The power of the puppet shows itself in diverse fields: not only in the puppet theatres, not only in rituals and magical spells, but also in the broad range of education and therapy. This has also been recognised by the international puppetry organisation – UNIMA- and the Puppets in Education, Development and Therapy. (Kroflin 2012: 7)

From the Book: 
Livija Kroflin Präsidentin der EDT-Kommission der UNIMA* 

The Power of the Puppet Editor: The UNIMA* Puppets in Education, Development and Therapy Commission, UNIMA, 2012, ISBN 987-953-96856-6-7. 
Übersetzung aus dem Englischen: Barbara Scheel, 2012 * Union Internationale de la Marionnette 

 

When a child identifies with a stage puppet and speaks in its name, his speech becomes spontaneously natural and expressive and the child is inspired by the puppet to change its sound according to the character and the mood of the personages (Pokrivka 1980: 48, in: Kroflin 2012: 49).



The puppet provides the child a kind of cover, behind which he/she can hide. So a timid child can also find motivation to speak (...). Hence, the puppet helps the child to communicate much more spontaneously (...). The puppet is an authority, selected by the child himself. (...) Since a child is not able exactly to express directly in words all his feelings, puppet
heroes help him in finding the words and even more: another point of view. Additionally, children who are accustomed to use puppets in their everyday conversations, have richer vocabulary (...) (Majaron 2002: 61, in: Kroflin 2012: 49).