Gross Motor Skills Milestones: A Helpful Guide for Wicker Park Parents

Wicker park is in constant motion, and gross motor skills help your child navigate their daily life. Even something as seemingly inconsequential as a struggle in the jungle gym could indicate a gross motor skill delay. 

Gross motor skills are the tools your child uses to explore their world, join in social play, and sit tall in a classroom. This guide breaks down the systems behind movement, milestone windows by age, and where to find support right here in the neighborhood. 

You’ll learn what to look for when your child needs extra support with gross motor development, empowering you to parent with confidence as your little one builds gross motor skills with the support of Wicker Park ABA Therapy.

What Are Gross Motor Skills? The Systems of Movement

To provide a clear motor skills definition, we look at how the body operates large muscle groups. Gross motor skills are the control and coordination of large muscles, including the arms, legs, torso, which we use to sit, crawl, walk, and eat independently. These skills depend on the brain’s ability to integrate sensory information with movement. Every child progresses at their own pace, but some examples of standard gross motor skills for different age groups are:

Fine motor skills build on these to become the hand-eye coordination that allows us to grip a pencil, tie our shoes, and use utensils. Gross motor skills develop in a specific order, with foundational whole-body movements supporting more complex physical skills needed for an active life in Wicker Park. 

The Hierarchy of Motor Function

The brain governs sensory processing and the development of gross motor skills. Gross motor skills then determine the development of fine motor skills, alongside speech. 

Motor Control and The Brain

Motor control involves multiple areas of the brain working together. The cerebrum plays a key role in planning and initiating movement, while structures such as the basal ganglia and cerebellum help regulate timing, coordination, and efficiency. 

The motor cortex sends signals to the body to produce voluntary movement, and the brainstem and spinal pathways support posture, balance, and automatic responses that make movement smooth and effective.

One way to understand gross motor skills and coordination in toddlers is to look at what happens when a child tries to catch a ball.

• Motor Planning (“The Planner”):  If your child sees a ball flying toward them, the brain processes visual and sensory information such as speed, distance, and timing. Based on this input, the brain forms a movement plan for how and when to reach for the ball.
• Motor Execution (The “Messenger”): The motor cortex sends signals through the nervous system to activate the appropriate muscles in the arms and hands. These signals rely on accurate timing and coordination to be effective.
• Movement Response (The “Action”): The muscles respond by moving the arms and hands. If any part of the planning, timing, or coordination process is still developing, the child may close their hands too early or too late and miss the ball. 

Missing the ball does not mean that the child has weak muscles or a neurological condition. It often reflects that one or more systems involved in movement are still developing, such timing, coordination, motor planning, or sensory processing. 

Gross Before Fine Motor

The difference between fine and gross motor skills is that gross involves large muscle groups, while fine involves small muscle groups. Gross motor skills generally develop before fine motor skills, providing the postural stability and coordination children need for more precise movements. Differences in areas such as core strength, balance, or muscle tone may influence how easily these skills develop and impact young Wicker Park residents and their motor skills. 

Because gross motor skills support overall posture and stability, challenges in this area may sometimes be seen alongside difficulties with activities such as speech or feeding. Speech and eating involve coordinated fine oral-motor control of the tongue, lips, and jaw. These skills rely on stable posture and ongoing sensory-motor feedback. When the body is working hard to maintain balance or positioning, these higher-level skills can require additional effort.

Core Stability

Think of your child’s body like a tree. The core functions as the trunk, providing stability for the branches, including the head, arms, and legs. Gross motor skills like crawling, jumping, or balancing build the core strength needed for control. Kids may lean on walls, use furniture for support, or appear fatigued during play because maintaining posture requires increased effort.

In our active Wicker Park neighborhood, gross motor skills are bridges to social skills. Some children may choose to limit participation when movement feels difficult or tiring. These children may retreat from play, not due to lack of interest, but because their bodies are working harder to keep up. Supporting core strength and postural control can help children participate more comfortably in physical play and social activities.

Children often engage more freely with peers when they are physically confident. Addressing these foundational skills early can support greater ease in movement, which in turn may encourage participation, communication, and social interaction over time.

Muscle Tone

Muscle tone refers to the resting tension in a muscle and how prepared it is to activate during movement. Children with lower muscle tone, or hypotonia, may need to use more effort to generate the strength they need for activities like standing, climbing, or throwing a ball. 

Differences in muscle tone have been observed in children with a range of developmental profiles, including some children on the autism spectrum, and can influence gross motor skill development.

Children with higher muscle tone, or hypertonia, may experience stiffness or restrictive movements that make walking, sitting, or transitioning between positions more challenging. Multidisciplinary physical programs may improve gross motor skills across a range of different muscle tones.

The Vestibular System

The vestibular system controls the balance we need to use our gross motor capabilities. Located in our inner ear, it helps the body understand head position and movement in space. This system allows us to walk without falling, turn our head without getting dizzy, and navigate the uneven terrain of a park safely. These are all key components of gross motor skills for socialising in Wicker Park.

Using special sensory therapies focused on this system can help kids improve their gross motor skills and sensory processing. Therapies may use swings, spinning, or tilting to activate the vestibular system and train the brain to process motion and gravity signals. 

Proprioception

Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense where it is in space and how much force to use during movements. This system helps children learn to control their movements in relation to the environment. When proprioception is under-responsive, children might seek additional information by crashing into furniture, using excessive force, or appearing unusually active. 

Over-responsive children feel proprioceptive input too strongly and are overly cautious or avoidant of activities centered on gross motor movements, like stepping off curbs or navigating obstacles.

Differences in proprioceptive processing can influence coordination and confidence during movement, particularly as children learn new motor skills. These patterns are common in early development and can change as the nervous system matures and with appropriate support.

Understanding the Developmental Windows

Developmental windows describe the typical age ranges during which children acquire gross motor skills. These timeframes help clinicians and parents understand when skills commonly emerge and when additional support may be helpful for navigating gross motor skills for Wicker park children. Here is the sequence of the six universal gross motor milestones and their windows: 

Approximately 90% of children follow the same order of sitting, standing, and then walking. These windows act as checkpoints. If your child has not reached a milestone by the end of its window, or seems to be struggling to progress through them, go for a screening by a professional who understands the gross motor skills Wicker Park kids need for school readiness.

The “Home Gym”: Evidence-Based Exercises You Can Do Today

Ready to turn your living room into a space that supports movement and play? You don’t need special equipment to help your child practice gross motor skills, and play-based activities can be an enjoyable way to build strength, coordination, and confidence together. Here are some play-based exercises that improve gross motor manipulative skills: 

Animal Walks for Strength and Coordination

Many children engage more readily with movement when it feels playful rather than structured. Pretending to be an animal is a commonly used activity in occupational and physical therapy. Animal walks are excellent for supporting shoulder strength, core stability, and coordination in a fun, approachable way. Two favorites include: 

• The Bear Walk: Have your child walk on their hands and feet with their hips raised. This strengthens the shoulders and supports whole-body coordination.
• The Crab Walk: Encourage walking on hands and feet with their tummy facing the ceiling. This strengthens the triceps and core extension.

These movements teach the body to coordinate the upper and lower halves to improve gross motor coordination. You can move on to specific activities that help regulate their stimulation levels once your child has built some stability. 

Heavy Work for Proprioception

High levels of movement and restlessness often reflect sensory overload rather than intentional misbehaviour. If your child seems agitated or is crashing into things, they may need heavy work to calm down their sensory system. Here is a fun example of heavy work: 

• The Task: Have them race a laundry basket filled with books across the room like a delivery truck, or build a fort with heavy bedding.
• The Benefit: Resistance activities provide deep pressure input to the muscles and joints, helping the brain learn to judge where the body is in space. 

This type of input may help some children feel more organized and settled in their bodies, making it easier to transition into other movements or learning activities.

Crossing the Midline for Brain Connection

Crossing the midline refers to the ability to reach across the center of the body to complete a task. This skill supports coordination between both sides of the body and is commonly addressed during early motor development. Here are two games commonly used to train the brain connection:

• Bubble Pop: Blow bubbles and show your child how to pop them using only one hand, reaching all the way across their body to get them.
• Figure-8s: Drive a toy car or draw a large infinity “8” pattern on the floor with your finger. 

These games force the eyes and hands to cross the midline, supporting bilateral coordination. You can combine these physical skills with cognitive challenges, with the ability to follow directions in one big obstacle course. 

Obstacle Courses for Motor Planning

A pile of household items can offer meaningful practice for following directions. Set up a simple course using pillows and tables to challenge praxis, which is the ability to conceive and execute a plan. Here is how to explain the activity once you have a simple course set up:

• The Challenge: Give multi-step instructions: “First crawl under the table, then jump over the pillow.” If this seems easy, you can add instructions. If these instructions feel too challenging, break them down even further. 
• The Goal: Navigating tunnels, hurdles, or climbs builds conceptual understanding of body-environment interactions.

At-home obstacle courses improve motor planning by challenging kids to ideate, plan, and execute new movement sequences in a fun way. These home exercises are powerful and are a great support for professional therapies. 

When to Call Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center

You know your child, and research confirms that the earlier you get assistance, the better the outcomes. Giving us a call is also best if you see your child withdrawing, looking tired, or missing any of the developmental windows. We are here to support you and your child’s journey.

Confidence Begins with Action

Parenting comes with many questions, especially when it comes to your child’s development. Understanding how gross motor skills support movement, participation, and daily routines can help you recognize when additional guidance may be beneficial.

If you have concerns about your child’s strength, coordination, or ability to keep up during play, professional support can provide clarity and direction. Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center offers comprehensive developmental screenings and coordinated care to help families understand their child’s needs and next steps.

Contact us today to schedule a screening at our clinic in Wicker Park, and learn how our team can support your child’s growth and development.