An example illustrating the application of the normative approach involves the developmental milestone of walking. The average age for a child to begin walking is 12 months. However, individual timelines can vary significantly, which may cause concern for parents. For instance, one child might start walking at 10 months, while another may not be walking at 14 months. This variation highlights that normative data provides general guidelines for development, and slight deviations from the average are common and not necessarily indicative of a problem.