Humor in an Upside Down World
Dr. Kristi Smith, Director of Education & Training   •   March 21, 2018
hu • mor   noun
the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech
My favorite song from my childhood goes, "When you come upon a frown, turn it upside down, and smile that frown away." As I get older, I realize how much I love reflecting on the humorous moments of my life. The moments that are most precious are from tense situations that were broken by someone’s sense of humor. My late husband had a great sense of humor, even in the throes of cancer. David would draw smiley faces with jokes on bandages for his doctors to find during surgery. His sense of humor relaxed what was traditionally a tense environment, and brought smiles to the faces of medical personnel and his family. I now see how his humor was one of his strongest character traits.

When is the last time you and your family turned a frown upside down and smiled it away in a tense situation? Occasionally I see a preschooler with a fun sense of humor, but for the most part, this character trait is shaped in children by the adults in their lives. Are you modeling resiliency in life by defusing stressful moments with humor? Humor, while not often seen as a character value, is considered a strength by many of today’s psychologists and an indicator of a healthy spirit. It is truly a quality to be valued.

The first step to modeling the character value of humor to the children in your lives is by adopting a "half-full" instead of a "half- empty" mentality. The second step is to choose to laugh in the face of tense situations. A third,
and important step, is to acknowledge humor or funny situations with laughter and a huge smile on your face. Laughter and smiles are contagious, and children thrive in their presence! So, turn the world upside down and smile that frown away!
"Laughter and finding lightness in even the darkest situations has been found to promote health and emotional wellness. This is most likely because it helps to diffuse stress. The stress doesn’t go away, but the body and mind can take a moment to find relief, even in the midst of stress."
- Dr. Ashley Soderlund

Character Values Count

Children's Lighthouse staff are dedicated to helping children develop a sense of humor and have fun in our early learning schools. Humor is the featured character value during the month of March in our proprietary Lighthouse C.A.R.E.S.sm curriculum.
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