While we here at Purciful's are not professional children's therapists -- we do have many close associates and customers who are. These "Puppets That Swallow" are especially intriguing tools for child therapy because of the dissociation they allow the child. Let us give you an example: Say you are working with a child who has been traumatized or abused in some way. If you give the child one of these wonderful and beautiful puppets to play with, the puppet will (as is so often the case) be likely to tell you what the child alone might not be able or willing to tell. In those cases, the puppet can be rewarded -- with a piece of popcorn or a real treat of some kind. In truth, the child has answered the question -- not the puppet. And, the child is taking the reward in his/her had via the puppet's mouth. In this way, the child is being rewarded, but is never said to be rewarded. Only the puppet is said to be rewarded. The puppet gets to eat the treat AND SO DOES THE CHILD. Feelings of guilt or shame are avoided, and a trust and open channel of communication is achieved, without re-traumatizing the child in the process. *********** Another possibility for therapy and/or teaching is the situation when the child is the one giving the treats to a puppet operated by someone else (either another child or the teacher/therapist.) In this situation, the child is able to develop a sense of fairness and equity about giving out the treats, and also encouraged to establish a dialogue so the puppet "gets more goodies"! This is especially important for the very shy, or for those who are for some reason fearful of certain circumstances. **************** It is also possible to use these puppets from a third person, objective point of view for the child, so the child sees the puppet being rewarded for actions the child may otherwise be avoiding because of fear or some other cause. Once the example is set -- the child may see it as beneficial to imitate the same behavior! ********************************************* REACH US BY EMAIL AT purcifuls@yahoo.com OR BY PHONE AT (806) 239 2927 during business hours. IF YOU DON'T GET A LIVE PERSON -- JUST KEEP TRYING! THIS TIME OF YEAR WE TAKE LOTS OF CALLS!! ********************************************************* BE SURE TO CLICK THE GLOBE ICON AND GO TO OUR FRONT PAGE FOR CURRENT SPECIAL OFFERS AND COUPONS!!! ********************************************************* FOR COMPLETE SHIPPING DETAILS (what kinds are offered, how long it takes, how to choose etc....) CLICK THE "SHIPPING INFO" BUTTON on the left side of any page. ********************************************************* To find out about Purciful's Policies -- privacy, security, returns, placing orders by mail and phone, or just about us -- go to the ABOUT PURCIFUL'S AND POLICIES link -- it's in the column of purple buttons on the left side of every shopping page!