11-Month Baby Development: Physical, Cognitive, and Social Progress

If your child has been completely healthy during these 11 months, then you will feel that by the time you reach this stage, your child has become very agile and naughty. Physical development is also clearly visible in the child. Keeping this in mind, the average weight of an 11-month-old baby should be around 20.8 pounds i.e. around 9.5 kg for a baby boy and 19.2 pounds i.e. around 8.5 kg for a baby girl. As the child becomes active, his activities increase, the weight of the child does not increase as fast as it used to earlier.

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On the other hand, if we talk about the height of the child, then every month the height of the child increases by about half an inch on an average and according to this, by the age of 11 months, the average height of the child should be 28.7 inches for a baby girl and 29.3 inches for a baby boy. However, if the weight or height of your child is less or more than this, then there is no need to worry, you can talk to your child's pediatrician about this.

By the age of 11 months, the five senses of the baby start developing in a better way. The child's ability to see starts improving and he starts recognizing familiar faces and things even from a distance. Along with this, the baby also starts giving different types of reactions through his face. If something is moving or in motion, then the baby can easily see it. During this time, the hearing ability of the child also develops. Overall, the child starts seeing and hearing simultaneously, due to which he starts learning new things about what is happening around him.

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Children of this age not only grow fast but also learn new things even faster. Along with this, they also try to become self-reliant. This is the reason why they try to eat on their own, try to bring the spoon or cup to their mouth by holding it with their hands, stand up on their own and take steps forward to walk. If you are also giving a baby walker to your child with the intention of helping him walk, then it would be better that you do not give it to the child. Since children have a habit of bending forward, baby walkers can be dangerous and the baby can also get hurt. During this time, along with the motor skills of children, their grip to hold anything also starts getting stronger.

Children between 11 and 12 months start recognizing themselves by their name as well as others. The child starts recognizing his parents as well as grandparents. He even learns to say yes and no while trying to talk. Children of this age love music and tunes and they also get excited by listening to music. You can tell nursery rhymes, musical stories etc. to children of this age.

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Along with this, children also start following some very simple instructions. For example, if you tell the child to put this toy down or give me that book, then the child listens to you and follows it. An 11-month-old baby also starts recognizing his things. For example, if you tell him to pick up a ball or play with a train, then it is possible that he starts looking for these things around him.

By the age of 11 months, your child starts trying to eat on his own. Whether it is eating using a spoon or using fingers. Even if you are feeding your baby solid food, continue to feed him milk even now. Make sure to feed the baby at least 450 to 550 ml of milk every day. If you want, instead of feeding milk from a bottle, you can feed milk from the same sip cup from which you give water to the child.

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Talking about solid food, you do not need to prepare separate food for an 11 month old child. The food that you are preparing for the rest of the family members, you can feed it to your child, just make sure that the food is mashed a little so that the child can swallow it easily. Also, there should not be any such thing in the food that gets stuck in the throat of the child and causes choking. Apart from this, cow's milk, salt, sugar, honey, whole nuts - all these things should also not be given to an 11 month old child.

If you want, you can feed your 11 month old child all kinds of seasonal fruits and vegetables, cereals, pulses, all kinds of dairy products except cow's milk like curd, paneer, cheese etc. If you eat non-veg, then you can feed non-veg to your child in minced form. But during this time, it is very important to keep the quantity in mind. Feed the baby vegetables, fruits, cereals etc. in the amount of one-fourth to half cup and protein or non-veg should not exceed 3-4 spoons. 

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Even if your child is 11 months old, it is still better to put him to sleep on his back. However, it is possible that the child turns to his side and sleeps on his stomach while sleeping at night. But there is no need to worry during this time because once your child is more than 8 months old, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome gradually decreases. By the age of 11 months, many children learn to turn comfortably from either the right or left side and many children like to sleep on their stomach.

An 11 month old child sleeps for about 13 to 14 hours daily. During this, he sleeps for 11-12 hours at night and naps for 1 to 2 hours during the day. However, only if you are very lucky, your child will be able to sleep comfortably for 11-12 hours at night without waking up. This is because usually only 1 in every 4 children of this age is able to sleep for 8 hours at night without waking up. Most children who wake up at night are either hungry, or they are feeling too hot or cold, or they are in pain due to teething. If you feed or feed the child well and put him to sleep at night, then the child will not wake up in the middle of the night.

(Read more: Baby development three months after birth)

Your child is just a few days away from celebrating his first birthday and the child is rapidly developing. In such a situation, you have to keep some important things in mind for how parents can help the child.

Talk a lot to the child
Most children love to talk a lot. They want someone to sit and talk with them throughout the day and try to speak to them. So talk to the child as much as possible. About your day, what you are doing, what you are making, anything. This will help the child understand words and the more you talk to the child, the better it will be for him. By doing this, the communication skills of the child also start developing in a better way.

Play with the child
Give the child such toys that develop his imagination and creativity like a game of blocks or cardboard boxes etc. If you want, you can also take the child out of the house to the park for some time and play. When parents spend time with the child, they feel safe.

Tell the child a story
The best way to promote the child's imagination and speaking ability is to tell the child a story, tell nursery rhymes, sing songs, etc.

Encourage him to move forward
If the child needs something, you should pick it up and give it to him, rather than encouraging the child to go ahead and pick it up himself. The more activities the child does throughout the day, the stronger his muscles will become. But during this time it is very important that you keep your home safe so that the child does not get hurt.

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The 11-month-old child develops rapidly, where he is growing physically, mentally, and socially. At this age, the child tries to stand independently and walk a few steps. His ability to understand language also increases, and he starts using simple words and gestures. It is important to take care of the child's nutrition, which includes breastfeeding as well as solid and nutritious food like fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Play, adequate sleep, and a loving environment in the child's daily routine play an important role in his overall care.