Laughing Matters
However you do it -- with a joke, a well-timed tickle, or just a contagious case of the giggles -- few things feel better than cracking up your kid. Laughing together warms relationships, smooths ruffled feathers, eases frustration, and releases tension. And of course any laughter, from the slightest chuckle to a sidesplitting howl, simply feels good. But did you know that laughter may actually be good for you?
Comic Relief
According to a number of recent studies, laughter may play a role in physical health. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found a link between the experience of joy and overall physical well-being, citing a reduction in stress-inducing hormones as the key. The study, which was led by cardiologist Michael Miller, revealed that laughter releases endorphins, those same feel-good chemicals produced during cardiovascular exercise that are believed to cause the phenomenon known as runner's high. Still more research has linked laughter with lowered blood pressure, a boosted immune system, and improved cardiovascular health.
Laugh Tracks
Getting your child to laugh isn't always easy. Sure, most parents quickly learn their baby's tickle spots. A high-pitched "Who's my crazy-legs monkey?" might slay your toddler, and most preschoolers will fall into a fit of the giggles if you so much as mention the word underpants. But older kids may not go for that sophisticated verbal humor. For them, it's often old-fashioned silliness -- such as that provided by the games and goofiness shown at right -- that has the biggest payoff.
It's a sad fact that as kids get older, getting them to laugh becomes more of a challenge. For 'tweens, it's about as cool to share a joke with your mom as it is to wear her bathing suit. "It wasn't always easy to get Molly to laugh," says Paul Statt of Amherst, Massachu-setts, of his now 16-year-old daughter. "But I would say, 'Don't laugh, Molly!' and it actually worked because it was so corny -- an old family joke from her childhood." With Molly, Paul found that it was often easier to share a joke if the humor came from somewhere besides uncool Dad -- a kid-friendly comedy on TV, say, or a funny board game.
Laughter Is Contagious
To be sure, what works for one family may not work for another. But once you start laughing, you never know where it will lead. Indeed, "Laughter Yoga" is an entire movement based on the premise that you can "fake it till you make it," in the words of Sue Herz, a certified Laughter Club leader from Wakefield, Massachusetts. Without jokes or humor, laugh yogis encourage the physical act of laughter with special breathing, sound, and pantomime exercises -- until the brain takes over, and real laughter erupts and takes hold of the group. Laughter Clubs, started in 1995 by Indian doctor Madan Kataria to stimulate good health, now number 5,000 worldwide. Herz says laughter makes her feel physically stronger: "If there's a bug going around, I feel like I'm not going to get it." (See if a Laughter Yoga exercise, right, gets your child giggling.)
Comedy Central
No matter what gets your family chuckling, preserving those funny moments is a great way to perpetuate the laughter. Record your child telling his favorite jokes. Write down the funny things your kids say, starting with baby mistakes like "Pliget" for Piglet. Save photos of your kids (and yourself) during particular fashion periods. Keep a journal to remember your family's hilarious mishaps: the camping trip when Dad got sprayed by a skunk, or the night Mom walked into her surprise birthday party half dressed.
The point is, if your kids are laughing, well, maybe it really is funny. As Sue Herz puts it, "Laughter is one thing that our kids are better at than we are. We might as well let them teach us."
So laugh, and the world -- or at least your family -- will laugh with you.
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