User:BroddYM

Developing and Enhancing Humor Skills. Laughing together is a way of connecting, but a good sense of humor can make a child smarter, healthier, and better able to cope with challenges. we tend to think of humor as part of our genetic make-up, like blue eyes or big feet. But a sense of humor is actually a learned quality that can be nurtured into a child, not something he or she is born with or without. So, what is humor? Humor is what makes something funny; a sense of humor is the ability to recognize it. Someone with a well-developed sense of humor has the ability to recognize what's funny in others and can amuse others as well. A good sense of humor is a tool that a child can rely on throughout life to help him or her: a)see things from many perspectives other than the most obvious b)be spontaneous c)grasp unconventional ideas or ways of thinking d)see beyond the surface of things e)enjoy and participate in the playful aspects of life f)not take himself or herself too seriously. Children with a well-developed sense of humor are happier and more optimistic, have higher self-esteem and can handle differences(their own and others)well. Children who can appreciate and share humor are better liked by their peers and more able to handle the adversities of childhood - from moving to a new town, to teasing, to torment by playground bullies. A good sense of humor doesn't just help a child emotionally or socially - reserch has shown that children who laugh more are more healthier. They are less likely to be depressed and have an icreased resistance to illness or physical problems. But most of all, a sense of humor is what makes life fun. It's never too early to start developing child's sense of humor. Since humor is a form of intellectual play, and language is the main vehile for thought,it comes as no suprise that children love to play with words. The discovery that the same word can have two meanings is an exciting one, and spurs children to find even more words to play with. And this excitement about double meaning of words is an enriched vocabulary. Jokes and riddles expose children to new words and meanings, and the repeated telling of jokes and riddles consolidates the memory and helps in everyday life. Reading skills receive a boost as a result of the keen interest in joke and riddle books. The best way to build reading skills is to find a way to make reading exciting for ckhildren, and nothing beates humor when it comes to generating excitement. The reading skills acquired from reading jokes and riddles generalize to all forms of reading. Humor also boosts children's creative thinking capacity. There is a close relationship between the kind of thinking involved in humor and other forms of creative thinking. Good humor skills during childhood help build a solid sense of self-esteem. Since humor and shared laughter help a child receive a lot of positive feedback from other children this gradually builds a strong sense of good feeling about oneself. And perhaps the most long-range emotional benefit of humor resulting from the development of good humor skills during childhood is the coping skill known to be assciated with humor. How do you go about improving your own humor skills? Humor is like beauty. It's in the eye of the beholder. There is no right or wrong when it comes to what is funny. While we may disagree how funny any particular event or idea is, the important thing is that you find something to laugh at every day. The first thing to do is to determine the nature of your sense of humor. What do you find funny? Think about your sense of humor in terms of whether you are someone who often initiates humor, or mainly enjoys the humor of others. When do you make others laugh, is it by telling jokes, coming up with your spontaneous witty remarks. or sharing a funny incident? I am convinced that from time to time many adults lose the quality which is basic for the sense of humor. It's the sense of fun and playful attitude that young children bring to everything they do. When we are within this playful frame of mind we are most likely to see humor around us, or to create our own humor. Humor is intellectual play. It's play with ideas, and it is as important for psychological survival as physical play is for animals' physical survival. Allow the playful child within you to come out and play a little while every day, an interesting thing happens. You become better at "livig in the monemt" and you have joy in your life each day. Have a good belly laugh. We generally laugh when we find something funny. Think of laughing as a skill. If you find that you don't laugh very often, and don't have much of a belly laugh when you do laugh, make the effort to work on this part of your sense of humor. Spend the next week, two weeks or three weeks laughing more often and more intensely than you usually do. Practice telling jokes and funny stories.