Physical Development and Motor Skills in Infants and Toddlers: What Parents Should Know
New York Child Resource Center, Inc., works with families across New York City whose children are in the earliest years of development. Parents often ask us about physical development, motor skills, walking, coordination, milestones, and everyday independence.
This page addresses some of the most common questions families have about movement, coordination, play, and daily routines. It is not meant to diagnose your child, but it can help you better understand what may be part of typical development and what may be worth discussing with a professional.
When Should My Baby Start Walking?
Babies develop movement skills gradually. Before walking, many babies learn to roll, sit, crawl or move across the floor in their own way, pull to stand, cruise along furniture, and take steps with support.
Many children begin walking sometime around the end of the first year or during the early toddler period. Some children walk earlier, while others take more time, especially if they were born early, have had medical concerns, or simply develop motor confidence at a slower pace.
Parents may want to pay attention to the overall pattern of movement. A child who is pulling to stand, bearing weight through their legs, cruising, and becoming more confident may be moving toward walking even if they are not walking independently yet.
It may be worth seeking guidance if your child seems unusually stiff or floppy, strongly favors one side of the body, is not making progress with movement over time, or has lost motor skills they previously had.
Why Does My Toddler Walk on Their Toes?
Toe walking can be common when children are first learning to walk. Some toddlers walk on the balls of their feet for short periods and then naturally begin using a flatter foot position as they gain strength, balance, and coordination.
Some children toe walk out of habit, excitement, or sensory preference. Others may do it more often when barefoot, tired, running, or moving quickly through a familiar space.
Parents may want to notice whether the child can put their heels down, whether toe walking happens all the time or only sometimes, and whether there are other concerns with balance, stiffness, pain, falling, or development.
Toe walking that continues beyond the early walking stage, happens most of the time, appears with tightness or difficulty standing flat, or occurs alongside other developmental concerns may be worth discussing with a professional.
Why Does My Child Have Trouble With Balance or Climbing?
Balance and climbing develop through practice. Toddlers often wobble, fall, bump into things, or need extra help on stairs, playground equipment, couches, and uneven surfaces. Early movement can look messy before it becomes smooth.
Climbing requires strength, balance, planning, coordination, and confidence. Some children are cautious and avoid climbing, while others try before their bodies are fully ready. Both patterns can be seen during typical development.
Parents may want to look at whether their child is gaining new skills over time. A child may first climb onto low furniture, then climb down with help, then manage steps while holding a hand or railing.
It may be worth seeking guidance if your child falls much more than expected, avoids most movement play, seems fearful of ordinary physical activity, has trouble using both sides of the body together, or does not seem to be building strength and coordination over time.
What Can I Do If My Child Seems Clumsy or Uncoordinated?
Young children are still learning where their bodies are in space. They may trip, spill, drop toys, bump into furniture, or struggle with tasks that require both hands working together. Some clumsiness is expected during the infant and toddler years.
Practice through everyday play can support coordination. Pushing toys, stacking blocks, climbing safely, rolling balls, carrying objects, scribbling, turning pages, and helping with simple routines all give children chances to use their bodies in different ways.
It can help to offer activities that are safe, simple, and matched to your child’s current abilities. A child who feels successful is often more willing to keep trying, while a child who is pushed too far may avoid the activity altogether.
Parents may want to seek guidance if clumsiness is frequent, causes safety concerns, limits play, affects feeding or dressing, or appears with weakness, stiffness, poor balance, or delayed milestones.
How Can I Help My Child Play Independently?
Independent play develops gradually. Babies and toddlers often need an adult nearby before they can play on their own for even short periods. At first, independent play may last only a minute or two.
Children often play longer when the activity is familiar and easy to start. Simple toys, safe household objects, board books, blocks, cups, containers, soft balls, and pretend play items can give a child room to explore without needing constant adult direction.
Parents can help by starting play together and then slowly stepping back. You might show your child how to roll a car, stack two blocks, or place a toy in a container, then pause and let them try in their own way.
If a child has difficulty playing independently, it may be related to attention, motor skills, sensory needs, communication, problem-solving, or comfort with separation. It may be worth seeking guidance if your child rarely explores toys, cannot stay with any activity briefly, or seems unsure how to use objects in play.
How Can I Help My Child Learn Daily Routines?
Daily routines are an important part of early development. Dressing, washing hands, eating, cleaning up, getting shoes, and preparing for sleep all involve motor skills, understanding, memory, attention, and cooperation.
Young children usually learn routines through repetition. Doing the same steps in the same order can help a child understand what comes next. Simple language, gestures, and showing the action can make routines easier to follow.
It can help to give your child small jobs within a routine. A toddler may put socks in a basket, bring a diaper, push an arm through a sleeve, wipe the table with help, or place a toy back on a shelf.
Parents may want to seek guidance if daily routines are consistently very difficult, if your child does not seem to understand familiar steps, or if motor, sensory, attention, or communication challenges are making ordinary routines stressful for the child and family.
When Should My Child Be Potty Trained?
Toilet training depends on both body readiness and developmental readiness. Children need to notice body signals, stay dry for longer periods, get to the bathroom or potty, help with clothing, and understand what the routine means.
Many children begin showing readiness during the toddler years, often sometime after age 2, but the timing varies. Some children are ready earlier, and others need more time. Readiness signs are usually more useful than age alone.
A child may show readiness by staying dry for longer stretches, showing interest in the bathroom, telling an adult when they are wet or dirty, sitting briefly on a potty, or helping pull pants up and down. Accidents and setbacks are common even after a child begins learning.
Parents may want to seek guidance if toilet training is creating major distress, if constipation or pain is involved, or if a child has difficulty with the motor, sensory, communication, or routine-following parts of the process.
Why Does My Child Mouth or Chew on Everything?
Babies learn a lot through their mouths. Mouthing toys, fingers, blankets, and safe objects can be part of normal exploration, especially during infancy and teething. It helps children learn about texture, shape, temperature, and comfort.
Some toddlers continue to mouth or chew objects as they get older. This may happen when they are tired, excited, bored, anxious, teething, seeking sensory input, or trying to calm themselves.
Parents can watch what the child is chewing, how often it happens, and whether it creates a safety concern. Small objects, pieces that can break off, unsafe materials, and choking hazards should be kept out of reach.
It may be worth seeking guidance if mouthing or chewing is frequent, intense, unsafe, continues beyond what seems expected for age, or appears with feeding concerns, limited play skills, sensory sensitivities, or other developmental questions.
How Do I Know If My Child Is Meeting Physical Development Milestones?
Developmental milestones are skills many children reach within a general age range. They include how a child moves, plays, learns, communicates, uses their hands, manages routines, and interacts with others.
No child develops in a perfectly straight line. Some children may walk before they talk, talk before they climb, or show strong fine motor skills while still working on balance. The overall pattern matters more than any single skill on one specific day.
Parents can look for steady progress over time. Is your child gaining new skills? Are they becoming more independent? Are they using their body in more controlled ways? Are they participating more in play, routines, and communication?
It may be worth seeking guidance if your child is not meeting several expected skills, seems stuck for a long period, has lost skills, or if your instincts tell you something needs a closer look. Parents know their children well, and repeated concerns deserve attention.
Questions About Your Child’s Physical Development?
If you have questions about your child’s physical development, motor skills, or everyday independence, New York Child Resource Center, Inc. is here to help. Our team works with families across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Call any of our locations to speak with someone who can answer your questions.
Bronx: 718-585-0600
Manhattan: 212-569-1044
Brooklyn: 718-443-3440
To learn more about developmental evaluations, visit our Child Development Evaluations page. For information about the services New York Child Resource Center provides, visit our Programs & Services page. For questions about speech and language development, your child’s behavior, or sensory, emotional, and social development, see our other parent resource guides.
For general information about developmental milestones, families may also review the CDC’s developmental milestones overview.
