Why did the minute cross the road?

What’s the difference between a seven-year-old and a really bad comedian? Their age. In my experience, every boy and most girls go through a phase where they discover jokes and set out to be funny. And truth be told, we all still have remnants of our first childish experiments with being funny – especially dads who can revert to boyish humor in a moment’s notice.Hey, we can have a lot of fun with young children by letting our sense of humor slide back a few years and getting into a good round of knock-knock jokes with them. When my kids went through this stage, I released my inner 10-year-old and really got into it. In my case, I have to admit I didn’t do it on purpose. It just happened.

It’s good to laugh and just have fun with our children. If each moment becomes a “teachable moment,” a “correctable moment,” or a “meaningful moment,” your children will start to close their ears every time they see your mouth open. Laughter helps dismantle the defenses and opens up communication, but most important, because you’re willing to just have fun with your children, it lets them know that you like them and like being with them.

When someone sends me a good joke on the Internet, I make a point of remembering it or printing it out and then telling it to my kids during a lull in the conversation – or when I want to start up a conversation. It takes only a minute to remember and tell a joke, and it always amazes me how often meaningful and fun conversations follow a punch line.

Here are a couple corny jokes you can use to get started:

• How do you catch a unique rabbit? Unique up on it!
• What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work? A stick.
• Knock, knock? (Who’s there?) Banana! Knock, knock? (Who’s there?) Banana! Knock, knock? (Who’s there?) Banana! Knock, knock? (Who’s there?) Orange. (Orange who?) ORANGE YOU GLAD I DIDN’T SAY BANANA!
• What does an octopus wear in the winter? A coat of arms.
• What do porcupines say when they kiss? Ouch.
• What does a cat like to eat on a hot day? A mice cream cone.
• Why are elephants so wrinkled? They’re way too hard to iron.
• Why did the banana go to the doctor? He wasn’t peeling well.