Puppets are a great way to stimulate your toddler’s imaginary play.

Did you know?

Puppets are a great tool for learning how to take turns and develop early social skills.

Other development

The ability to pretend shows a big step in the development of thinking skills and means children are understanding symbols.  This is important in developing literacy and numeracy skills.

Following your child’s lead and letting them be the “director” helps develop their own ideas and strengthens their skills in making connections between experiences in their world.

Add language

Try creating different characters and settings to further explore language. Puppets are great for learning and talking about feelings.

Puppets introduce your toddler to how conversations work and taking turns to speak.

Variations

Puppets can be used to act out favourite stories or rhymes.

Try making your own puppets from socks or gloves (hand puppets), pipe cleaners (finger puppets) and other materials. Your toddler will love helping you decorate their own puppet!

Across the ages

All the activities listed on our “Play Ideas” page can be applied across different age groups. See how playing with puppets can be fun for babies, children and playgroups.

 

Activities listed under “toddler” are suitable for children aged 1-3 years. Toddlers enjoy activities that include exploring their environment and finding out how things work.

Play ideas