Most of us love someone who has a great sense of humor. Those who love to laugh help us to laugh. When life starts getting us down we turn to those who can laugh at it for support and help. We know that laughter is the best medicine, and that those who laugh often get through problems in a much easier way. As these facts prove, a good sense of humor is a very important part of a person’s personality. It is both a tool that helps us to survive and to get friends. We probably could not survive without it. Beyond this, it is part of what makes life great and worth living. So if a good sense of humor is so essential, how can it be encouraged in your child? Can you help a child gain a good sense of humor like you can teach them to play the piano, or catch a ball? This is a difficult question to answer, and partly because children have different personalities from each other. Some kids are naturally more quiet than others. They might be shy or serious. This is not a problem with their personality. Don’t try to force a child to laugh or have a good time. You need to respect the individual that your child is. However, there might be some good ways to help your kids laugh, and to laugh more and more. This could help them to develop a good sense of humor and to have more fun in life. Here are a few tips that could help you to develop your child’s sense of humor:
1. Find out what your children think is funny and then repeat it. A child has a particular sense of humor just as you do. Discover what makes them laugh. Is it jokes or physical humor? Is it verbal or visual? Once you have determined this try to develop this characteristic in your child by exposing them to more of this type of humor.
2. Laugh with your child. Children look to their parents to discover what is acceptable and what is not. They need the validation of mom or dad to figure out how to live. If you can laugh at certain things with your child it will help them to know that laughter is okay. They will learn that they don’t have to be serious all the time. A home where people are constantly serious is one where they will not be able to laugh. Make laughter a regular part of your daily routine.
3. Friends. Children love spending time with their friends. This together time is an important part of their routine and development. Most adults love to laugh with their friends. Children are really no different. If you can regularly allow your children to spend time with their friends, the chances are that they will see life in a much more light-hearted way.
4. Respond to adversity with optimism. A good sense of humor rolls with the punches in life. It can deal with almost anything. If you become overly serious or upset when something bad happens your children will probably respond in the same way. They will dread the difficult times and never laugh at them.
These are just a few tips that will help you to develop your child’s good sense of humor. Beyond these, be creative and experiment. If you persist you will find a method or practice that greatly helps to improve your child’s sense of humor.
