One-Year-Old Girl Gift Ideas

By their first birthday, babies begin learning to socialize but don't expect too much like sharing; that concept comes with time and patience. Too your baby learns what an item is for, as an example, she will manipulate a cup, spoon or hairbrush.

A word of caution: She'll absorb everything around her and may pick up mommy's lipstick, so be careful. She loves to 'find' things by remembering where they are kept (I'm thinking my pots and pans cabinet).

This picnic basket helps hone those first 'big people' actions regarding food and placement.

You can read more about these milestones at CDC.gov but remember, these learning skills are just a guideline and every 1-year-old is a unique learner.

Make Up Your Own Games

Here's a fun learning game I made up called, 'Get Into the Act'

 I'm a big fan of teaching kids through fun interaction. Encourage your baby girl to role play.

 Here's what I did:

 I assigned my boys a 'character' they had to emulate. I gave each a different name and included a family status like, "Cam, you're going to be a man named Bradley who likes to eat chicken nuggets."

 These simple 'rules' we so much fun when we literally 'got into the act.'

According to cdc.gov, one-year-olds begin to establish bonds with those closest to her. This relationship extends to her toys, too, they say.

At just a few months older, you'll most likely have to peel your baby off your trousers. My twins would scream, the octave range seemingly threatened to break the sound barrier if I so much as stepped outside to trim my roses (despite my husband's presence).

So, it's no surprise that babydolls and plush toys (like teddy bears) are often a favorite with girls.

Opting for soft dolls is a good idea for safety reasons, should your baby sleep with it. Make sure you check all accessory pieces.

Too you want to be sure there's no loose parts that may prevent a choking hazard.

NOTE: Some dolls have pacifiers and while cute, you can bet your baby girl will put the binkie to her mouth as part of their learning and emulating others, just as she's expected to do at her age.

Remind yourself to be diligent when selecting toys and/or other gifts for one-year-olds until she's at least three-years-old; then revisit appropriateness of toys with your girl's doctor.

As I touched on above, a favorite 'game' I played with my toddlers was 'Get Into the Act' where I would assign each twin a person they would have to be.

Here's how I fashioned it for doll houses:

For one twin I would tell, "Cam, you're going to be a daddy named James who has a new baby and he works at a bank." For my other son, I might assign a mommy role who has a job at a grocery store."

And I might give myself a role or allow the boys to assign who I would be.

You'll learn so much about how your one-year-old sees the world. Too, I'd pick up on things they're misunderstanding about people, manners, respect for other, etc. and save the correction/lesson for later, after play or the next day.

While it's true doll houses have no pages and scripted assignments, these toys are invaluable for bringing your kids closer to you, relating to others and empathizing. There's so many life lesson to be broached through this role-playing game and you'll both love love this special time together.

What one-year-old isn't busy during her every waking minute? I called this stage 'Rinse n' Repeat.' Obviously, that's a mommy term not at all medical.

 I kept my little ones busy with toys they could get up and go with. This Boikido push toy has the cutest bucket where one-year-olds can put toys in, wheel them around and take them out. Then, "rinse and repeat."

 At the end of the day, your baby girl can put all her toys back in the wagon keeping her room tidy. I liked making a game of cleaning up. We had our own 'Clean Up!' song where I taught them which toys were safe to throw a short distance (my boys were 'throwers').

 I fared better with teaching my kids a safer way to throw and what items were okay, than just saying no to everything. Obviously, some things are non-negotiable but I did bend with their wagon toys and we're all still alive.