Baby Blog

One of the double edged swords of being a baby is not knowing the difference between reality and fantasy. This can work in your favor though. I have discovered that if I want Nik to put his toys away or take a bath, I have one of his puppets tell him instead of me. Hey it works.

Puppets are a great tool for little ones. I found this out when I took Nik to see a puppet show when he was only five months old. I didn’t think he would be able to follow along but he was laughing in the appropriate places and absolutely fascinated by the characters.

After the puppet show I picked up a few puppets for Nik and used them to hold his attention at story time. Of course my son doesn’t listen to me but if a shark, crocodile or a pig tells him a story, he’s all ears. It’s funny though; he knows it is me that is talking but he responds to the puppet.

Puppets can help children improve their communication skills, especially speech and self expression. The experts say that you can use the puppet to help communicate new ideas or concepts to your child. If you are the ambitious sort of mom who has decided to teach their little one French, you can use the puppet to say the foreign words. They will sound far more interesting and memorable coming from the crocodile’s lips than yours.

And don’t think for a minute you have to go out and buy fancy puppets in order for it to work. Nik’s puppet collection includes a number of dollar store bath time puppets as well as some homemade ones. A sock with eyes remains an adequate puppet even in this technological age.

What makes puppet play work is the parent’s ability to go all in. Use silly voices and have conversations with the puppet. You’ll have your baby laughing in no time. And if you can’t manage to buy or make puppets? No worries, plush toys and stuffed animals can do the job just as well.

Just ask my son.