Wow, it’s exhausting to imagine your once-little new child is now a toddler! At 15 months outdated, your child is deep into the toddler years, which comes with many new and thrilling milestones. They’ll proceed to realize new expertise, and their little personalities will likely be on full show. This text will stroll you thru these new milestones, offer you suggestions for feeding and sleeping, and share actions to do along with your 15-month-old.
By 15 months outdated, your toddler could have made leaps and bounds of their improvement and obtain new milestones consistently. Their mobility will enhance, 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 constantly with out help
- Feeding themselves with their fingers and attempting to feed themselves with utensils
- Attempting to make use of objects the suitable means, akin to pretending to speak on the cellphone
- Stacking two or extra blocks on high of one another
- Pointing and asking for assist
- Saying one or two further phrases, excluding “Mama” and “Dada” (for example, they might say “ball” or “canine”)
- Following easy instructions, akin to, “Go discover your footwear”
- Clapping when excited
- Copying older kids
- 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 comply with the remainder of the household’s meal occasions. They’ll present their dislike for a selected meals by pushing it away, closing their mouth when it’s provided, or turning their head away from it. It’s essential to proceed exposing your infant to new meals, however don’t power them. Give them a chance to discover new meals whereas deciding, themselves, which meals they wish to eat.2
As your child begins expressing their likes and dislikes, chances are you’ll 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 system 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 akin to 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 infant additionally doesn’t want toddler-specific formulation or milk; they’ll obtain all of the vitamins they want from their common weight loss program.2
Typically, round this age, toddlers can grow to be far more “choosy” eaters. Ensure to incorporate all kinds of meals from all of the meals teams in your toddler’s weight loss program. 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 weight loss program. When exposing them to new meals, it’s additionally essential to keep away from sure meals, together with high-sodium meals, meals with an excessive amount of added sugar, weight loss program drinks, unpasteurized juices or dairy, and choking hazards like scorching canines, uncooked carrots, popcorn, and nuts.2 A great rule of thumb is to show 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 12 months 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. continues to be applicable to your toddler.3
Sleep regression can happen at any age, so your 15-month-old might expertise one other interval of regression. It occurs when your child, who sometimes has a superb 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, akin to shifting to a brand new residence or bed room. Fortunately, sleep regression solely lasts a mean 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 secure 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 may extend the sleep regression interval
- Retaining a constant bedtime and bedtime routine
- Eliminating display screen time earlier than mattress
- Incorporating stress-free actions into their bedtime routine, akin to having tub time, studying, or singing mushy lullabies
- Placing them to mattress once they’re drowsy however not but asleep, permitting them to study to go to sleep on their very own
- In the event that they get up at night time, permitting them to fuss for a couple of minutes earlier than stepping into to consolation them (this helps them study to self-soothe)
- Reassuring them of their crib as a substitute of choosing them up once they cry
- Ensuring they’ve entry to their favourite consolation gadgets, akin to a blanket or a favourite stuffed animal
Retaining a schedule will present your toddler with construction and stability. This helps your infant anticipate what is going to occur subsequent of their day and can assist alleviate some tantrums.
It’s important to attempt to preserve the identical wake occasions, meal occasions, and nap occasions through 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 sometimes final two to 3 hours. Having one nap as a substitute of two naps in a day offers your 15-month-old with longer wake home windows. Having a bedtime round 7:30 p.m. continues to be really useful for toddlers at this age.3
It’s okay to vary up the routine from time to time for a particular occasion, so long as you bear in mind to count on a rise in massive emotions and tantrums for a short while surrounding this modification.
By 15 months outdated, you and your baby are not any strangers to well-child check-ups or vaccines. Your toddler could have one other well-child appointment at this age to evaluate their improvement 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 doubtless expertise many frequent childhood diseases. These embrace the frequent chilly, the abdomen flu, and different viral infections. Whereas these diseases can sometimes be handled at residence, it’s essential 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 severe uncomfortable side effects.6 All the time comply with the remedy instructions on the package deal insert. In case you nonetheless have questions on which drugs you may give your baby, contact your clinic for steering.
Whereas your toddler can simply overcome most childhood diseases, some signs warrant instant 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 through 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 colour (akin to very pale, blue, or grey), or turns into unconscious.6
Enjoying and interesting in actions along with your 15-month-old is a good way to assist them attain their milestones. Some methods to play along 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, akin to 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
- Enjoying hide-and-seek
- Instructing them needed behaviors, like the right way to pet an animal gently
Your toddler is on the transfer, they usually now not keep the place you set them. You want to preserve a secure atmosphere wherein they’ll discover. Listed below are a number of suggestions to assist preserve your toddler secure whereas additionally permitting them to discover:7
- Maintain 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 retaining all rest room lids closed and supervising your child whereas they’re within the tub or close to water.
- If weapons are in the home, preserve them unloaded and locked in a safe cupboard.
- Use a rear-facing automobile seat, and place it within the again seat.
- Apply SPF 30 sunscreen earlier than enjoying 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 expertise and reaching new milestones virtually daily. Watching them develop and blossom into toddlers is an incredible present, and it’ll solely proceed to get higher from right here!
