PUPPETalk Program promotes positive caregiver-child interactions

A pilot program which uses low-cost finger puppets to encourage language-rich interactions and promote early relational health has shown positive findings in child language development, social emotional development, improved home environments, and a decrease in maternal depression symptoms.

 

PUPPETalkTM (PUppets to Play, Praise, Educate, and TalkTM) is simple to implement and promotes  language-rich, positive caregiver-child interactions in early infancy, Program Manager Mariarosa Gasbarro explained. 

 

“Our providers are guided to give instructions on the importance of babies’ hearing language and that as a caregiver, you are your baby’s first teacher,” she said. 

 

“This period is critical for them to hear language and absorb information and will help their growth and development later.”

 

Leading the research for the past decade has been Dr Gretchen Domek, however PUPPETalkTM evolved from interventions that began 40 years ago when Professor Emeritus Bonnie Camp was using puppets in the Young Mothers and Families Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado to encourage the young mothers to interact with their babies. 

 

Decades later in 2012, under the mentorship of Professor Emeritus Camp, Dr Domek began using puppets during her global health fellowship working with mothers and their children in Guatemala.

 

“Anecdotally, we saw these mothers light up each time they’d use the puppets to talk to their babies, and the babies would be captivated,” she said. “The idea to study these interactions began to intertwine with the work Dr. Camp had done decades before.”

 

The research on finger puppets for language development has now been completed in two other countries, and Dr Domek has completed two pilot studies in the U.S. with positive outcomes. The next phase in her research is to further establish the evidence-base with broader dissemination and implementation.

 

“We’ve been able to engage the community and find out what they want in this intervention,” Dr Domek said. “We’ve made an instructional video for each activity on our PUPPETalkTM activity sheet, in both English and Spanish, and we now have this handout translated into 11 different languages, with the goal of at least 20 languages soon. We’ve been expanding our materials and most of that has been through our community engagement work.”

 

Families that participate in the PUPPETalkTM program receive an activity sheet along with a finger puppet. The 10 activities include things like reading a book, exploring their environment, and singing songs. 

 

“When you are in a diaper change, you might start with the puppet, but once you see this reciprocity, in terms of engaging with your baby, it really carries over beyond having your puppet,” Ms Gasbarro explained. 

 

“We emphasize that the puppet is a mechanism, but the real intervention is the language that happens because of seeing your baby respond, because your baby enjoys hearing you share words and positive emotions. It builds on itself beyond just that puppet.”