No waving/pointing etc at 12 months

[hol92]

My baby is 12 months old and still doesn't clap, wave or point I know most babies at his age can and I started googleing about it last week and am now worried and over analysing everything he does, has anyone else had a child start late with these things? I feel like I've done somthing wrong and have really gotten myself down, he also doesn't say any words like mama or dada.
He's a very happy playful little boy but I just can't help worry about these things now, he will sometimes bang or clap toys together and no matter how many times I try and get him to clap he just gets frustrated, he just wants to be exploring things and his toys all the time, I don't know what else I do, has anyone got any tips or just I information on child development it would be really appreciated- thank you so much

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You haven't done anything wrong, sometimes it is just that they are a bit behind and its nothing more than that, either way you wouldn't get an answer as to whether it was at this age.
I have a child with significant delays with probable ASD, so I know telling you not to worry isn't going to help.
What I can say is that anything speech and language help development and therapies are play based or quite simple for children that young so there are things you could do together to help them.

Things like copying sounds they make as part of something called intensive interaction, offering choices between two things, and keeping language as simple as possible would be a good place to start. Also music and nursery rhymes can be great for them to engage in language, my son eventually learnt to clap after a lot of if you're happy and you know it clap your hands. Try to make it natural activities throughout the day and avoid telling them to say x, its hard but keep pressure off as much as you can.

Speech and language UK has a lot of advice including an example, and also will book a call with you if you need to talk things over with someone, i'd highly recommend speaking to them https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/help-for-families/resource-library-for-families/supporting-babies-early-communication-skills/

I'm pretty sure mine was clapping at a year, but waving and pointing only started a few weeks ago and she's 16 months old now. There are big windows for when they should do this stuff and it's all too easy to worry if they don't hit the averages. Its very likely everything is fine. One of my friends had a baby who didn't walk until age 2, another had a baby who was nearly 3 when he started talking, both are now developmentally normal pre teens.

@hol92 how's your ds doing now? I've got the same worries with mine :(

@scousemouse92 he actually started pointing and clapping randomly a few weeks ago, still no waving and doesn't really say any words, he kind of started saying mama and dada but think only because he liked the sounds not actually knowing what they mean but it's not very often he's also still not walking, how old is your little one? X

@hol92 he's 12 months. Has an older brother who i think was getting pretty much top scores on all the ASQ assessments. DS2 is in grey on communication and no gesturing. He babbles and I'd say is very noisy but is no way near as with it as DS1 was. Shouldn't compare but it is natural to as it's what I was used to without even thinking about it. Glad your DS started gesturing :) hopefully mine will to soon

Hi OP, just wondering how this worked out for you and your little one? My baby is also 12 months and not clapping or waving. She’s also quite behind physically..

I promise I completely understand where you are coming from as I'm a serial 'Googler' and 'comparer' and our little ones appear to be at a similar stage and a similar age

My little one is also 12 months and doesn't wave, clap or point. He will clap when you clap his hands together but stop as soon as you remove your hands.
He was a late starter according to Google. Teeth didn't come through until 10 months now he has 4 and more on the way, up until a few weeks ago he couldn't pull himself up and now he's cruising around furniture and even letting go and balancing for a few seconds before falling on his bum, so he's a very fast learner once he initially learns.
I think what I'm trying to say is try not to over think it or worry too much because our little one will start when we least expect it.

I'm a first time dad and I am a VERY frequent mumsnet reader, but very rarely reply to anything but I have been where you are (hence the reason for being on mumsnet this morning reading about pointing, waving and other such developmental stages!) seeking reassurance and advice, so just wanted you to know you are not alone in that.

Oh wow, I just realised this post is 5 months old so I'm sure your situation is slightly different now :) best of luck

Any updates OP? My baby is now 18 months and still doesn’t have any gestures 😔

@ToeKneeBeee@Golaz
hey! So my little boy is now 2 1/2 and is on the waiting list to be diagnosed with autism, but looking back now there were a lot ! More signs that he was, he had barely any eye contact, he never answered to his name and still doesn’t, he couldn’t care less if he was left alone, he stims a hell of a lot not just the odd flap of the arms, very late walker and crawler

I actually now have a little girl who is nearly 12 months and wrote a post the other day about how she isn’t doing any of the gestures too, but she has good eye contact, cries when left, answers to her name etc. and yes I am still worried about her but I think it’s because my little boy is autistic so I’m looking for signs in her

I guess what I’m trying to say is try not to worry about gestures (I know easier said than done as I’m still worried about my little girl) there will be so many other things they would be doing/not doing if there was anything wrong

I hope this helps some how as I know how awful it is to worry, I’m now going through it again but I keep trying to tell myself what I’ve just said on here, there are so many things she is doing :) just not gestures and I’m hoping that will come in time x

Hi. I wonder if your daughter started with gestures?

@hol92 hi. I wonder if your daughter started with gestures?

hey! Honestly about a week ago she woke up and randomly started pointing at everything! She also waves now :) not all of the time but she definitely does it now, still no clapping but I do feel a lot better. That she’s started doing them :)

@hol92 ah Thad so good and reassure hear! Thanks for replying!

@Golaz how is your baby i am in the dame boat 12mnth old no waving clapping