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Comic Relief
No joke: Kids with a sense of humor are better able to deal with
challenges. We’ll help fill your house with laughter. BY TAMEKIA REECE
My 4-year-old son, Darren, is always giggling about something—last week I found him cracking up at the way a caterpillar walked. Some days, he’s so silly that just mention- ing that my socks have blue polka dots can have him in stitches. Although all this
goofiness can be well, goofy, at times, it’s smart to nurture your kid’s sense of humor. “
Figuring out why a joke is funny forces children to make connections between ideas, and it gives
them practice using their emerging cognitive abilities, like noticing details or playing with
similar sounds,” says Carol Baicker-McKee, Ph.D., a child psychologist in Pittsburgh.
Humor can also help boost a child’s self-esteem and social skills. “Funny kids are usually very
good at putting others at ease,” says Paul McGhee, Ph.D., author of Understanding and Promoting the Development of Children’s Humor. Now that you know your kid’s jokes are beneficial
for more than becoming a future class clown, try these activities to make her laugh out loud.
ALEXANDRA GRABLEWSKI. STYLING BY CLAUDIA MIYAR. GROOMING BY TONYA NOLAND FOR MARK EDWARD INC.
