J - Jokes/Humor

Learning to laugh, smile, and find humor is SO important in life. It keeps spirits lifted, and smiles are super contagious. My kids have intoxicating smiles. They all find bathroom humor to be downright hilarious. If you ask them about toots, dooooty, I-CUP, etc, they will start giggling. Keep in mind, I DO have 3 girls and a boy and it does NOT matter. Toots are FUNNY.

With that said, it is important to keep others in mind when you tell jokes or laugh at humorous things. Not everyone finds bathroom humor funny, or even appropriate. Some things we find hilarious, others will find disgusting. When teaching your children about humor, always let them know that it has a time and a place.

DIY -

• Humor is believed to help brain function
• Helps you to be spontaneous
• Helps to see things from another perspective
• Prevents you from taking things too seriously
• Keeps you youthful and playful
• Children with a good sense of humor do better socially, mentally, and emotionally

The health benefits of laughter is unmeasurable. Immunity is often stronger, and there are fewer problems with racing heart rates, high blood pressure, and digestive issues. It is also seen that laughter can help ease pain.

Ages and Stages of Funny

• Babies - they laugh when you laugh ... which starts another cycle of laughter. As they age, they will start to giggle after certain games, poems, or tickling.
• Toddlers - It is common for toddlers to find almost everything funny. They will also do things to purposely make you laugh.
• Preschool - This is when MOST children find bathroom humor funny (my kids started REAL young). They also like to laugh at things that do not make sense.
• School-age - Humor your child and encourage their attempts to find jokes. My son ... oh, he tries SO hard with jokes. However, his good ones are often ones he has just read in a book. If he makes them up, we are usually left blinking. At this age, slapstick, exaggeration, and word play is often hilarious.

The best way to encourage humor is to model it. Laugh at yourself, crack jokes, and smile. What are things you do to encourage your child to learn to laugh?

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