“Epoch Times, November 1, 2024” (Epoch Times reporter Chen Juncun). There is an English proverb that says, “Laughter is the best medicine.” But laughter has other benefits as well. Recent studies have shown that it could also be a great parenting tool, helping to enhance parent-child relationships. Therefore, sometimes it’s nice for parents to share harmless jokes with their children.
Pennsylvania State University in the United States pointed out that researchers at the university have found that most people consider humor to be an effective parenting tool, and parents or caregivers using humor can influence their relationship with their children. Among those who use humor, most have a positive outlook on their relationship with their parents and their own ways of being educated.
Professor Benjamin Levi of the College of Medicine at the university said that humor can teach people cognitive flexibility and relieve stress, as well as promote creative problem-solving and improve resilience. He mentioned that his father was good at using humor, and he himself has used humor when seeing patients clinically and educating his children.
While previous studies have looked into humor and play in various settings and aspects of child development, there hasn’t been formal research on the use of humor in raising children.
Led by Levi, a research team conducted an experimental study to explore how people perceive humor, how they were raised, and the relationship between that and how they raise their own children.
The study surveyed 312 adults aged 18 to 45. More than half of the participants said that their parents used humor in raising them. 71.8% of people agreed that humor can be an effective parenting tool. Most people said that they have already used or intend to use humor to educate their children, believing that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
Researchers also found a correlation between the way parents use humor and how their children (now adults) view their parenting styles and their relationship with their parents.
Among those who believed they had a good relationship with their parents, 63% said their parents used humor, while 3.7% said their parents did not use humor.
In those who thought their parents’ parenting style was good, 68.4% said their parents used humor, while 5.6% said their parents did not use humor.
One of the report’s authors is Lucy Emery, a former medical school student at the university who now works as a pediatric resident at Boston Children’s Hospital. She compared the use of humor in parent-child relationships and business relationships.
Emery said, “Although parent-child relationships are more loving than business relationships, there is often a lot of stress when raising children. Humor helps to diffuse tension and class differences, and helps both parties feel better in stressful situations.”
The research team is expanding on this preliminary study, investigating a larger, more diverse group of parents and collecting qualitative data based on parents’ experiences using humor.
Levi stated, “I hope people learn to use humor as an effective parenting tool, as it not only helps alleviate tension but also nurtures their resilience, cognitive and emotional flexibility, and sets a good example for their children.”