{"id":478,"date":"2018-06-26T05:46:11","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T09:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/?p=478"},"modified":"2024-12-09T06:14:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T11:14:24","slug":"chattanoogas-kids-block-puppets-give-kids-courage-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/chattanoogas-kids-block-puppets-give-kids-courage-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Chattanooga\u2019s Kids on the Block Puppets Give Kids Courage to Open Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chattanooga’s Kids on the Block uses a special type of puppetry to teach children about difficult topics that are generally not part of the classroom curriculum. Things like child abuse, racism, and substance abuse. The amazing thing is that the puppet shows are interactive: kids get a chance to ask any question they like to the child-sized puppets. And they do!<\/p>\n

Kids feel safe asking questions of these puppets in a way they never would with a teacher or other adult. Kars4Kids thinks this is a brilliant initiative deserving of all the help it can get and so we gave Chattanooga\u2019s Kids on the Block a small grant<\/a>. We spoke with CKOB Executive Director Kelly Williams and Director of Education and Bunraku Puppet Artist Kasandra Helms, to learn more about the remarkable work of Chattanooga\u2019s Kids on the Block.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: Chattanooga\u2019s Kids on the Block is a licensed child abuse<\/a> prevention agency in the state of Tennessee and as such, is responsible to report cases of abuse that you become aware of during your work. How sure do you have to be to report a possible case of abuse? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kasandra Helms: In Tennessee, as in a number of other states, everyone is a mandatory reporter whenever they even suspect child abuse or maltreatment. During our programs on abuse when children have the opportunity to interact directly with the puppets, there may be instances where a child says something that would alert us of possible abuse. Though they may not disclose the abuse specifically, we err on the side of caution and report the incident. We would rather a child or children be found safe than to continue with the possibility of being abused.\u00a0 During the interactive portion of the educational program, the nonthreatening environment created by our puppets, allows children to open up as if the puppets were trusted friends.<\/p>\n

\"A
A line-up of Chattanooga’s Kids On The Block puppets with their puppeteers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kars4Kids: There\u2019s an issue of creating false memories of abuse for children, since they are so suggestible and imaginative. Is this something that you take into account when designing your performances and programs? How do you avoid such a situation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kasandra Helms:\u00a0 I believe that those false memories could be attributed to a couple different things. First, inexperienced adults who may mean well when a child discloses a situation may start to ask leading questions, prompting children to make different conclusions. Or another reason for the false memories may be that children are confused as to the definition of abuse. In our programs, we show the lives of two child puppets who have had experience with abuse, but their experiences are stated in a language that children can understand.<\/p>\n

Some children in our programs may ask about being disciplined\/spanked and bullying. We are very clear, though, about what child abuse is and what it is not, so that children understand and are not confused. Through our programs and puppets, we always encourage children to talk with an adult they trust if they have any questions or that \u201cuh oh\u201d feeling. We also let the children ask questions to the puppets, instead of allowing for the possibility of leading the children.<\/p>\n