MV T1.05Pulling Up at the Bar
A wooden bar fixed along the low mirror, which the infant uses to pull from kneeling to standing and to lower themselves back down.
Safety
- The bar is screwed into wall studs or with anchors rated for the load, and holds an adult's full weight without moving.
- The mirror behind the bar is shatterproof acrylic, never glass.
- The floor under the bar is a firm mat or a rug with a non-slip backing, with no furniture corners within falling distance.
- Check brackets and screws each week for loosening.
Presentation
- 1
Mount the bar over the mirror at about the infant's chest height when standing. Pull and push on it with your full weight to check that it does not move.
- 2
Place the movement mat near the bar and clear the floor between them.
- 3
Let the infant find the bar. Do not put their hands on it or stand them up.
- 4
Sit nearby. Watch the infant pull to kneeling, then to standing. Their own standing image in the mirror is the point of interest.
- 5
If the infant stands and then cries because they cannot get down, wait a moment. Then place a hand on their bottom and lower them slowly toward sitting, so they feel the knees bend. Do not lift them away from the bar.
- 6
Place a toy on the floor at one end of the bar so the infant has a reason to move sideways or to lower themselves.
- 7
Raise the bar as the child grows, and take it down or let older children use it for stretching once they walk steadily.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Place a toy on a low shelf beside the bar so the infant lets go with one hand to take it
- Place a toy at the far end of the bar so the infant steps sideways along it
- Squat from standing to pick up a toy and stand again
Control of error
The bar and the infant's body: if they pull with straight arms and no leg push, they do not come up; if they let go without bending the knees, they sit down suddenly.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Pulls to standing at the bar without help
- Lowers to sitting with control instead of falling
- Stands holding the bar with one hand while reaching with the other
- Steps sideways along the bar
Guide note
Adults often want to stand an infant up or walk them by the hands. Montessori and Pikler sources both advise against it: the infant who pulls up alone also learns to get down alone.