Your child has been actively watching the world around her for over a year now, and knows a lot about everyday objects. She understands what many things are used for and when to use them. For example, she knows that cups are used to hold liquids and will purposely use cups during bath time, scooping up water and pouring it out, or to drink out of when she’s thirsty. She also knows that shaking her rattles or maracas will make noise! At 12-18 months old, her Knowledge of Common Objects has developed through observation, exploration, and imitation (of you!).^1,2

Your child will learn about the physical features of her environment and the relationships between her actions, objects, and the space around her by exploring the world.³ She has slowly developed her knowledge of spatial relationships (i.e. the understanding of where things are in space) as she has watched objects move, fitted puzzle pieces and shapes into openings, and looked at things from different perspectives.⁴ As her understanding of spatial relationships grows, her sense of “how things move and fit into space, and the properties of objects” increases.¹

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In addition, she will gain Knowledge of Common Objects by watching the familiar people around her use objects during the course of daily living. As she watches you do certain things every day, like pouring juice into a cup, brushing your teeth with a toothbrush, or answering the telephone, she will begin to understand what those common objects are used for. At first, she’ll start off exploring them by mouthing, banging, throwing, and shaking. But as she reaches 12-15 months, she will strengthen her learning by copying your daily actions and the use of these common objects.⁵ You may see her hold your cellphone against her ear or try to brush her hair. Although these moments may be brief and random to begin with, this is the beginning of her pretend play!

To further your child’s understanding of how to use common objects, encourage her to use her toys and everyday objects as they are meant to be used. For instance, if she is playing with some kitchenware and “cooking” dinner, show her how to use the wooden spoon to stir the “soup” in her pot or use the ladle to scoop soup into a bowl to be served. Give her simple, one-step instructions to keep things clear.⁶ In the soup example, ask her to pour soup (water) from her pot into an empty bowl with a ladle or spoon and see how she does with the task. If she looks confused or doesn’t understand, try modeling the action and repeating it several times. As you show her what to do, talk about what you’re doing in detail. Say something like, “We pour soup into the bowl with this ladle. See, you scoop it up and pour it into the bowl. Now you try.”

Another thing your child can do at this age is fetch objects when they’re named, due to her greater vocabulary and knowledge of where things should be located. It’s a good idea to keep her things in the same places, so that she knows where to find them and put them back.⁷ This will be helpful when she looks for her favorite toys or grabs a specific doll when you ask her if she’d like to play with it.

She also knows where her favorite foods are kept! You may find her looking for in the pantry for her box of cereal puffs when she wants some for a snack. Let your child know where things are stored and ask her to pick up and put away her toys before playing with new ones. This practice not only supports her Knowledge of Common Objects, but it also builds Self-Concept by encouraging her to be independent.

Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your child’s development of Knowledge of Common Objects skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Introduce and model the use of common objects. Encourage your child to develop an understanding of everyday life by giving her common objects that she sees you use routinely. Take every opportunity to model the correct use of these objects so that she can observe and copy your actions in her pretend playtime. A great example of this is handing her a spoon of her own to use during meal time! To further develop her Vocabulary Knowledge, consider using simple illustrated labels on common objects throughout the house⁶ so that Your child can more easily identify these objects and build an understanding that words and images carry meaning and are related.
2. Create a consistent play area to keep toys.⁷ With your child’s developing cognitive abilities, she’ll be able to remember where things are kept and can be found. Organize her room so that she knows where her toys and clothes are always kept. Be proactive in planning areas of exploration filled with child-safe objects and toys that your child is free to play with. Encourage her to name what she handles, and ask for her help when putting things away.
3. Read a variety of “first word” books. By 12-18 months, your child will be more and more able to identify and point out familiar objects you name in her picture books or even in real life. To develop her Knowledge of Common Objects and build her vocabulary skills, read a variety of simple “first word” books that illustrate common foods, clothes, toys, and household items she comes across throughout the course of the day. Name the objects you see on the page and ask her to point them out.⁶ As she advances, point to specific images in a book and ask her to name the objects to develop her verbal language skills. If your child is being introduced to new objects, try saying the new word several times as you point to it in the book or identify it in real life.

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Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Knowledge of Common Objects developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) she has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

• Understands what common objects are used for (e.g. telephone, keys, toothbrush, and hairbrush).

Sources:

¹California Department of Education. Cognitive Development Domain. California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/itf09cogdev.asp.

²Bandura, Albert (1971). Social Learning Theory. New York, NY: General Learning Press. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.jku.at/org/content/e54521/e54528/e54529/e178059/Bandura_SocialLearningTheory_ger.pdf.

³Clements, D.H. and Sarama, J. (Eds.) (2004). Engaging Young Children in Mathmatics: Standards for Early Childhood Educators. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

⁴Mangione, P.L.; Lally, J.R.; and Signer, S. (1992). Discoveries of Infancy: Cognitive Development and Learning. Sacramento, CA: Far West Laboratory and California Department of Education.

⁵Department of Health, Western Australia (2003). Pretend Play. Department of Health, Western Australia: Play and Learning Program (P.A.L.). Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://www.health.wa.gov.au/docreg/Education/Population/Child_Health/Play_and_Learning/HP1782_FS_7pretend_play.pdf.

⁶Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

⁷Texas Early Learning Council. Little Texans, Big Futures: Your Early Learning Guide for Infants, Toddlers, and Three-Year-Olds.

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Playful Bee

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Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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