Find the Funny

By Gail Choate, founder of Synergies and the president of Laughs to Go

Even Shinichi Suzuki^[1] agrees, “"Children learn to smile from their parents." As parents, we are often so caught up in the day-to-day struggle to get by that we forget this fact. We teach our children to play soccer, we teach them their times tables, we teach them to drive—but we leave their sense of humor, their ability to laugh, up to fate.

Here are a few quick ways to help your children learn to laugh. And by following these simple suggestions, maybe you’ll learn to laugh right along with them!

1. Look for the ridiculous
Millions of us tune in to our favorite sitcom every week. We giggle and guffaw the night away watching Jerry and Elaine get themselves in absurd situations on re-runs of Seinfeld, or chuckle at Grace’s clumsiness and quirky sense of style on Will and Grace. But when it comes to our own lives, we are deadly serious. It’s no wonder our kids are ending up stressed and overwhelmed—we feel the same way!

Try looking at the things that happen to you as if they were happening on a sitcom. Are they so ridiculous that they are funny? When the kids on your favorite show wash the dog in the Jacuzzi it’s hysterical—couldn’t you find the funny when your kids do it, too?

2. Prepare for pain
As parents, we know there are some places we have to go that aren’t going to be 100% fun. The long lines at the grocery store, the motor vehicle department, the dentist or any other place we are forced to wait with our kids for undetermined amounts of time.

Forewarned is forearmed! Carry an emergency kit with you filled with age appropriate activities to pass the time. This kit could include:

• Bubbles: There isn’t a kid in the world who can’t entertain themselves for hours with bubbles. And adults love them too!
• Word searches or coloring sheets: These can really be entertaining, depending upon the age of your kids.
• A repertoire of quick games: “I Spy”; “I’m thinking of an animal…”; Improv Experts”; “This is not a…” These are all games that can be enjoyed without props or preplanning

Worried that you’ll look stupid playing these games with your kids in the doctor’s office waiting room? Think about it this way: Do you think you’ll look like more of a genius screaming at your child through clenched teeth to sit down and be quiet?

3. Carry a Happy Sack
All of us sometimes need a reminder to smile. I carry what I called my Happy Sack: a little bag filled with things that remind me to laugh. This sack includes a picture of me on my wedding day (I thought that ridiculous hairstyle was fabulous!), a picture of my now 15-year-old son with spaghetti on his head at age two, a pair of nose/eye glasses and a joke book. When I’m getting really stressed, I stop, take a deep breath, reach in and pull out something guaranteed to make me laugh.

4. Speak in Rhymes

Do not worry when there is stress and strain
You can do this in the rain
You can do it near and far
You can do it in the car
You can do rhymes here or there
Yes you can do them anywhere!

5. Watch what you watch
TV plays a major role in our society. Try to find shows for you that make you laugh, especially right before you go to bed. If the last thing you see before closing your eyes is a murder, rape or other tragedy, do you really think you’ll have pleasant dreams? Try watching a stand-up comic, a sitcom or something that lifts you up—you’re almost guaranteed to wake up feeling better!

By finding the funny for yourself, you’ll help your kids discover the joy of laughter as well. A family that laughs together stays together—and has a lot of fun in the meantime!

Share a Laugh with your Child! Cartoon Networks’s all new Tickle U, launches weekdays from 9 to 11 am starting August 22. To learn more about the new programs, characters and laughter you’ll be discovering with your children, visit www.TickleU.com.

Gail Choate, founder of Synergies, providing health promotion and wellness consulting to businesses throughout the US; the president of Laughs to Go, an entertainment company dedicated to stamping out boredom and replacing it with FUN; and the mother of four.

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[1] Shinichi Suzuki is a famous Japanese violinist and teacher who developed the Suzuki Method, which has been used to teach millions of children to play violin worldwide. 1898-1998