Development isn’t a race. It’s a flow. 

Every child—and parent—is figuring it out at their own pace.

Instead of milestones, we encourage you to focus on this amazing moment.

Your child’s brain makes more than one million neural connections per second in these first three years. Simple, consistent interactions with them today can have profound, lifelong benefits.

Here’s how little one’s brain is developing this month, and how you can support their progress.

Developmental Highlight

Little one’s vocabulary started with nouns—people, places, and things. Now they’re ready for verbs, action words. Research has shown that as children learn to label actions, they gain a more flexible and holistic perspective on the world, because verbs provide context on nouns. 

Helping little one notice and label actions as they happen empowers language development and deepens the level of communication they can have with you and others. It also fosters a more active growth mindset, which we’ll explore more in month 25. By labeling verbs, you’re showing little one how many different things they can do—and how many words there are for these actions.

Don’t worry if little one isn’t repeating verbs back right away. This stage is more about the language you’re modeling than the language they can produce. Soon, little one will be connecting verbs to nouns to form longer sentences. 

Brain-Building Activity

What’s Happening?

Routine: Anytime

Throughout the day with little one, label actions as they happen, emphasizing the verbs. You can reinforce verbs by asking and then answering a question. “What’s the dog doing? The dog is eating.” 

• Start by labeling what you and little one are doing. No action is too small. “Mommy’s putting on your socks. You’re wiggling your toes.”
  
  

• Direct little one’s attention to other people. “What’s Daddy doing? Daddy’s cooking breakfast.”
  
  

• Point out actions while reading picture books. “What’s the bear doing? The bear’s sleeping!” Or try searching for an activity: “Let’s find all the walking on this page.”
  
  

• Use toys to talk through what objects can do. “The ball is rolling. Let’s stack your blocks.”
  
  

You’ve Got This

Use this stage of verb awareness to take notice of all that you’re doing while you do it. 

You’re waking up early. You’re feeding little one. You’re loving little one. You’re yawning, because you’re sleepy. 

This simple exercise forces you to slow down a bit and focus on the present, bringing more mindfulness to your daily life. Studies have shown that mindful action reduces emotional reactivity and improves daily performance. It can also help lower stress levels, a natural byproduct of being a great parent.