Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Toddler Development
Mastering new skills such as how to walk, talk, and use the potty are developmental milestones. It is exciting to watch your toddler learn new skills. The normal development of children aged 1-3 includes several areas:
- Gross motor - walking, running, climbing
- Fine motor - feeding themselves, drawing
- Sensory - seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling
- Language - saying single words, then sentences
- Social - playing with others, taking turns, doing fantasy play
Toddlers do not develop at the same rate. There is a wide range of what is considered "normal." Your child may be ahead in some areas and slightly behind in others. If you are worried about possible delays, talk to your child's health care provider.
It sits within Children and Teenagers.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Toddler Development
97 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Family-Centered Implementation of Parent Training for Autistic Toddlers in Early InterventionUniversity of South Carolina
- Interventional Study of Infigratinib in Children < 3 Years Old With Achondroplasia (ACH)QED Therapeutics, a BridgeBio company
- Empower EI: Comparing Early Intervention Approaches to Improve Communication in Toddlers With Developmental DelaysNorthwestern University
- Sibwatch: Optimizing Intervention Options for Infants and Toddler Siblings of Autistic ChildrenUniversity of Texas at Austin
- Reciprocal Imitation Training and Musical Rhythm Sensitivity in Autistic ToddlersVanderbilt University Medical Center
- Milk-Tot Study: Impact of Whole Versus Low-fat Milk on Child HealthUniversity of California, Davis
Research already completed
- Screen Time and Language Development in Toddlers Assessed With the Bayley-4Kayseri City Hospital
- Baby Navigator Intervention to Improve Outcomes of Toddlers With Communication DelaysFlorida State University
- EMT en Español for Spanish-speaking Toddlers With Language DelaysVanderbilt University
- Community-based Adaptive Autism Intervention for ToddlersUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- CDC's Developmental MilestonesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Developmental Milestones: 12 Months (1 Year)Nemours Foundation
- Developmental Milestones: 18 Months (1.5 Years)Nemours Foundation
- Positive Parenting Tips: Toddlers (2-3 years old)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Toddler Growth and DevelopmentAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Your Child's Development: 15 MonthsNemours Foundation
- Your Child's Development: 2 Years (24 Months)Nemours Foundation
- Your Child's Development: 2.5 Years (30 Months)Nemours Foundation
- Your Child's Development: 3 YearsNemours Foundation
Diagnosis and Tests
- Developmental and Behavioral Screening TestsNational Library of Medicine
- Developmental Monitoring and ScreeningCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Treatments and Therapies
- Physical Therapy (For Parents)Nemours Foundation
- Speech-Language Therapy (For Parents)Nemours Foundation
Related Issues
- Create a Potty Training Plan for Your ChildAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Learning, Play, and Your 1- to 2-Year-OldNemours Foundation
- Potty Training: Learning to Use the ToiletZero to Three
- Separation AnxietyNemours Foundation
- Sexual Behaviors in Young Children: What's Normal, What's Not?American Academy of Pediatrics
- Stopping the BottleNemours Foundation
- Temper Tantrums in Toddlers: How to Keep the PeaceMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Toddler Bedtime Trouble: 7 Tips for ParentsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Toilet TrainingNemours Foundation
- What Is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician?American Academy of Pediatrics
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Child DevelopmentNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Child Development. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Toddler Development, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.