Your 19-month-old baby is growing fast and daily learns new skills and words. You will see some significant changes this month. Cherish these moments as babies grow up so fast. Knowing how an average 19-month-old develops will help you enjoy this rapid growth process.
On their own, the fact that your little one now talks like a waterfall, recognises colours, and has grown taller and gained weight does not make much sense. We need to observe these developments and evaluate them as a whole. Each new skill and trait form the cornerstones and foundations of your child’s personality. So, what awaits you this month? What can a 19-month-old baby do? Let’s examine this together…
Measurements at Nineteen Months
Human beings grow rapidly during infancy. As your baby starts eating more, it is normal to see a significant increase in the weight and length of your 19-month-old baby. The table below shows 19-month-old babies’ average weight, height, and head circumference, according to the World Health Organization (WHO):
| Gender | Length (cm) | Weight | Head circumference |
| Girl | 76.2 cm- 87.3 cm | 8.3 kg – 13.3 kg | 43.8 cm- 49 cm |
| Boy | 78.1 cm- 88.4 cm | 9 kg -13.7 kg | 45 cm- 50 cm |
Until twenty-four months, there are still regular health check-ups, where your baby is weighed and measured. Do not panic if your 19-month-old baby’s weight, height, or head circumference are slightly below or above the limit values. Remember that every child is unique and individual differences are normal at every stage of development. Your little one might be tall and well-built or petite. However, if your child’s measurements diverge greatly from these reference values, you should consult a specialised physician. Also, around this time, boys generally grow more quickly than girls. This pattern will change during adolescence, but boys’ physical growth in late adolescence will again outpace that of girls.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development includes skills of processing, generalising, and understanding information by establishing new connections between brain cells. A 19-month-old baby should be able to display most of the following cognitive skills.
- Can find and match two identical objects. You can play games with matching cards suitable for your baby’s age.
- With the help of a few verbal instructions, your baby can arrange objects in the right order from small to large. Instead of saying, “This is wrong,” when your baby makes a mistake, you can give him brief instructions to help him get the order right.
- He can stack rings on a peg. It’s a little early for your baby to stack the rings in the correct order if they have different dimensions. For now, he should only be able to pass them over the peg.
- Starts developing problem-solving skills through trial and error. For example, he may crawl on a stool or pull an object towards him with a stick to get the object out of reach.
- Begins to anticipate the consequences of his actions. He knows the water will spill if he throws his cup on the floor. He will sometimes do this on purpose, not to make you angry, but to see what will happen to the cup and water and how you will react.
It is normal for your baby not to show all these behaviours and skills. Spending a lot of time together and stimulating your baby to develop these skills may speed up the process.
Language Development
Language development and cognitive development are directly related. Therefore, stimulating both simultaneously is very important for a 19-month-old baby. The language skills we expect during this period are as follows:
- He can understand more words than he can say. He may not be able to say “nose,” but he will show you his nose when you ask.
- Can say about ten to twenty words. Most are action words like “come, go, throw, hold, give, …”
- Your toddler will start to form short sentences by combining two words, such as “Mom gone,” “Daddy give,” or “Cat miaow.” This is called “telegraphic speech.”
- It’s time to get into the habit of reading books. Introduce the objects and people in the book to your baby. Then ask him who and what they are and encourage him to point them out.
- Give him a chance to speak. He may not be able to pronounce everything correctly, but instead of correcting your baby, encourage him and allow him to keep talking.
- Instead of correcting your child when he doesn’t get the word right or using the same incorrect words, repeating the right word in a grammatically correct, natural sentence is better. For example, if your toddler says “Give wa” if he wants water, you can respond with “Oh, you want some water, I will give it to you immediately.”
- Your toddler begins to distinguish colours. When you say, “Give me the red ball,” or “Bring the green toy,” he will choose the right one among the other colours.
Psychomotor Development
Psychomotor skills result from a combination of both physical and psychosocial skills. Even if a child’s physique has developed to a certain extent, he also needs to be psychologically ready. For example, a child may be physically capable of climbing but also requires the courage and self-confidence to climb.
- Most babies are not yet ready to be potty trained as they cannot sufficiently control their muscles.
- Your toddler walks more balanced now.
- Can climb stairs with support.
- Can walk backwards.
- Even though you may be scared that he will fall at any moment, he loves to run fast.
- He can pick something up from the ground by bending down.
- With your help, he can go up and down a small slide.
- He can now climb into chairs and sofas. Therefore, you should be careful not to leave the windows open next to a couch or chair, not to forget a chair on the balcony, and not to leave the balcony door open.
- He can stack a few blocks on top of each other.
- He loves ball games. He can roughly catch the ball by hugging it and then throw it back to you.
- He can throw his toys into the toy basket. You can now tidy up together after playing.
- Using his fork may still be difficult, but he can use a spoon now. And even if he spills, he can bring the food from his plate to his mouth.
- Can grasp a jumbo-sized pencil with three fingers.
Social-Emotional Development
- Your little one’s ability to imitate forms the basis of his social and emotional development. In the first place, a 19-month-old baby imitates his parents’ and primary caregivers’ emotions and behaviours.
- He is constantly watching you. That’s why, just like you, he may want to help set the table, put the dishes in the machine, or even fold the laundry. If you can do it, he believes he can do it too. Encourage this instead of saying, “No, you’re a baby; you can’t do it.” Try to give him manageable tasks, like taking the laundry from the basket for you to hang it up. He can also arrange his unbreakable plates, forks and spoons on the table or highchair.
- It is normal for your 19-month-old to experience separation anxiety when you leave him in someone else’s care to go to work or the market. He may believe that you will never come back and cry. Don’t try to sneak away to avoid this. This will only increase his fear of abandonment. Allow him to cry while being consoled by the caregiver and explain that you must go now but will be back soon.
- This is the time he can start learning the rules of courtesy. You can start by saying, “thank you.” However, at this age, we shouldn’t expect our little ones to be able to share their toys or belongings yet. Instead of forcing them, help them understand the importance of sharing by modelling this behaviour.
- Your toddler will dance happily to the sound of music.
Nutrition at Nineteen Months
If the canines and first molars have not yet emerged, they may do so at nineteen months. As your baby’s teeth and hand-and-mouth coordination develop, you can gradually expand his menu.
Don’t expect your toddler to sit calmly at the table and eat everything you have cooked in the amount you wish. He not only wants to show his social independence but also his autonomy while eating. Avoid turning on the television to make him sit at the table to feed him. Like that, he will eat without even realising it. Instead of unknowingly filling his stomach, he needs to see, feel, smell, and taste the foods he eats. Including your little one in the family dinners now lays the foundation for his future table manners.
Make sure your baby can easily eat the food you prepare by boiling or steaming it and giving it in portions that he can finish. You can encourage him to eat on his own by preparing finger foods.
Sleep is Important!
A 19-month-old baby needs an average of thirteen to fourteen hours of sleep, consisting of a nap of about two hours and around eleven to twelve hours of night-time sleep.
Don’t expect your baby to quietly go to sleep right after doing lots of fun activities. Try to start the sleep routine at the same time every day and have some downtime before bed, like reading, listening to calming music or giving a massage.
It is normal for your little one to scream and cry at night. Often, this happens during sleep. If you notice this, avoid waking up your baby and try to calm him by rocking the crib, singing a favourite lullaby, or rocking him in your arms. You will see that he will be sound asleep again in a little while.
Play at Nineteen Months
Toddlers learn best through play and age-appropriate activities. Effective learning is only possible if they actively participate in these games and activities. The following games and activities will support his development, help him take confident steps towards the future and be a happier child.
Laundry folding
Fold laundry with your little one who knows how to match identical objects. Ask him to find the pairs of socks and put them together. This activity teaches your child to collaborate, strengthens your bond, and stimulates the development of your baby’s matching skills.
Play this game with socks of different colours and designs so that he can distinguish them easily.
Car race
Cars are not just for boys. Both girls and boys can enjoy this game.
Create two lanes on the floor with painter’s tape. Tie a rope to your cars. Try to get the car from start to finish by pulling the string and walking backwards without crossing the line.
Edible-Inedible
This is a fun game to reinforce language development. Ask your little one whether familiar objects can be eaten or not. For example: “Do you eat bananas?” “Do you eat a plate?”, “Do you eat broccoli?” etc.
Stacking the Rings
Make a ball of play dough and vertically place a straw in the middle. Then make loops with pipe cleaners (chenille stems). Give a few brief directions and encourage your little one to stack the rings on the straw.
You can also make pegs of different sizes and ask your baby to stack as many rings as possible. This will create awareness that the longer straw can hold more loops than the shorter straw.
Shape Sorter Toys
Shape sorter toys have geometric shapes like a star, triangle, oval, square and many more. The child needs to match the figure to the right slot in the box or on the board. When he cannot force the star-shaped object through the round hole, he establishes a relationship between the hole and the object’s shape. He will learn to match the different objects to the correct slots by generalising this.
Matching Cards
Matching cards are great for a 19-month-old baby who enjoys matching. Start with two or three pairs of cards. Turn the cards face up and ask your child to find their match and give them to you. Praise his efforts while playing.
During pregnancy, you took care of your overall health and never neglected the prenatal care check-ups to give birth to a healthy baby. This prenatal period, which lasted about nine months, passed quickly. The real adventure begins now, after birth. We know parents always want to do what’s best for their children. Therefore, we want to remind you how useful it is to know all the details about 19-month-old babies’ development.
Shopping Advice – What to Buy?
You can support your 19-month-old baby’s development by playing with a geometric shape-sorter toy and challenging him to make pairs with matching cards. A variety of cars is also wonderful for playing different kinds of games. And don’t forget to buy a new toothbrush every three months, so you can properly care for your little one’s valuable teeth. Have a look at ebebek.com, read other caregivers’ comments and buy this and more at affordable prices.
It’s Your Turn Now – Write a Comment
How are you raising your 19-month-old baby? What challenges did you experience this month? How did you overcome them? We welcome your comments so that other caregivers can learn.
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