Stage12–15 m
12-15 months
They can walk now, and they have learned the word no
Independence arrives alongside mobility. They have opinions and no way to express them, and that gap is where the first wave of meltdowns comes from.
What to feed
- Milk
- Whole milk or breast milk, 350-500ml a day, as a drink rather than a meal.
- Meal pattern
- Three meals and two snacks, at the table with everyone else.
Can start eating
- Almost everything the adults eat, cut small and cooked with less oil and salt
- A little salt is acceptable (under 1.5g a day, which in practice means cooking without it and sharing some adult food)
- Peanut butter, thinly spread, never whole nuts
Not yet
- Whole nuts, popcorn, hard sweets, jelly cups, large chunks of meat
- Sugary drinks and juice (if given at all, under 120ml a day and diluted)
- High-salt processed foods: sausage, pickles, packaged snacks
Worth knowing
- Eating less is near-universal at this age. Growth slows sharply after the first birthday, so the appetite drop is physiology, not illness
- You decide what is offered and when. They decide whether and how much. That division of labour prevents most mealtime battles
- Keep offering refused foods — give up only after ten or more tries
- Include an iron-rich food daily. Iron-deficiency anaemia peaks between 1 and 3
How much sleep
11-14 hours a day
- Daytime
- One or two naps totalling 2-3 hours
The bedtime routine now matters a great deal. A fixed order, a fixed length and a clear end point ("two books, then lights out") cuts the nightly negotiation dramatically.
Vaccines in this stage
Meningococcal ADose 2
12 months · National programme (free)
VaricellaDose 1
12 months · Self-paid
Self-paid, though some regions now include it
What most children do by now
Gross motor
- Walks independently
- Climbs stairs holding the rail
- Bends to pick something up and stands back up
Fine motor
- Stacks two blocks
- Uses a spoon, spilling most of it
- Scribbles
Language
- Says 3-10 words
- Follows a one-step instruction
- Points at pictures in a book
Social and cognitive
- Shows affection with hugs and kisses
- Develops a sense of mine
- Expresses frustration by crying
This is what most children manage in this window, not a pass mark. A few months either way is common. The signals worth acting on are in the doctor section below.
Height and weight reference for this ageWhen to see a doctor
If any of these apply, do not wait for the next routine check.
- Not walking at 15 months
- Not a single word
- Does not point, wave or shake their head
- Does not follow your point or share attention
- Does not imitate
- Skill regression
What to practise
- 01
Stack two blocks
How · You place one, they place the next. Applaud even when it falls.
Why · Stacking needs hand-eye coordination plus control over when to let go — a visible jump in fine motor skill.
- 02
Name the feeling
How · When they throw something and howl, say: "You are angry because the tower fell." Name it first, comfort second, reason never during.
Why · Before they can say what they feel, they can only act it out. A named feeling settles faster.
- 03
Self-feeding for real
How · Give them their own spoon and a bowl that does not tip, and accept the mess. Use a second spoon yourself to top up.
Why · The earlier self-feeding is established, the fewer mealtime standoffs there are later.
Day to day
- Tantrums start now. This is not bad behaviour, it is an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Get down low, hold them, wait it out, talk afterwards
- Falls are frequent. Pad the corners and remove slippery rugs
- Avoid screens entirely before 18 months where possible
- One to two hours outdoors a day, which helps both vision and the sleep-wake cycle
Common questions
- They eat so much less than before. Is that normal?
- Yes. Weight triples in the first year, then rises only 2-3kg over the whole second year, so relative energy needs drop. If they are on their own growth curve and in good spirits, no intervention is needed.
- What do we do about tantrums?
- Make it safe, then stay close without negotiating. Do not try to reason at the peak — they have no language processing available at that moment. Summarise in one sentence once they are calm.