Every activity, behaviour guide, and developmental resource on TinyStepper is grounded in trusted sources from the UK and global early childhood community. This page lists every organisation, framework, and research reference we draw on — so you can check our work.
We reference these organisations for developmental milestones, behaviour guidance, and safety standards. Where we cite a specific fact — like typical word counts at 18 months or physical activity recommendations — the source is named in the text and linked directly.
TinyStepper is an informational resource, not professional advice. These sources inform our content, but they don’t make us a medical or educational authority. If you have concerns about your child’s development, speak to your health visitor, GP, or paediatrician.
The foundations for our developmental milestones, physical activity guidance, and behaviour context.
Our primary source for speech milestones, physical development, and what’s typical at each age. Blog posts and behaviour guides cite NHS milestone ranges when discussing normal development.
Child behaviour research, safeguarding guidance, and the Look, Say, Sing, Play programme. Informs our behaviour guides and the developmental reasoning behind activities.
Specialist paediatric guidance that helps us understand when a child may benefit from professional assessment, referenced in our speech and behaviour content.
WHO’s physical activity guidelines for children under five (180 minutes per day), Child Growth Standards, and global developmental norms inform how we categorise activities and frame age-appropriate expectations for an international audience.
Internationally recognised paediatric and early childhood organisations whose guidance shapes our behaviour guides and developmental content beyond UK frameworks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s milestone framework for ages 2 months through 5 years, including milestones at 1y, 15m, 18m, 2y, 30m, 3y, and 4y. Updated in 2022 to use the 75th percentile (rather than 50th) for typical development. We reference CDC milestones in our development guide and behaviour guides for a global audience.
Backed by 67,000 paediatricians, HealthyChildren.org is the AAP’s parent-facing resource. We cite AAP guidance on discipline, tantrums, sleep (including night waking and nightmares), feeding, sibling adjustment, thumb sucking and pacifier weaning, toilet training, and screen time across our behaviour guides.
The leading non-profit dedicated to early childhood (birth to age 3). We reference Zero to Three’s research on brain development, co-regulation, attachment, and the developmental meaning behind toddler behaviour. Their framing — “all behaviour has meaning” — closely matches our voice.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s position statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) sets the standard for play-based learning in early childhood. We reference NAEYC’s guided play research and DAP principles when designing enrichment and pretend play content.
The professional body for speech-language pathologists in the US. We reference ASHA guidance on stuttering and disfluency, late talkers, and bilingual language development — areas where US clinical frameworks complement Speech and Language UK milestones.
The leading global authority on Sensory Processing Disorder. We reference STAR’s symptoms checklist, sensory profiles, and home activity guidance in our SEND content, particularly within the Sensory and Physical Needs category.
Where our speech milestone guidance and language development activities come from.
Our primary source for speech milestones, including typical word counts at each age, two-word combination timelines, and signs a child may benefit from speech and language support.
Research on early reading and vocabulary growth — including the evidence that daily reading at age 2 predicts stronger vocabulary by age 3 — informs our early literacy activities.
The educational frameworks we cross-reference for age-appropriateness and activity design.
England’s statutory framework for early years education. We cross-reference EYFS learning goals when designing activities and assessing age-appropriateness across our four age stages.
The NCB’s ORIM framework (Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, Modelling) shapes how we structure early literacy activities, ensuring each one creates real opportunities for language development.
The statutory guidance, global authorities, and charities behind our SEND support section. Our four categories align with the English SEND Code of Practice, but the underlying research draws on international sources too.
England’s statutory guidance for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Our four SEND categories are directly aligned with the Code’s four broad areas of need.
The official families’ guide to understanding SEND support in England, including education, health and care plans (EHCPs) and local authority responsibilities.
A charity for families with disabled children — helpline, local groups, and practical support. We link to Contact as a first port of call for families navigating SEND.
Free, legally-based advice for families navigating SEN support, EHC plans, and their rights under the Children and Families Act 2014.
The CDC’s guidance on early signs of autism, screening tools, and the importance of early intervention. We reference CDC’s framing of “what parents may notice” (rather than diagnostic checklists) in our autism early signs content.
The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised — a free, evidence-based screening questionnaire for children aged 16 to 30 months. We reference M-CHAT-R as a parent-accessible first step for families with autism concerns.
The developmental research behind our Going Further enrichment activities for advanced learners.
The principle that children learn best when play sits just beyond what they can do alone. This underpins every enrichment activity: scaffold one step ahead of current ability.
The framework of moving from broad exploration to skill-building to real-world investigation guides how we sequence enrichment activities from variety to depth.
NAGC’s position on play-based enrichment in the early years reinforces our approach: responsive to the child’s interests and pace, not formal instruction or academic pressure.
Over 50 years’ experience supporting families of children with high learning potential, including resources on Dabrowski’s overexcitabilities and wellbeing guidance for ages 12 months to 4 years.
TinyStepper’s activity database is structured, searchable, and unique. If you’re writing about toddler activities, play-based learning, or early childhood development, you’re welcome to cite these findings. We just ask that you link back to tinystepper.co.
When citing these figures, please use: Source: TinyStepper analysis of 775+ structured toddler activities (tinystepper.co)
For more detail, see What 500+ Toddler Activities Reveal About Play. For press enquiries or custom data requests, contact hello@tinystepper.co.
Every source listed here is freely accessible online. When a blog post, behaviour guide, or activity references a specific claim, the source is named in the text. If you spot something that looks wrong or outdated, please let us know. hello@tinystepper.co
