Understanding how your child grows and learns doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. While every child develops at their own pace, knowing the typical milestones can help you notice strengths, track progress, and pick up on areas that may benefit from additional support.
This guide outlines the major developmental domains, highlights what’s typical from birth to age five, and shares how integrative pediatric care can help nurture healthy development in a grounded, practical way.
What Development Really Includes
It’s really important to remember that child development is more than a checklist. It’s a combination of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills, all emerging at the same time.
Gross Motor
These are the movements that build strength and coordination: rolling, crawling, standing, walking, climbing, jumping.
Fine Motor
Small-muscle skills include grasping, using the pincer grip to self-feed, stacking blocks, drawing, cutting.
Speech and Language
Understanding and expressing words, gestures, sounds, and early conversation.
Social-Emotional
These important skills include connection, communication, emotional regulation, empathy, and confidence.
Birth to 12 Months: Big Leaps, Fast Changes
The first year is a whirlwind in the most beautiful way. Babies move through an incredible amount of learning in a very short time. Their little bodies strengthen, their senses sharpen, and their awareness of the world deepens almost daily. Some changes feel monumental, others barely noticeable in the moment, but all of them reflect your baby’s growing curiosity and connection. This is a season full of wonder, discovery, and rapid transformation.
0–3 Months
- Lifts head during tummy time
- Tracks faces and responds to voices
- Coos and makes early social sounds
4–6 Months
- Rolls, reaches, brings toys to mouth
- Laughs, babbles, and shows interest in interaction
- Begins sitting with support
7–9 Months
- Sits independently; begins crawling or scooting
- Picks up small objects with a pincer grasp
- Responds to their name; shows early separation awareness
10–12 Months
- Pulls to stand; cruises or takes first steps
- Uses simple gestures like waving
- Speaks one or two meaningful words
12 to 36 Months: Independence Blooms
The toddler years are wonderfully busy, full of bold exploration, big emotions, and growing independence. This stage is where personality really starts to shine. Your child is testing new abilities, seeking connection, and discovering the power of their own voice (sometimes loudly). It’s a season of curiosity, movement, and rapid skill-building, with days that feel both joyfully chaotic and deeply meaningful. Every new word, every wobbling run, and every “I do it myself” is a glimpse into who they’re becoming.
12–18 Months
- Walks confidently
- Stacks blocks and uses single words
- Shows affection and follows simple directions
18–24 Months
- Runs, climbs, kicks a ball
- Vocabulary growth takes off; combines two words
- Plays pretend and participates in simple routines
2–3 Years
- Jumps with both feet; begins balancing skills
- Starts parallel play
- Begins toilet learning, with timing varying widely
3 to 5 Years: Skill Building for Life
The preschool years are full of magic: that mix of imagination, growing confidence, and the first real glimpses of who your child is becoming. Their world gets bigger during this stage: friendships start to matter, stories get more detailed, and their physical abilities take off in ways that suddenly make the playground feel like a whole new universe. It’s a time of rapid skill-building, joyful experimentation, and deeper connection as they discover how capable, creative, and wonderfully unique they really are.
3–4 Years
- Hops, climbs, uses scissors
- Tells simple stories
- Understands turn-taking and beginning problem-solving
4–5 Years
- Skips, somersaults, and shows greater coordination
- Draws people with multiple features
- Builds friendships; expressive language expands
Variations vs. True Delays: What’s Typical?
Remember: milestones are gentle guideposts, not strict deadlines. Children grow in their own beautiful ways, and many variations simply reflect their unique temperament, personality, and environment.
As the American Academy of Pediatrics explains, babies don’t always follow the same developmental script, and mastering skills in a different order isn’t automatically a cause for concern. Read more from the AAP.
Common, Healthy Variations
- Some babies skip crawling
- Walking anytime up to 18 months is typical
- Bilingual children may mix or delay spoken words
- Shyness or slow-to-warm behaviour is normal
- Readiness for toilet training is typically anytime between 18-30 months but may be sooner or a bit later. Full daytime independence isn’t expected until 3 years of age or older.
When to Check In
- If your child has lost a skill that they used to have
- If you have concerns across multiple developmental areas
- If your child shows a lack of response to name, voice, or social cues
- If your child exhibits persistent stiffness, floppiness, or unusual movement patterns
It’s really easy to second guess yourself when it comes to your child’s development, but trust your instincts. If something feels off, it’s always worth a conversation. Early support can make progress easier and more comfortable for everyone.
How Integrative Care Supports Development
At Oona, we use a whole-child, whole-family approach, grounded in clinical expertise and delivered with compassion.
Chiropractic Care
Gentle pediatric chiropractic care supports comfort, mobility, and healthy movement patterns right from the beginning. Babies and young children can experience tension from birth, feeding positions, early motor development, or simply the natural twists and turns of growing. Pediatric chiropractors use soft, precise techniques tailored specifically to infants and toddlers — nothing forceful — to help ease discomfort and support smoother, more coordinated movement.
Chiropractic care may help with:
- Recovery from birth positioning or delivery strain
- Torticollis and head-turning preferences
- Plagiocephaly or flat spots
- Comfort and alignment for rolling, crawling, and walking
- General tension that may impact feeding, sleep, or motor development
Families often notice that their little ones move more freely, settle more easily, and feel more comfortable in their bodies after treatment. It’s one gentle piece of a whole-child approach to supporting development.
Pediatric Physiotherapy
Play-based pediatric physiotherapy helps children build strong, coordinated, confident movement skills. Physiotherapists assess how your child moves, looking not only at milestones, but at quality, symmetry, and comfort. If something feels a bit off, physio can support the body in developing stronger patterns before challenges become harder to untangle later on.
Physiotherapy can help with:
- Asymmetrical movements, like favouring one side
- Low or high muscle tone
- Delays in rolling, crawling, or walking
- Motor planning challenges
- Strength, balance, and coordination
- Safe babywearing, equipment selection, and play setup
Sessions are playful, gentle, and responsive, often disguised as games or exploration. Physio empowers both your child and your family, giving you simple strategies to support development at home.
Naturopathic Care
Oona’s naturopathic doctors focus on the internal foundations that help children grow, thrive, and meet milestones with ease. Because development is deeply connected to sleep, digestion, immunity, and nutrition, naturopathy helps ensure these systems are well supported from the inside out.
Naturopathic care may include:
- Assessing nutrient levels that support brain development, including iron, omega-3s, and vitamin D
- Helping regulate digestion, which often impacts comfort, sleep, and overall energy
- Supporting healthy immune function during the early years
- Addressing common concerns like constipation, picky eating, skin issues, or frequent infections
Your ND also looks at the whole child: temperament, routines, feeding, sleep, environment, and creates a plan that feels realistic and supportive for your family. It’s gentle, evidence-informed care designed to strengthen the building blocks of healthy development.
Occupational Therapy
Pediatric occupational therapy supports the everyday skills that help children participate fully in their world, from eating and playing to moving, interacting, and managing big feelings. At this age, “occupation” simply means the activities that make up a child’s day, and when any of these feel hard, an OT can help things feel easier and more joyful again.
Occupational therapists can help with:
- Fine and gross motor challenges, like difficulty grasping toys, using utensils, or coordinating movements
- Feeding concerns, including texture sensitivities or mealtime overwhelm
- Sensory processing differences, such as strong reactions to sounds, textures, or movement
- Emotional or behavioural regulation struggles that make routines feel harder than they need to
Oona’s OTs work closely with families to build skills through play, strengthen confidence, and weave practical strategies into everyday routines. It’s supportive, responsive care that grows alongside your child, and meets them exactly where they are.
Creating a Supportive Home Environment
Small choices really do add up. Little moments throughout the day help shape how your child learns, feels, and explores the world.
- Offer lots of cozy floor time instead of container time
- Read aloud daily — even before your child talks, your voice anchors them
- Create space for unstructured, screen-free play where imagination leads
- Follow their curiosity and join in on the wonder
- Co-regulate through big feelings so they feel safe and understood
Building Your Support Team
Supporting a child’s development is truly a team effort, and it can feel incredibly reassuring to know you’re not navigating any of this alone. The right practitioners help bring clarity, confidence, and a sense of partnership to your child’s growth, each contributing their expertise while seeing your little one as a whole, unique human.
Your child’s care team may include:
- Pediatrician — your anchor for overall health, growth, and developmental tracking
- Physiotherapist — supporting movement, strength, coordination, and motor skill development
- Chiropractor — helping with comfort, alignment, and ease of movement
- Naturopathic Doctor — nurturing sleep, digestion, immunity, and internal foundations for development
- Speech-Language Pathologist — guiding communication, early feeding skills, and language development
- Occupational Therapist — supporting play, regulation, feeding, sensory processing, and everyday functional skills
At Oona, these practitioners don’t work in silos, they collaborate closely, share insights, and build a cohesive plan that truly supports your family. While we don’t have every possible practitioner within our four walls, we are constantly collaborating with your child’s other practitioners to ensure that your child receives the best possible care. You’re surrounded by a team that’s aligned, compassionate, and dedicated to helping your child thrive.
Ready for Support You Can Feel Good About?
If you’re noticing something in your child’s development, or you just want a little more guidance as they grow, our team is here to help. Oona brings together pediatric physiotherapists, chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, and perinatal experts who all collaborate to support your family.
Whether you’re looking for a one-time check-in or ongoing care, you’re welcome here.
Book an appointment at our Toronto or Newmarket clinics, or book by using our online patient portal to get started.
