Your 11-month-old's development: Week 1

Talking up a storm

Words and wordlike sounds are now spilling out of your baby, and he's able to use them meaningfully. As his brain continues to develop, so does his ability to reason and speak.

Encourage his interest in language and his understanding of two-way communication by being an avid listener and responding to his sounds. To polish his memory skills, play games like patty-cake and peek-a-boo.

At this age, your baby can probably imitate word sounds and inflections. He may be able to follow simple one-step directions, such as "Please bring me the ball" or "Pick up the spoon." Help him learn by separating multistep commands into easy-to-follow single steps, reinforcing them with gestures.

Remember to cherish this brief but remarkable period when your baby's communication skills are emerging: They're perhaps his most important skill!

Remember, your baby is an individual

All babies are unique and meet milestones at their own pace. Developmental guidelines simply show what your baby has the potential to accomplish — if not right now, then soon. If your baby was premature, keep in mind that kids born early usually need a bit more time to meet their milestones. If you have any questions at all about your baby's development, ask your healthcare provider.

source: babycenter

Your 11-month-old: Week 1

How your baby's growing:

Wordlike sounds are now spilling out of your baby, and he's able to use some of them meaningfully. As his brain continues to develop, so does his ability to reason and speak.

Encourage your baby's interest in language and his understanding of two-way communication by being an avid listener and responding to his sounds. To polish his memory skills, play games like patty-cake and peekaboo.

• Learn more fascinating facts about your 11-month-old's development.

Your life: Discipline disagreements

Just when you and your partner have established common ground on your baby's sleeping habits and how many toys is too many comes a new, potentially contentious co-parenting issue: discipline, the big D.

Remember that you and your partner bring different styles and experiences to parenting. This is a good thing, and it's important to respect and appreciate each other's views. Having strong opinions means your partner cares about how your baby is taught to behave and wants to contribute to that process. His ideas merit as much consideration as yours.

If you really disagree on a particular method or rule, it's best to talk about it out in the open rather than criticizing or undermining one another (or just silently seething). Be specific about your concerns and avoid being judgmental about your partner's ideas. Convey that you know it's important to come to a consensus: For discipline to be effective, it needs to be consistent.

It may help to do a little research together into the discipline subjects you differ on, consulting an expert or books about the pros and cons of particular approaches and techniques. You may find that there are more effective strategies that you weren't aware of.

3 questions about: Toilet training

Should I be thinking about toilet training?

The short answer: Not yet. Unless you began infant potty training with your baby between birth and 4 months, it's probably best to wait until your child is between 18 and 24 months old. Many experts, including physicians at the American Academy of Pediatrics, say that's when most children are developmentally ready for toilet training.

Why was early toilet training once more common in the United States?

Before 1950, most children in the United States were toilet trained by 18 months. And today, most African, Asian, and European babies are trained well before their second birthday. So why are American babies and their parents so attached to their diapers? Many think it's due to the changing views of prominent experts and pediatricians — who now advocate a gentler, more "child-centered" approach to potty training — as well as the invention of disposable diapers.

How will I be able to tell whether my baby is ready for toilet training?

There are two components to readiness — the physical and the emotional. Your child needs to be both physically aware of his bowel and bladder urges and emotionally ready in order for potty training to be a success. Signs that your child is physically ready include fairly regular and predictable bowel movements, along with his ability to wait at least two hours to urinate, to completely empty his bladder when he urinates, to help you pull his pants up and down, and to get on and off the toilet or potty chair. Other signs of readiness are an ability to understand toilet-related words and to follow simple instructions. In terms of emotional readiness, your child should show signs that he's aware that he's going in his diaper — he might squat in a corner or even tell you with words or gestures that he's gone. He might become upset when he soils his diaper. Given those "prerequisites," few 11-month-olds are considered developmentally ready to learn this important skill.

source: babycenter