Motor Development for Infants and Toddlers

Infants’ and toddlers’ physical skills emerge right along with their thinking, language and social skills. Parents and caregivers can support young children’s physical development by encouraging movement and exploration. This video and tip sheet provides parents and caregivers with strategies to nurture young children’s physical development.

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act, and move (crawling, walking, etc.). This website lists developmental milestones for children ages 2 months through 5 years.

This document provides information on fine motor skills for infants, including activities and strategies for development.

This article explains the signs of a physical developmental or early motor delay, common concerns from parents, and offers additional resources and next steps.

This page explains why motor skills are important, what motor milestones are, and offers motor activities for infants and toddlers.

This page addresses 1-2 year old movement and coordination, including how to encourage a child’s movement and when to call the doctor.

This page addresses 1-3 month old movement and coordination, including how to encourage a child’s movement and when to call the doctor.

This page addresses 4-7 month old movement and coordination, including how to encourage a child’s movement and when to call the doctor.

This page addresses 8-12 month old movement and coordination, including how to encourage a child’s movement and when to call the doctor.

This page addresses newborn movement and coordination, including how to encourage baby’s movement and when to call the doctor.

This blog offers advice to families of toddlers working on stair climbing skills. The author gives examples using common household items to help children improve their strength and coordination.

This guide describes effective teaching practices in the domain of perceptual, motor, and physical development for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Teachers, home visitors, and family child care providers can use the guide to learn more about how to support children’s growth and development in this area.

The resource guide provides books, videos, organizations, articles, and web resources on physical therapy in early intervention.

This article describes how infants and toddlers develop motor skills through activities in their early childhood classroom. The authors offer suggestions to early childhood educators for observing motor milestones in action and setting up the environment for inviting movement skills.

This page provides lyrics for a children’s song/chant to develop fine and gross motor skills and language skills.

This document gives suggestions to parents and caregivers about tummy time activities and adaptations for infants.

This video gives families an overview of what to expect during an occupational therapy evaluation. Occupational therapists observe and assess the gross and fine motor skills of children who struggle with these skills, leading to an evaluation report and activity suggestions for families.