When most people think of children, the first image that pops into their mind is play, fun and laughter. The main focus of adults' daily routine is work, but children's mission in life is to simply have fun. We are biologically predisposed to play when we are young, and it is in the context of play that young children learn the most about their world.
Teachers of young children have always been aware of the crucial importance of play for learning. It contributes to key aspects of cognitive, social and emotional development especially in the preschool years. Much less attention, however, has been given to the role of humor in promoting developmental gains in these same three areas. These gains will be discussed in this article.
If parents and teachers are to be effective in fostering the broad range of developmental benefits resulting from humor (described below), they must first have a good understanding of basic developmental changes in young children's humor. In the keynotes I provide to parents and teachers of young children, I find that this understanding is often lacking. This article is designed to change that. The last half of the article will summarize these changes up to age five, providing you the background needed to use humor effectively in your pre-k classroom. All of the issues and developmental changes described here are discussed in more detail in my book, Understanding and Promoting the Development of Children's Humor. (See end of article for ordering information.)
The motivation to play and laugh is built into us as a species, so young children will be interested in play and humor even if you make no special effort to nurture these behaviors. However, widespread individual differences in humor skills can be seen increasingly as children get older. You can boost the odds that the children you teach or care for will receive the benefits discussed by responding positively to their budding sense of humor when the opportunity presents itself. Doing so will help build a pool of key intellectual, social and emotional skills that will serve the child well the rest of her life.