A Time To Be Silly

One of the pleasures of working with young children is observing their humor. What a delight! What four and five-year-olds see as funny often seems strange to you and me, but it doesn’t stop the depth of their laughter. Here are some ideas to encourage humor with your child:

1. Read funny stories and sing silly songs together. Read nonsense or "just for fun" books. Help your child make the connection between humor, imagination, language, and creativity. Let them write their own stories and act them out.
2. Use humor to deal with frustrating or difficult situations. Sometimes we can turn a stressful situation into a funny one.
3. Support silly, make-believe play. Encourage your child to try out different voices and roles with the help of puppets, props, dress-up clothes, etc., to bring out their humor.
4. Join in the fun by being silly yourself. This sends the message that being humorous is okay while reinforcing the necessary limits. You need to show your fun side to the children.
5. It is important to listen to children’s humor because it offers insight into their concerns. For example, too much joking about bad dreams may indicate a fear that needs to be dealt with.