How to Develop a Child’s Sense of Humor
Why did the sandwich fall out of the bath? my son once asked me when he was five years old.
“Ummm, I don’t know. Why? “I asked, more than curious where this is all leading.
“Because he needed a bottle of cheese!” he exclaimed.
This joke is still my favorite, because at that moment I realized that he is firmly convinced that he finds funny jokes, but still does not quite understand how to create them.
A good sense of humor is one of the keys to a happy life. Humor is one of the ways we communicate with other people, it helps us to bond and build relationships, and it also allows us not to take ourselves (or each other) too seriously. Children will naturally develop a sense of humor as they age, but there are some things parents can do to influence and encourage their comedy.
Get to know them where they are
Just as children reach other stages of development, the development of a sense of humor in children occurs in stages as they grow up. Babies do not understand humor as such, but they respond to and imitate smiles and laughter. By the time they are toddlers, they may appreciate physical humor with an element of surprise, such as hiding their fist.
Amy Kraft and her colleagues at Pinna podcast app for kids explored how kids interact with humor at different ages to target their comedy shows to the right age groups.
“At the age of 3-4, the humor is very silly,” says Kraft, director of development and child programming for Pinna. “This is the age when kids are super literal, so when you do something wrong and they stupidly know it’s wrong … it’s a good moment for comedy.”
Joking about the pig saying “hum”, for example, or walking around with a toy on your head and pretending that there’s nothing strange about it are things that will amuse your preschooler.
By the age of 5 or 6, Kraft says they begin to understand humor at a higher level and start trying to compose their own jokes.
“They may start to understand things like irony and sarcasm, but they can’t do it yet,” she says. “My favorite pastime is children trying to tell jokes, even though they don’t know how to tell jokes yet.”
Kraft says that in grade school, telling jokes becomes an important way children communicate with each other.
“The way we interact with humor is social; it’s a deal with other people, ”she says. “Kids start trying to make people laugh and see what makes them laugh, much the same way a stand-up comic works on their set.”
Encourage their humor
What children find funny may not sound so funny to you (timely, trifling humor has its place in society, but it can be out of date). But Kraft says paying attention to what annoys your child can be beneficial for both of you.
“I’m a huge fan of co-viewing and co-listening; If your child is shaking because of something, sit down and quarrel with him, ”she says. “When a comedy is shared, it shows that you appreciate it.” Even if you don’t find it as funny as they do, you can often understand why they find it funny, and that’s enough.
When kids get interested in jokes, you can cheer them up with books, funny shows, or comedy podcasts. One new comedy show Pinna is launching today, called HiLL-LaRRy-uS, offers kids a new joke every day in which they can listen to it in the morning and arm themselves with a new joke for their friends at recess.
If you’re looking for a good beginner’s joke book, Knock Knock! “Who’s There ” by Ted Hills is a basic book for preschoolers in which they only need to memorize 10 anecdotes. An Offspring reader also once recommended Jay Leno’s How to Become the Funniest Kid in the World , which is full of jokes, silly questions and mini-exercises for kids.
And in case of doubt, you can always ask Alex to “tell me a joke.”
“Kids love making a joke,” says Kraft. “It’s a great thing to reward, and it’s such a social icebreaker.”
Beware of sarcasm
It pains me to write this because someone grew up in an incredibly sarcastic family, but be very careful when directing sarcasm at your children. Until they are old enough to pick up on the nuances of sarcasm, it often looks just plain sneaky.
Kraft said that along with age, consider the setting when using sarcasm with your child. Her own daughter once attended a parent-teacher conference in an elementary school, where the teacher sarcastically spoke about the girl’s performance in school.
“Consider if the time is right and what the stakes are for the child,” she says. “Sarcasm only works if the kids understand the main point.”
Likewise, don’t laugh at mean things or “jokes” that make fun of others. Children learn from their parents what is funny, and you should never humiliate others for the sake of humor.
Come up with jokes “inside”
Telling family jokes about running can help you bond with the kids.
“You build on a comedic foundation of shared understanding by sharing a special joke that you have in common,” says Kraft.
It could be a funny line from a favorite movie said at the right moment, a certain facial expression or some familiar banter. Find things that make you all laugh and keep them alive.