Pikler® triangular ladder

a climbing structure designed specifically to fit the physical dimensions of toddlers

to whom and When we recommend it

Children are ready to get acquainted with the triangular ladder when they have acquired sufficient experience through their independent experimenting with climbing up and down, for example on a crawling box. Perhaps they already start reaching the vertical positions – i.e. they kneel up or stand up – and perhaps they even climb up on or across various pieces of furniture around this time. When they start standing up holding on to the separating fence or other fixed objects, they are going to try to do the same with the triangular ladder.

how we recommend it

First, they will only step onto the first bar, stay there for a while and step down. In many cases, they keep practicing for a longer period, and, once they gain more confidence, will also try to scale the rungs one by one. For some children it is a great pleasure to stick their legs in between two bars, sitting on a lower one while holding on to a higher one and dangling their legs there.

When the children are ready to climb up high, they will notice that they are facing a more complex motor situation at the top of the ladder. They are not able to stand up, as the single bar on the top doesn’t enable this.

Usually, they realise by themselves when they are higher than safe or when they do not have the necessary coordination to get over the top to the other side. At this point they usually back down on the same side.

If they slide down the sloping plane of the triangular ladder, this doesn’t usually cause an accident. Sometimes they may experiment with whether they can stand on the ladder without holding on, or sometimes they crawl underneath. This develops the children’s motor skills and also brings them great pleasure.

Sometimes, children who still crawl on the stairs try to use their knees to conquer the ladder.

The triangular ladder can be used safely in the garden or indoors as long as children do not attempt to perform special tricks on it. But if they begin jumping off the ladder in a group situation, for example, further use is no longer recommended.

The triangular ladder can be complemented with a sliding board, or a chicken ladder. The sliding board is a long plank of wood with a smooth surface, while there are pickets across the similarly smooth surface of the chicken ladder. We offer these pieces attached to the bars of the triangular ladder or the rim of the box. The sliding board is a sloping surface longer than the sloping part of the Gabi platform, which provides challenges for children who already walk securely on horizontal surfaces. They go and run up and down the slope, they slide down or roll down some objects. In a mixed age group, sometimes the crawling children may also get acquainted with these tools. They crawl across it crosswise, first attempting at the lower, and later at the higher parts. We recommend introducing the sliding board and the chicken ladder by attaching them to the lowest bar on the triangular ladder, and later they can gradually be attached to the higher bars as well. A narrower version can be offered to children who already know how to use the equipment securely.

his sliding board / chicken ladder can also be combined in one piece, with one side of the plank being smooth, and the other side ribbed with pickets. Caution must be used at all times to ensure that the pieces are properly secured to the triangular ladder!