After a few couples therapy sessions, our therapist recommends that in some of our couples therapy the stupidest When arguing, instead of letting things completely spiral out of control into something less stupid, try to laugh through the argument and recognize how stupid we are.
Let’s be honest: it works! The atmosphere in the room completely changed. We feel much better. Laughter takes us out of the moment and resets our mood. I think laughter is the best medicine. Apparently, humor is more than just a cure for grumpy married couples like my husband and I.
A new study shows that parents who use humor also develop better relationships with their children.
The research is published in the journal public library of science one, Showing that using humor in parenting may have a bigger impact than we thought, including building a variety of social-emotional skills.
The authors of this pilot study found that while there is a wealth of research on how parents use play-based parenting in raising their children, there is very little information on humor.
So they asked a number of adult respondents whether and how their own parents used humor in their homes, and how these people viewed these childhood experiences years later.
It’s been proven that interesting parents are viewed more positively, have stronger relationships with their adult children, and are perceived as better, more effective parents.
They surveyed 312 people aged 18 to 45. . Most said they did or planned to use humor with children and believed its potential benefits outweighed the disadvantages.
The research team also found a correlation between the way parents used humor and the way their now-adult children viewed their parenting and their relationships with their parents.
Unsurprisingly, among those who said they had a good relationship with their parents, 63% said their parents used humor, while 3.7% said their parents did not use humor. Among those who said their parents’ parenting was good, 68.4% said their parents used humor, while 5.6% said their parents did not use humor.
“Humor can teach people cognitive flexibility, relieve stress, and promote creative problem solving and resilience,” said Benjamin Levi, professor of pediatrics and humanities at Penn State College of Medicine and senior author of the study. “My father had a great sense of humor, and it was very effective. I use humor in my clinical practice and with my own children. The question is, how to use humor constructively?
This study is just a starting point. However, Levy and his team hope this study will lay the foundation for more research.
