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Knock, Knock, Who's There?
Developing a Sense of Humor in Toddlers
By Beth Hering
One of my favorite home videos from when my son, Zachary, was about 3 is of him pretending to make me a drink. He took a plastic cup, pretended to pour liquid into it and then dashed over to me. I asked what kind of drink it was, and he replied "coffee." I took a sip, pretended to spit it out and said, "Yuck! That tastes like mud!" He giggled with delight and repeated the whole process over and over again.
Hearing your child laugh is definitely one of the joys of parenthood. But beyond that good feeling it brings both of you, developing a toddler's sense of humor can have benefits that last a lifetime.
"A properly developed sense of humor can serve a child well in many ways," says Mary Hannert, an early childhood director at Elgin Academy in Elgin, Ill. "Humor can be an outlet, and humor can help to develop creativity. Humor can help children to relax and feel good about life. Humor can connect children to friends and help to develop communication skills. The child who can laugh about life is usually a bigger risk taker and has developed some healthy coping skills. Mistakes are not so threatening when you can reflect in a positive light."
Comedian Jay Leno once said, "You cannot be mad at somebody who makes you laugh – it is as simple as that." And many parents would agree that one of the most important things about humor is that it is a wonderful way to keep harmony and sanity.
"I tend to cope with a bad day through humor, so jokes and silliness often break tension and frustration in our household," says Ashley Hogan, a mother from Raleigh, N.C. For instance, when she found herself about to snap because her son once again asked to stop to go to the bathroom on his way home from school instead of going before he left, Hogan stopped herself and instead joked with him that the car seat is not a toilet. "We giggled instead of the irritation escalating," she says.