You don’t have to be a parent to benefit from having a good giggle. But some experts suggest that in addition to the usual benefits of laughter, jokes and humor can be a great tool for parenting, too.
According to a social psychologist, expert in parenting concerns, family dynamics and trends, Dr. Susan Newman, parents tend to view jokes as a distraction from the regular routine – “a break from the serious side of parenting”. But they could be a great tool for calming situations, encouraging proper behavior, and cementing the parent-child bond, the expert suggested in a piece for US News.
Dr. Newman suggested that parents underuse humor and don't fully appreciate its ability to diffuse or reduce tension. And while she pointed out that humor is not always the answer—”anything that puts your child in physical danger or seems to put his academic or social standing at risk calls for a serious chat or imposing restrictions,” she wrote—it can help minimize the stress of certain situations parents find themselves in.
“A lighter approach reduces both the parent’s and the child’s stress. It can also keep a situation from escalating and reduce a child’s feelings of regret or remorse over having done something inappropriate. Most importantly, humor underscores that you love your child in spite of the immediate misstep,” the social psychologist emphasized.
Seeking to delve deeper into the benefits of laughter, Bored Panda got in touch with the best-selling author, expert in therapeutic humor, and motivational humorist Allen Klein. Discussing the benefits of humor, he pointed out that since a hearty laugh can be beneficial to every part of the body, having one on a regular basis is important for one’s health and healing.
“For example, when you have a good laugh, your heart rate goes up then dips below normal when you stop laughing. Very much like aerobic exercise.
“Among other things, you also get a good dose of fresh air in your lungs when laughing, providing more oxygen to your blood and brain, helping you think more clearly,” he said, adding that a big guffaw can also help to relax your muscles.
According to Allen Klein, we all have our funny bone in a different place, which is why people find humor in different things. “What someone finds funny is part cultural and part upbringing,” he suggested.
Discussing the former, the expert noted that friends and family are probably the biggest influence on what we laugh at. “When we are growing up, what our family laughed at is probably the same thing we laughed at. Then as we got older, what our friends found funny is what we found funny. It was a way of connecting and bonding with others.”
As for the latter, Klein suggested that such things as wordplay, idioms, and slang might be totally different from one country to another, which is why the things people in different cultures find funny tend to differ, too.
Nowadays, no matter where you come from, chances are that your humor has been at least somewhat affected or shaped by the internet culture. After all, it is a boundless source of hilarious memes, puns related to anything and everything, and entertaining videos, among numerous other sorts of amusing content.
“The internet has played a big part in the expansion and spreading of humor,” Klein told Bored Panda. “Users are regularly sharing what they find funny, like jokes, funny photos, or cartoons, with their Internet friends. They are also responding to postings with their own funny or witty comments.”
The expert continued to point out that the internet has likely opened netizens up to forms of humor that they previously ignored, or even disliked. “Seeing postings of puns, and realizing that they are chuckling after reading them, for example, might change their opinion of this form of humor,” he suggested, adding that while the internet, too, should be used in moderation, finding something online to laugh about can help ease a trying day and lift us up when we are down.
