If you’ve spent any time in Montessori or early-learning circles, you’ll have come across the Pikler frame — that simple wooden climbing triangle that seems to quietly fascinate every little one who meets it. Designed on the principles of Hungarian paediatrician Dr Emmi Pikler, it’s built around a lovely idea: that babies and toddlers develop best when they’re free to move, climb and explore at their own pace, without being placed into positions they can’t yet manage themselves.
The beauty of a Pikler frame is that there’s no single “right” way to use it. Your little one will find their own challenges, and the frame grows with them — from a first wobbly pull-to-stand to confident clambering. Here are five of our favourite ways to play.
1. Free climbing and confidence-building
The most natural place to start is simply letting your child explore. Pop the frame down on a soft rug, sit nearby, and let them approach it in their own time. Some babies will pull themselves up to stand against the lowest rung; older toddlers will work out how to climb up one side and back down the other.
Resist the urge to lift them onto it — the magic of the Pikler approach is that children only attempt what their bodies are genuinely ready for, which builds both physical strength and a quiet, deep confidence. The smaller Little’UN Pikler Triangle (£3 to hire for 7 days) is perfect for younger babies and snug homes, while the larger Wee’UN folding frame (£5 for 7 days) gives more adventurous climbers room to stretch.
2. Add a slide and change the whole game
Clip a reversible slide onto the frame (£3 for 7 days) and you’ve created an entirely new world. One side offers a smooth slide for whooshing down; flip it over and the gentle ramp with its little ridges becomes a climbing surface for tiny hands and feet.
Slides are wonderful for introducing early ideas about cause and effect, gradient and speed — and, of course, for plenty of giggles. Try rolling a ball down to your little one, or letting a favourite teddy take the first ride to show them how it works.
3. Build a cosy den or reading nook
Drape a muslin, a bedsheet or a play silk over the frame and, just like that, you have a den. Toddlers adore having a small, defined space that feels like their own — it’s brilliant for imaginative play, a calm-down corner, or simply somewhere to tuck in with a basket of books.
This is a lovely way to use the frame on quieter days, and a gentle introduction to ideas about inside and outside, hiding and finding. A clip-on torch and a few cushions turn it into the highlight of a rainy Derbyshire afternoon.
4. Create a mini obstacle course
Once your little one is moving confidently, combine the frame with cushions, low stools, a tunnel or the folding hump frame (£5 for 7 days) to make a simple obstacle course across the living room. Climb up and over, crawl under the slide, balance along a cushion path, and round again.
Obstacle courses are fantastic for gross motor development — balance, coordination, spatial awareness and core strength — and they turn an ordinary morning into a proper adventure. Narrate the journey as they go (“up we climb… now under the bridge…”) to weave in early language and sequencing too.
5. Bring in small-world and pretend play
As your child grows, the frame becomes a stage for storytelling. It might be a mountain for their animals to climb, a castle to defend, a shop counter, a bus, or a pirate ship with the slide as the gangplank. Add a few props — figures, a steering wheel, a cardboard box — and let their imagination lead.
This kind of open-ended, child-directed play is exactly what Montessori celebrates: no batteries, no instructions, just a beautiful wooden object that becomes whatever your little one needs it to be that day.
Borrow before you buy
Pikler frames are a real investment, and little ones move through stages so quickly — which is exactly why borrowing makes so much sense. We have a range of Pikler-style climbing frames, slides and accessories available to hire through Derbyshire Toy Libraries, so you can try one at home, swap as your child grows, and only ever pay a small fraction of the cost of buying.
You can browse our Pikler frames and slides here — including the Little’UN triangle and reversible slide (each £3 per 7 days), and the larger Wee’UN frame and folding hump frame (each £5 per 7 days).
Happy climbing!