There is a surprisingly wide range of puppets available in children’s toy shops today, and the theatrical representation is not limited merely to characters, but to accompany the puppets it is now possible to purchase a full theatre, complete with curtains and scenery in which to play out a life upon the stage.

The smallest, cheapest and most easy performed are the old fashioned finger puppets – literally single finger characters. These puppets are small and simple in design, and fit onto a single finger. The degree of performance is largely dependent on the acting expertise of your finger; a little waggling and bending is generally all that is required, but is unlikely to win many awards. These puppets are delightful for small children, and can be used in a number of ways.

Most puppet sets like these come in character groups from famous nursery rhymes or fairy tale stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood. These puppets can be used by the parent to help bring a story alive to a young child, who will delight in the characters being animated in this way. Eventually the child can take over one or all of the puppets and play out the story themselves as the parent reads it to them, or play out the full story to themselves at any time. It is also wonderful for children who are young, but not the youngest in the family, to have a chance to use these character puppets themselves to tell the story to a younger brother or sister.

Moving up the ladder of complexity are hand puppets, or glove puppets as they are sometimes known. These usually just fit over the whole hand, down to the wrist, and allow one or both arms of the character to be waggled and waved using your thumb and little finger. The remaining fingers fit up into the puppet’s head and allow for nodding and shaking. Sooty and his friends were well know examples of these sorts of puppets, and children will not only enjoy talking to these creatures, but actually using them themselves.

An alternative type of hand puppet is one which usually fits further down the arm, sometimes right down to the elbow, and instead of having animated limbs, has an animated mouth instead. The thumb is inserted into the lower jaw, the remaining fingers in the upper jaw which also serves as the head. The mouth can then be animated, and often the children will be so distracted and absorbed by the creature that you need not worry about your ventriloquial skills!

There are perhaps quite a few wooden toys in your home that you may have stashed away in lofts and attics. These toys have an antique feel and an old world charm to it. Today’s children are too engrossed with video games and plastic toys and they do not understand the value of these toys unless they are instilled in them.

Even as a parent you may not realise the basic advantages of these toys unless you have used them yourselves. Although it cannot match up to the benefits of an electronic toy possesses, it certainly will be a valuable addition to your child’s toy collection. Some of the benefits or advantages that wooden toys offer are as follows:

These toys let your child use his imagination to its greatest extent. This particular type of toy helps to unleash the power of imagination. If the playthings are wooden then the use becomes restricted. It is then that the child’s imagination is put to test. In this way the creativity of your child will be enhanced. Having a strong imagination allows the child to entertain himself and this faculty also helps him as he grows up.

Wooden toys are generally stronger and more durable in comparison to electronic and plastic toys. Because of their strength they can sustain wear and tear to a great extent. Hence if you want your child’s toys to last longer then you can definitely go shopping for wooden stuff.

Almost all wooden toys have some benefits or the other. But a particular toy helps to determine exactly which educational aspects can be developed. In case of wooden puzzles your child’s hand eye coordination will be improved. Of course puzzles of other materials will offer the same benefits. But the wooden ones will be more durable and hence offer them for a longer period of time. Similarly sorting games like bead sequencing will offer your little one reasoning skills as well as hand eye coordination.

Your child’s sensory and motor development is encouraged with the help of these wooden toys. Since during this stage children tend to put everything in their mouth for tasting, ensure before purchasing that the colour on the toys is non-toxic. Wooden playthings are much more beneficial because they are smooth edged and are easy to grasp. And the children will surely enjoy playing with these kinds of toys.