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Normal 1 year old behaviour?

11 replies

EasilyBored · 02/01/2013 12:22

I don't know if I'm being really really PFB or I'm just ignorant of normal child behaviour, but I'm wondering if the things that DS (1) is doing are typical for his age? He has totally average development in terms of mobility (just getting going with walking now, super fast on all fours still) and verbally (babbles loads, knows a few words that he uses appropriately 'dada' 'cat' 'sock', ahem, when asked to say mama he blows raspberries. Cheeky sod). He's always been a happy, sociable little thing - doesn't scare easily at loud noises or new or busy places, happy to be passed around, happy to be left alone while I cook or MN ,is a total granny magnet and is a dab hand at getting biscuits out of old ladies.

BUT, he doesn't really 'play' very much with toys. He rampages around, and his favourite thing to do it hit things, and hit two things together. He is pretty brutal with our poor cat, no matter how many times we show him how to gently stroke him and encourage him when he's nice. He smacks people in the face and seems to think it's funny to be told to be kind and not hit. And nothing holds his attention for more than a minute. He's not interested in the TV, and goes from toy to toy, pulling everything off shelves but only playing (mainly just chewing them) with things for a few seconds and then discarding them. He understands some games, like using the shape sorter - he gets that the things need to go in the holes, but he gets bored so quickly that he never really manages to do it. All he really seems to do with toys is chew them (he was a late teether so we're still just getting numbers 5 and 6 through at the minute).

When he's tired he also does a weird thing where he pats himself on the head and kind of sways side to side (like a bored animal at the zoo) occasionally. But it's not repetitive (he just does it once or twice).

Sorry this is so long - all my friend's babies are a couple of months older than him, and due to illness and busyness, we didn't spend a lot of time with them when they were his age, so I have no idea if I'm just being an obsessive PFB parent who thinks too much, and what he is doing (charging around bashing stuff against other stuff) is totally normal. Or if it's not, and these are the early signs of something being wrong?

Tell me if I'm being stupid, please? Sad

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5madthings · 02/01/2013 12:44

He is normal!!! Very very normal.

The hitting is a phase as is finding your reaction to it funny. Instead if saying no all the time, take his hand and show him.how to be gentle and say 'gentle hands'

At his age i wouldnt expect him to play with toys as such, very normal.

Re the cat its a case of being firm and repetituve and showing him.how to be gentle, he will get there eventually!

Honestly he is fine, he dealt very well with the madthings at his last visit and he did play with dd at the toy cooker.

Seriously he is fine and normal!!!!

EasilyBored · 02/01/2013 12:56

I'm just worried that he has zero attention span (except for that toy kitchen, which he loved) for toys. He likes to 'play' with us (hiding behind the sofa and playing peekaboo) and is very much happy to play rough and tumble and wrestling. Maybe he's just not into toys that much?

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5madthings · 02/01/2013 13:00

Honestly very normal.for a 12mth old not to be into toys. Give him a couple of saucepans and a wooden spoon so he can bang and he will be happy!

I promise you he is totally normal xx

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lopsided · 02/01/2013 13:17

I have a 1yr old, youngest of 3 so he does play a little (stacks cups and puts things in things). But he likes to bash for attention, in fact I just removed a truck from him that he was hitting his brothers head with. The older one was watching tv and therefore 'ignoring' him.

He sounds just like your lad. I'm afraid they don't really play with stuff for any length of time til at least 18 months to 2.

SuperDuperTrooper · 02/01/2013 14:52

Well I'm not experienced enough to state if it is normal behaviour or not, however my 1 yr old DS sounds very similar and I was wondering if he was ok too! His attention span is virtually non existent and flits from one toy to the next. I started to worry when a friend with a dd 3 months younger than mine told me she played with her bib on her own for an hour! An hour!!! A bib! I can't get mine to play with the most interesting toys for a minute....

EasilyBored · 02/01/2013 15:45

The only thing DS will play with for more than a minute is a wooden hammer (thanks 5mad) and by 'play' I mean bash things. The TV stand, the floor, the cat, his own head, all his toys, the cat again... Confused

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parsnipcake · 02/01/2013 15:51

Totally normal. My 1 yr old just likes to smash things. He has loads of tots but just uses them as missiles. He will concentrate on some things - pulling the fireguard off the wall, ripping up books for example!

ShowOfHands · 02/01/2013 15:56

1yo ds is ok with imaginative play, colouring (scribbling), stacking etc as he copies his big sister but his absolute favourite games are hammering (anything), screwdrivering, hoovering/sweeping with menace and banging items together. Actual toys he ignores. He likes to copy so a spray bottle and cloth, broom or some saucepans are his kind of level. We also have a lot of success with allowing him to empty the cupboards.

The patting/swaying is just self soothing (ds pulls his ears) and re shape sorters, ds takes off the lid, bungs all shapes in and yells 'ta da!' before finding a stick to drum on the lid with.

He sounds normal!

wanderingalbatross · 02/01/2013 16:00

Sounds like my DD at that age! She's 19mo now, and only in the last month or so has really shown any interest in her books and toys. Now she'll sometimes sit down for as much as 2 minutes and play with something :) I think at a year old, the urge to practice walking/moving and other gross motor skills is much stronger than the urge to play.

EasilyBored · 02/01/2013 16:10

Phew, am glad to hear that he sounds like he's doing normal one-year-old things!

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hostelgirl74 · 02/01/2013 21:43

My 13 month old sons favourite activity is to pull all the books from the bookshelf too and peekaboo. Concentration is something that has to be developed over time. By starting with short stories you can encourage this. I am a Nursery Nurse and can tell you at this age it is normal not to play with others but rather to do activities alongside other people. You can really help him right now by setting a good example - maybe sit next to him and play with something not trying to engage him, just looking interested and absorbed, he will wonder what you are doing and start to eventually copy. It sounds like maybe he is trying to get a reaction/your attention with the hitting or maybe just testing the water. Be consistent but don't use NO too often. Use it for really bad things, instead use distraction.

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