Today’s word is : Humour!
Being a parent is tough, but having a good sense of humour definitely helps make things easier.Here’s the important four words you need to remember about humour: SEE, BE, HIDE, and SHARE.
See
Look for the humour in the every day. Kids are hilarious. I don’t know if they are just born that way or somehow pick it up, but seriously – prepare to laugh. There’s so many times that kids say things or do things that just make you want to peal out in laughter. You just need to look and listen.
(Some words of caution though – make sure you don’t laugh at a child in any way that will hurt their feelings or self-esteem. It needs to be something to lift up, not tear down.)
Be
Be funny, silly, hilarious. Make your kids laugh and laugh along with them. Humour is a great way to diffuse stressful and frustrating situations. Do a silly dance, make a funny joke, go crazy – let everyone laugh and then put on your game face do deal with whatever is going on.
You know what they say: “Laughter is the best medicine.” It’s true. Have you tried to fix a boo-boo with a joke? It usually works! Whenever one of my sons comes to me, full of tears and usually a high level of hysteria over something typically minor – I will usually be the one to be silly or crack a joke in hopes of turning that frown upsidedown and get a laugh. As soon as the smile appears, the pain that seconds before would have ended their life is almost always forgotten and they go on their merry way.
Be humorous. Not only is it good for your family and children to laugh, it’s good for YOU to do the same. When we’re funny, people want to interact with us. And, really – who doesn’t want more time to interact with their kids?
Hide
There are always situations that have us about to pee our pants laughing as parents – but that we can’t let the kids know we’re laughing at.. You know – when the kid appropriately uses a swear word loudly and clearly at the most inappropriate time and all you want to do is fall over and laugh? Or your child does something funny that you aren’t supposed to have seen? Or they get hurt in a way that cracks everyone up, but laughing is totally uncalled for?
Times like these call for the “hide” technique. Most parents I know just do a short turn backwards to the child in order to straighten their face before returning to the conversation. It’s twinkling eyes over the kids’ heads to another adult or stepping out of the room for a minute.
We don’t want to encourage inappropriate behaviour by laughing at it, and we definitely don’t want to belittle our children by making them feel they are being made fun of. It’s a fine line – and so, sometimes – it’s important to hide our laughter somehow until we can do it safely.
Share
If you find, see, experience, or do something funny – share it. Share it with the appropriate audiences and make sure to have a big laugh while you do it. It’s important to never take life too seriously , or you will miss all the fun that’s around you.
So get out there, and have some fun!
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Lisa Marie Fletcher
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