bundle insert. For those who nonetheless have questions on which drugs you may give your youngster, contact your clinic for steering.
Whereas your toddler can simply overcome most childhood diseases, some signs warrant fast medical care. These signs embrace:6
- Inconsolable crying
- Excessive sleepiness and being exhausting to get up
- Weak crying or moaning
- Refusing all meals or drink or solely consuming small quantities in the course of the day
- Darkish yellow urine, decreased moist diapers, no tears, or a dry mouth
Name 911 in case your child has issue respiratory, has an irregular shade (reminiscent of very pale, blue, or grey), or turns into unconscious.6
Taking part in and fascinating in actions together with your 15-month-old is an effective way to assist them attain their milestones. Some methods to play together with your toddler embrace:1
- Responding to their makes an attempt at dialog by repeating the noises and phrases they make
- Telling them the title of a toy earlier than handing it to them
- Permitting them to assist with easy duties, reminiscent of placing their toys away
- Singing songs and throwing in some dance strikes to your child to repeat
- Dancing across the room with them
- Studying books
- Taking part in hide-and-seek
- Instructing them needed behaviors, like the best way to pet an animal gently
Your toddler is on the transfer, and so they now not keep the place you set them. It’s essential keep a protected surroundings through which they will discover. Listed here are a number of ideas to assist maintain your toddler protected whereas additionally permitting them to discover:7
- Hold all cords, breakable gadgets, medicines, family cleaners, choking hazards, and scorching or sharp objects out of attain.
- In case your toddler has consumed any dangerous substance, contact Poison Management instantly at 1-800-222-1222.
- Use security gates on the high and backside of all stairs.
- Forestall drowning by maintaining all rest room lids closed and supervising your child whereas they’re within the bathtub or close to water.
- If weapons are in the home, maintain them unloaded and locked in a safe cupboard.
- Use a rear-facing automotive seat, and place it within the again seat.
- Apply SPF 30 sunscreen earlier than taking part in outdoors, and reapply each two hours.
- Don’t smoke or permit others to smoke round your child.
Your child is now a toddler, and their progress has been really superb. Your 15-month-old is gaining new abilities and attaining new milestones virtually each day. Watching them develop and blossom into toddlers is an incredible reward, and it’ll solely proceed to get higher from right here!
