[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-420012-105":59,"doc-detail-420012-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","16-gestures-by-16-months-children-should-learn-at-least-16-gestures-by-16-months","16 Gestures by 16 Months - Children Should Learn at Least 16 Gestures by 16 Months","","16 Gestures by 16 Months explains early communication development in the first year of life, emphasizing that social interaction with caregivers supports language, play, and readiness for reading and later school success. The text shows how observing early gestures can reveal important communication milestones, noting research linking gesture development from 9 to 16 months with language ability two years later. It outlines gesture expectations by month from 9 through 16 and highlights the value of early identification of potential difficulties.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/16-gestures-by-16-months-children-should-learn-at-least-16-gestures-by-16-months/420012/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/16-gestures-by-16-months-children-should-learn-at-least-16-gestures-by-16-months/420012.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jake","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-07","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Why are early gestures important for a child’s communication development?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Early gestures support social communication by helping children connect with caregivers, learn language concepts, and build readiness for future reading. They also help prevent and address frustration-related behavior problems.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What is the significance of gestures between 9 and 16 months?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Research indicates that gesture development from 9 to 16 months predicts language ability about two years later. Since preschool language skills relate to academic success, meeting gesture milestones by 16 months is emphasized.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What gestures should children show at 9 to 16 months?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The guide lists expected gestures by month: 9 months give and shake head, 10 months reach and raise arms, 11 months show and wave, 12 months open-hand point and tap, 13 months clap and blow a kiss, 14 months index finger point and shhh gesture, 15 months head nod plus thumbs up/hand up, and 16 months other symbolic gestures.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},420012,1790846626,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":19,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":52,"preview_page_count":4},962084928904,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","16 Gestures by 16 Months  \nChildren Should Learn at Least 16 Gestures by 16 Months   \nGood communication development starts in the first year of life and goes far beyond learning how to talk. Communication development has its roots in social interaction with parents and other caregivers during everyday activities. Your child’s growth in social communication is important because it helps your child connect with you, learn language and play concepts, and sets the stage for learning to read and future success in school. Good com-  \nmunication skills are the best tool to prevent behavior problems and make it easier to work through moments of frustration that all infants and toddlers face.  \nBy observing children’s early gestures, you can obtain a critical snapshot of their communication development. Even small lags in communication milestones can add up and impact a child’s rate of learning that is difficult to change later. Research with young children indicates that the development of gestures from 9 to 16 months predicts language ability 2 years later, which is significant  \nbecause preschool language skills predict academic success. So it’s important to remember that by 16 months, children should have at least 16 gestures.  \nLet’s consider how gestures develop. While the order or specific gestures may vary slightly, children should be using at least 2 new gestures each month between 9 and 16 months.  \nEarlier is Better  \nCatching communication and language difficulties early can prevent potential problems later with behavior, learning, reading, and social interaction. Research on brain development reminds us that“earlier IS better” when teaching young children. The most critical period for learning is during the first three years of a child’s life. Pathways in the brain develop as infants and young children learn from exploring and interacting with people and objects in their environment. The brain’s architecture is developing the most rapidly during this critical period and is the most sensitive to experiential learning. By age 3, most of the major brain circuits are mature, and later it becomes more difficult to make significant changes in a child’s growth trajectory. For more information, see “The Science of Early Childhood Development” at the Center on the Developing Child | Harvard University.  \n9 Months: Give, Shake head  \nAt 9 months, children’s earliest gestures begin to develop from their actions—and the reactions of others. Children first learn to take an object. Then, as they are able to control their hand movements to release and drop an object, they gain experience from their parent holding out their hand to catch it—and they learn to give.  \nChildren learn to shake their head to indicate “no” by turning away from food they do not like and then looking back to see their parent respond by moving the undesired food away.  \nDeveloped by the FIRST WORDS® Project. [www.firstwordsproject.com](www.firstwordsproject.com) Copyright © 2014 Florida State University. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 4  \n10 Months: Reach, Raise arms  \nAt 10 months, children learn to reach through exploration and experiences with others, as they reach to take an object and to be picked up.  \nAs they learn to anticipate the reactions of others, they use a reach gesture as a signal—first, with their arm reaching out, then, with their open hand facing up, and with their arms raised to ask to be picked up.  \n11 Months: Show, Wave  \nAt 11 months, children are motivated to share their interests with others. They learn to holdup and show objects to get others to look and notice what they’re interested in.  \n12 Months: Open-hand Point, Tap  \nAt 12 months, children use an open-hand point with the fingers spread, and a tap with the fingers together, as an indicative gesture to draw the attention of others to things of interest. Children’s gestures become more clearly intentional and are often produced with emphasis and are now accompanied by grunts or earl","cbCaiqTBg3iRddfR","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqTBg3iRddfR","pdf",1183018,"English","# Early gestures and why they matter\n## How gesture development predicts later language\n## Earlier is better: learning in the first three years\n## Monthly gesture guide (9 to 16 months)\n## Watchfulness for symbolic communication","[{\"question\":\"Why are early gestures important for a child’s communication development?\",\"answer\":\"Early gestures support social communication by helping children connect with caregivers, learn language concepts, and build readiness for future reading. They also help prevent and address frustration-related behavior problems.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the significance of gestures between 9 and 16 months?\",\"answer\":\"Research indicates that gesture development from 9 to 16 months predicts language ability about two years later. Since preschool language skills relate to academic success, meeting gesture milestones by 16 months is emphasized.\"},{\"question\":\"What gestures should children show at 9 to 16 months?\",\"answer\":\"The guide lists expected gestures by month: 9 months give and shake head, 10 months reach and raise arms, 11 months show and wave, 12 months open-hand point and tap, 13 months clap and blow a kiss, 14 months index finger point and shhh gesture, 15 months head nod plus thumbs up/hand up, and 16 months other symbolic gestures.\"}]","16 Gestures by 16 Months - Children Should Learn at Least 16 Gestures by 16 Months | PDF",1790619153]