I’ve always loved puppets. They’re different to dolls because they demand action. They need a person to give them movement and a voice – and they also encourage playfulness and communication. Puppets are good for imagination, story telling and vocabulary, communication, and fine motor skills.
Puppets are not gender specific toys; they don’t encourage children to think of themselves within gender-based role models like dolls and action men can. Also, while they build skills, they don’t measure them… there is no failure.
Puppets provide a much more comfortable method of role play and acting out situations. I’m not sure I would go as far as puppet therapy and would be cautious about reading too much into a puppet’s behaviour but watching a child’s puppet play could provide some clues about problems with bullying or schools. Indeed, if you put “puppet therapy” into a search engine, you’ll find a lot there.
Here are some different types of puppets. Children will play with them in different ways. Choose some simple puppets to ignite an interest or more complex ones for enthusiasts.
Hand and Finger Puppets
These are the easiest puppets. They can be as simple as drawing your index fingers and confusing a younger child with “Two Little Dicky Birds”, making or buying glove puppets or putting on puppet shows. You can play alone – with one hand talking to the other, have a combat or discussion with two or more, or perform to an audience.
Glove & Sock Puppets
You can use old socks and draw, paste or sew on faces. I used to make them out of fabric scraps and make them to fit different sized hands. Children can design their own, choosing the fabric and colours and help you make them. Now I have grandchildren, there’s the excuse to make more…
String Puppets and Marionettes
These are harder to make and use, and need a little more care, so they are usually better for slightly older children. Children with a scientific bent will enjoy working out how the strings work. There are a couple at one of the shops below.
Puppet Theatres
You can make a puppet theatre out of a box or simply drape a cloth over a table so the puppeteer can crouch behind and hold the puppet obove the line of sight.
More
Keep an eye out for puppet shows and take your child along.
School of puppetry site with lots of information about puppets and patterns for making them.
