MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Become upset when separated from familiar adults.
• Seek comfort from a familiar adult when upset or tired.
• Respond to adult’s verbal greeting (waves and smiles).
• Engage with adults during play (puts shapes in shape sorter).
• Respond positively to adult help most of the time.
• Use familiar adult as a “secure base” to explore (looks to adult for indication of appropriate and inappropriate behavior).

YOU CAN

• Provide consistent, predictable routines and experiences.
• Align home and school (routines, supportive language and strategies).
• Show respect for children and everyone in his/her environment (listens, considers, responds).
• Encourage attempts by infant for attention (“You wanted me to pick you up so you put your arms up like this!”).
• Describe what they’re doing as they do it (“I am going to put your dirty diaper here and get a clean one.”).
• Describe child’s actions (“You crawled to the toy box to get your favorite toy!”).
• Talk about feelings (“That was scary for me. When I’m scared I breathe and calm myself.”).
• Use comfort items to calm and ease separations (child brings blanket to school and grandma’s).

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Show interest in children (moves closer, offers a toy, vocalizes to get attention of child).
• Engage in problems regarding possession of items (takes toy, cries when toy is taken).
• Imitate another child’s behavior or activity (follows, laughs, pounds on drum).
• Respond to other children’s emotions (when another child is upset child pats upset child’s head or back to console).
• Use gestures and a few words to communicate (says “mine” or “no”).
• Trade and shares toys with assistance.
• Accept adult help to solve problems.

YOU CAN

• Provide opportunities for children to play with other children from their own and other cultural backgrounds (library, play groups, church, family events).
• Show child how to care for a baby in play (rocking, feeding and reading to baby or doll).
• Show child how to gesture or sign to communicate their wants and needs (“Can I have a turn?” hold out hand palm up, sign language “more”).
• Involve children in problem solving (shows calm, guided breaths and then offering choice to the children).
• Demonstrate cooperation and problem solving with others in daily tasks (preparing a meal with other family members).
• Show how to take turns (trades a preferred item for a non-preferred item and asks if you can have it when he/she is done).
• Engage children in books about children in other cultures playing together.
• Provide more than one of the children’s favorite toys to reduce problems and begins trading and sharing.
• Play turn-taking games with child (peek-a-boo, stacking toys).
• Listen respectfully and responds to child’s needs and requests.
• Practice with children noticing and naming their feelings and the feelings of others.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Repeat actions many times to cause a desired effect (smile because it makes parent or caregiver smile and laugh).
• Show understanding that characters from books are connected with certain actions or behaviors (animal books and animal sounds).
• Recognize that certain adult actions are associated with expected behavior (I am supposed to go to sleep when an adult puts me in bed).

YOU CAN

• Respond consistently to child’s behaviors with similar actions, tones and words.
• Be aware of his/her responses to child’s behavior; reinforces positive behavior and redirects negative behavior.
• Tell stories and sings songs from child’s home culture.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Express joy with other children or when a familiar adult is present.
• Begin to participate in simple play, side by side with other children.
• Show increasing interest in family and community gatherings.

YOU CAN

• Play with child near other children (park, gym, community center).
• Provide opportunities for child to be part of groups (story time, toddler gyms, play dates).
• Involve child in family and community gatherings.
• Talk with and describe to child what is taking place (“We are going to the library story hour, where there will be other children.”).

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Begin to separate from primary caregiver in familiar settings outside home.
• Begin to explore and play in a range of familiar settings.
• Initiate simple social interactions with peers.

YOU CAN

• Accept that child may be uncomfortable when routines change and provide comfort when needed.
• Create a caregiving environment that reflects child’s home culture and to create consistent settings.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Look sad or concerned when another child is crying or upset. May seek adult help or offer a toy or blanket to comfort child.
• Begin to help other children who are sad or hurt.
• Begin to explore plants, flowers and other living things through senses (touching, seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing).

YOU CAN

• Support child in stressful situations.
• Provide mirrors and chances for child to see faces and emotions.
• Name emotions.
• Show empathy with adults, children, animals.
• Provide regular opportunities to play outdoors.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Observe body parts and self in mirror.
• Focus attention on others.
• Notice others’ physical characteristics.
• Interact with others who are of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, of different gender, speak other languages or have special needs.

YOU CAN

• Tell stories and reads books to child that explore people with diverse abilities and cultures.
• Provide infants with dolls and toys from other ethnicities and cultures.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Respond with head turn, gesture or vocalization when name is spoken.
• Respond or come when called by a familiar adult.
• Show awareness of self in voice, mirror image, and body.
• Attempt to complete basic daily living tasks (eating, getting dressed).
• Show preference for familiar adults and peers.
• Point or move toward desired people or objects.
• Repeat a motion or noise to see if outcome is the same.
• Protest when does not want to do something (arch back when doesn’t want to sit in high chair).
• Respond to requests for action (claps for the song).
• Point to at least two body parts, when asked.

YOU CAN

• Help child learn to calm self (show calming behavior, offers soothing objects).
• Notice and supports child’s efforts to calm self.
• Gives child time to remain engaged in activities.
• Accept varying levels of independence and stronger bonds with family and community.
• Tell stories and sings songs from child’s home culture.
• Provide child with choices of activities and objects to play with.
• Provide safe environments for active exploration.
• Talk with child about body parts and body functions (“We use our teeth to chew.”).
• Delight with child over accomplishments and explorations.
• Provide a rich variety of experiences and follow child’s lead during play and exploration.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Explore environment at increasing distances from caregiver, returning for reassurances.
• Look to caregiver when accomplishing new tasks (standing or walking).
• Give objects or toys to others (pick up ball, then reach to give it to caregiver).
• Smile and express joy when succeeding in a task/activity.

YOU CAN

• Play with child individually every day.
• Stay near child to provide encouragement.
• Provide a safe environment for child to explore many activities.
• Describe and acknowledge child’s actions and accomplishments (by smiling and saying “you took off your socks.”).

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Engage in some regular behaviors (sing or babble self to sleep, goes to high chair to be fed.)
• Follow some consistently set rules and routines.
• Anticipate and follows simple routines, with reminders and assistance (help to pick up and put away blocks at clean-up time).
• Begin to understand that change in activities, settings, and routines are part of the day and can be managed with adult support.

YOU CAN

• Be emotionally available and sensitive to child and his/her needs.
• Establish consistent routines while being flexible to meet child’s needs.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Look to or seek comfort when distressed and accept comfort from a familiar adult.
• Comfort self by clutching, sucking, or stroking when tired or stressed (calm while stroking or holding soft blanket).

YOU CAN

• Snuggle, cuddle, and physically nurture child in ways that provide comfort (appropriate to their specific sensory needs; not forcing a child to accept a hug).
• Stay with child during stressful situations to help him/her regulate emotions.
• Manage own emotions and impulses, including naming own emotions, with the child.
• Accept child’s expression of a full range of emotions (display understanding when child shows anger).
• Notice and support child’s efforts to calm self and connect with caregivers.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Respond to emotional cues and social situations (cry when other babies cry).
• Smile, wave, or laugh in response to positive adult interaction.

YOU CAN

• Respond to child’s displays of distress by staying with child and sensitively helping child with difficult feelings.
• Show facial expressions to express emotions.
• Nurture child with kind words, hugs, and cuddles, being sensitive to individual sensory needs (not forcing a child to accept a hug).
• Respond to child’s displays of pleasure by matching child’s emotions with facial expressions, tone, and words, describing and identifying emotions.
• Use words and pictures to teach child to associate feelings with their proper names, using language from child’s home and school if different.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Show affection (hugs and kisses) to familiar adults.
• Address at least two family members by name.
• Recognize immediate family members in photographs.

YOU CAN

• Involve child in family traditions, rituals, and activities. Help child identify and name family members and their relationships.
• Provide opportunities for child to spend time together with family.
• Create a baby-proof family album the child can explore.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Recognize the names of other children.
• Recognize family members of other children.
• Begin to participate in simple parallel play with other children.

YOU CAN

• Provide opportunities for child to play in diverse environments with other children (play group, park, friend’s home).
• Read books about different types of occupations with child.
• Read books with child about families in other communities, cultures, or countries.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Follow simple directions.
• Try out roles and relationships through imitation (smile at self in mirror, plays peek-a-boo).
• Request assistance when needed.

YOU CAN

• State rules in a manner that promotes positive thinking rather than negative thinking (“We use walking feet” instead of “No running.”).
• Offer child easy-to-follow directions, starting with one step at a time.

MOBILE BABIES MAY

• Look to caregivers for assistance, guidance, and safety.
• Distinguish among familiar and unfamiliar people.

YOU CAN

• Immerse child in his/her own culture as much as possible.
• Share stories, songs, and poems about child’s own and other cultures.
• Show caring and kindness for all people and treat others with respect and fairness.
• Engage child in activities and interactions with many children.
• Establish family traditions, rituals, and activities.