Get Rid of Potty Humor With Daily “ass Talk”
Kakashi is funny when you’re five. Okay, I know people of all ages will love a good fart joke. But sometimes, you can get tired of your child’s pot of jokes, especially at the dinner table, and if you react strongly to it, you are probably only pushing them. They are trying to get you to rise; it’s a power ride.
The New York Times explains:
“Children first learn that words have meaning, and then they learn that certain words have special power,” said Lawrence Cohen, Ph.D., author of Playful Parenting . According to him, bodily functions have a special intensity that extends to the words that describe them. This is the intense sensory experience of going to the toilet, coupled with the “silence and secrecy” children see when adults react to words.
“Children are always experimenting with strength, and making adults laugh or feel awkward is very important for a child,” he said.
There are other explanations for why trifling humor boggles their imaginations in the 3-6 age range: they can really worry about bathroom accidents, and they can get rid of that worry with jokes. They are also at a stage of development where absurdity becomes funny, and for a preschooler there is nothing more absurd than body functions.
If you agree that pooping and peeing is just fun, then let’s break up with them by all means. However, if you’re trying to get it back, clinical psychologist Maya Coleman has a suggestion she shares with the Times : Implement a daily “butt talk time.”
It works like this: for five minutes every day, everything becomes a game. Children are encouraged to say whatever they want, no matter how dirty or rude, and parents should support this with laughter and play. If the joke is funny, laugh. If your child calls you an angry face, you can feign shock and say, “What? I thought I was a delicate flower. ” The effect is to reduce the emotional charge of words.
It also helps redirect kids when little humor starts flowing at the wrong time (like at the dinner table or in church), Coleman says. She just tells them, “Oh, we need to save this for Butt Talk Time.”