Browse our products for Under 2's
 
Maureen Perry together with Starex has worked with designs for equipment for infants and toddlers based on the research of Dr Emmi Pikler (paediatrician) and Magda Gerber (child therapist). They believe that babies need to be allowed to move freely and develop in their own way and in their own time without adult assistance. The equipment is designed for babies who have been allowed to develop naturally through their milestones and have not been propped to sit or constrained in restrictive devices. Moving naturally ensures they learn balance and judgement about what they can and cannot do so they will not put themselves in situations they cannot manage.

 

This equipment supports gross motor development by providing challenges for spatial awareness and climbing for the crawling infant and also the walking toddler. It progresses from the very low "Baby Step Platform" to the "Crawling Ramps Kitset" with a higher box base and each ramp progressively more challenging to the "Toddler Tri Climber" and the "Toddler Starting Stairs". The "Cubby Hole Cube" allows infants and toddlers to see how their bodies fit into spaces and the "Toddler Maze" extends this exploration. The "Ply Table and Stools" enable those infants who can sit on their own to get on and off by themselves and sit up to a table to eat with others and the guidance of the staff.

 

This equipment empowers babies to do as much as they can for themselves with the guidance and support of those who care for them. The intention is to support professionals and parents to develop an understanding of infant and toddler needs physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially, grounded in 60 years of ongoing research and observation at the Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hungary and at Resources for Infant Educarers in Los Angeles, California. This approach supports the learning outcomes and experiences for infants and toddlers expressed in Te Whaariki.