All parents hope to raise happy, healthy children, and teaching your child the power of laughter is a simple yet effective way to build confidence and understanding early on. Laughter can bring people together and raise dopamine levels. Cultivating a sense of humor early in life can help keep your child laughing, smiling, and happy for years to come. Here are some reasons to encourage laughter in your home and a few ideas for helping your children to laugh more!
Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine
Laughter has many health benefits and has been proven to relax the whole body by relieving physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after. It can also strengthen the immune system by decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Finally, it can trigger the release of endorphins, which can diminish physical pain and increase a sense of well-being. All this for a few belly laughs? Support your child’s physical and mental health by making time for humor!
Laughter Can Help Your Child Learn
Learning done alongside humor has been proven to speed up information uptake and increase long-term fact recall, so it’s definitely an important part of any classroom. When you’re learning at home, don’t be afraid to show your silly side. In one study, 18-month-olds watched an adult researcher throw a toy on the ground after using a new tool to retrieve it. The infants who laughed when the adult researcher threw the toy on the ground were more likely to successfully use the new tool to pick up a toy. The next time you’re teaching your child a new skill, add a little humor into the mix. For example, saying, “The Cheese Monster had five pieces of cheese and ate two of them!” might be easier to remember than a simple math fact.
Try Out Laughter Yoga
As it turns out, engaging the muscle movements used in laughing and smiling have a beneficial effect even when they’re not done spontaneously. Yep, even “fake” laughter and smiles raise serotonin levels! That means making a wide smile or an exaggerated “hoo hoo! ha ha!” is as good for you and your child’s mental health as laughter that arises naturally. The science behind this has led to the formation of “laughter yoga,” a group exercise where participants pretend to laugh together. Oftentimes, the rehearsed laughter turns into genuine laughter. An informal laughter yoga practice is wonderful for children to engage in. At home, have your children play-act laughter with you to practice a child’s version of laughter yoga.
Make a Giggle List
A Giggle List is a list of things that make you feel happy or make you laugh. Making a giggle list for each member of the family will help children identify what cheers them up when they’re feeling down. A giggle list can include funny YouTube videos, a friend with a great sense of humor, a certain type of joke, or a silly picture book. When used as part of a calming corner filled with soft blankets and stuffed animals, a giggle list can help your child remember to use humor to help them self-regulate when they’re feeling sad or angry. (And adults, don’t forget: for effective self-care and modeling, make note of things that give you joy and return to them often!)
Joyful Learning at The Gardner School
TGS supports little learners by making our classrooms places of joy and humor. Whether it’s a silly book or a funny dance, we make learning delightful each and every day. Giving a child free rein to explore and experiment is an important part of helping children grow. The Gardner School is committed to providing a mix of academic engagement, social interaction, free play time, and enrichment activities like dance, cooking, sports, music, drama, and art. By providing a diverse, responsive approach to learning, The Gardner School gives children the best possible chance to succeed. To understand why parents choose The Gardner School for their children to grow and learn, contact us to learn more or to schedule a virtual tour.
