Pikler Frames: The importance of open-ended toys

There has been growing awareness of the value of unstructured open-ended play yet these toys are commonly overlooked and disregarded by parents in my shop for their simplicity. It's not uncommon to hear a parent say, 'that's too baby-ish for you' or ‘that’s too young for you’ and 'that’s not for your age - these toys are for toddlers and babies, not you', dismissing the depth of play that simplicity in a toy can bring through unstructured play.

When we talk about open-ended toys we mean toys that don’t have an obvious single use, are not commercial TV characters, and that can be played with in multiple and varied ways without instructions or rules. Children control how they play with the toy, and it is the child who can make it as complex or as simple as they require for their own learning and exploration.

But this can be difficult as an adult to visualise when shopping. Common phrases I hear when parents are looking to buy a toy is, "what does it do? Does it do anything?". As adults we want to be able to visualise our children with the toys to reassure us it will offer long term play value and enjoyment to them. The challenge however, is that we often underestimate their powerful imaginations and the boundless play offered from simple loose parts and toys with no set purpose. By only seeing something how we imagine it as adults, we remove the idea of open-ended play.

A conversation about the pikler climbing frame I had in my store last week reminded me of how we as the adults, can struggle with imagining how an open-play toy might be engaged with as a child grows.

Seeing the pikler the customer explained, "I was considering buying a pikler but it's not very high? I don't think they will find it challenging enough without it being taller - they will get bored".

Here the customer is visualising the pikler as a 'closed-ended toy' with a single purpose - to climb up and down and the play value being to climb high and over the frame. This is a common response when parents see the maximum (CE compliant) height of piklers.

But to my son the pikler has always been about testing, experimenting and stretching his body's limits and self-discovering more about his physically developing body, and the height is perfect for allowing him to do just that, which if higher, would not be possible:

Mastering head first and the adrenaline rush of learning to do this quickly...

Mastering the challenge of going up and down backwards...

Mastering getting on and off without using the side rungs at all. This is why side tip stability is so important.

... and now he is taller and older it's city parkour street style with swinging, vaulting and jumping across the pikler in as many ways as possible.

Now my son is 7 and does gymnastics he loves to practice balance moves on the pikler. Just because they get older it does not mean they outgrow the fun of it!

A pikler is so much more than just about learning to climb. The single rung at the top is great for perfecting some intricate balancing.

The most simplest of toys are invariably the most carefully designed to enable a child's imagination to run free in play. Open-play toys are designed to last a childhood. Too often we underestimate their true value and what they can offer our children in growth at all ages.