As we continue with the 30-Day Family Fun Challenge, you may be asking, “What difference does it make?” Sometimes, it feels like nothing we do makes a big difference, but quite the opposite is true. Nearly everything we do, as moms, makes a difference in our children’s lives! That’s rare in any other position. So, why the family fun challenge? Because it creates opportunities for laughing with your kids. There are so many benefits of laughing together! It strengthens your bond, builds trust, and floods the brain with feel-good hormones. Family fun is one of the most important things you can do with your children!
I don’t know how you guys are doing with your family-fun challenge, but I have laughed with my kids more in the last fifteen days than I have in a long time. I will never regret doing this! I can look back over the last two weeks and feel like the mom I have always wanted to be! And I’m hoping this will become a habit, rather than just a 30-day challenge. I hope that if you haven’t joined me yet, you will. It’s important.
First of all, how many times have you heard your child laugh that it hasn’t made you smile? There is no sound that is more joyful than the sound of my youngest daughter giggling! Every member of our family smiles as soon as that giggle emerges and she is absolutely so ticklish, we can barely brush up against her without the eruption of giggles! I want my home to be that house—the house that is filled with giggles and laughter, smiles and joy.
Why is that such hard work? It is easier to bark and yell and speaking harshly comes much more naturally than speaking kindly. That is obnoxious! You don’t see me having to challenge myself and other moms to do those things! It is because the garden of my heart grows weeds easier than it yields fruit. Gross.
So, we have to cultivate it. That’s the reason for this challenge. When we start to think more intentionally about having fun with our children and making that a priority, we can start to build better habits, strengthen our relationships with our children, and rid our hearts of some of those weeds! Remember, the closer you get to the root, the less likely those weeds are to come back…and that takes time and requires us to dig deep sometimes.
Still not convinced that Family Fun is Important?
Five Benefits of Laughing Together
- Family Bonding—
One of the benefits of laughing with your children is that it not only strengthens your relationship with your children, but it also strengthens their bonds with each other. Studies show that shared laughter—not one child laughing at the other–but shared laughter bonds and strengthens relationships because when two people laugh at the same thing, the brain perceives a commonality, triggering a feeling of acceptance.
Think about it. Have you ever listened to or watched a comedian with someone else? Why do people always look at the person next to them to see if they’re laughing too? We are looking for commonality and acceptance!
- Decrease Stress-
Laughing helps decrease stress. One thing I learned when my son was colicky was that if I was stressed, he was stressed. It was amazing to me, how a tiny little newborn could sense that stress. If only I had gotten a laughing baby! We could have laughed together and there would have been little to no stress.
The government lockdown has been a time that could definitely have been stressful. Even young children know that something weird is going on. We try not to talk about it a lot in our household because my oldest daughter said, “I’m just really tired of everyone talking about the virus. There are still other things to talk about, right?” But even though we haven’t said a whole lot about it, our youngest daughter has asked questions about “the virus.” It’s just everywhere and that can create a lot of stress and anxiety for kids.
Have some fun together. Laugh together. Show your children that they don’t need to live in fear and that there’s more to life than what is happening in our world right now.
- Play is Essential to Brain Development—
Isn’t it interesting that God created our brains to learn through play when we are young? Young children should not be sitting at a desk, completing worksheets. Young children should be playing. If your child is in a preschool program, he should be coming home every day saying, “I played all day.” Play is essential to the development of the brain.
When you play with your child, her brain is basically connecting the wiring. When a baby is born, the wiring for the brain is all there, but only a few wires are connected: the basic needs wires. The rest of the wiring gets connected as the baby’s brain develops.
If playing with your child helps the brain to connect the wiring, what do you think laughing does? Laughing with your child is integral in the development of a sense of humor—it connects the wiring of that part of the brain.
Take an inventory of people you know and what their childhoods were like. Of course, different people have different senses of humor, but does it make you wonder about the very serious and intense people in your life? Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what their childhoods were like?
- It Boosts the Immune System—
According to the Mayo Clinic, laughter boosts the immune system. According to this article, positive thoughts can release neuropeptides that fight stress and help the body fight off more serious diseases. This is one of the more major benefits of laughing!
I think now, when the whole world is afraid of getting sick, is a good time to laugh with your kids! Enough said.
- It Can Diffuse Situations—
The teenage years are also a time when the sense of humor is developing. My sons are experimenting with sarcasm a little and I’m going to be honest. Sometimes, it makes me laugh and other times, it irritates me. This is because of the timing of their comments. So, they’re definitely still rewiring that part of their brains and need to learn when to be quiet; when a joke is not appropriate; and when a joke is disrespectful. There’s a lot to learn for them!
But we have some pretty intense situations sometimes, especially with our children who are more intense, and finding something to laugh about is very helpful! So often, our children think we have to be serious all the time because life is serious. Bills and stress pile up; parenting is difficult; marriage is hard. So, what do our kids see that’s good about growing up?
This is where having a good sense of humor is so necessary. If our children see that we can laugh, even when we’re frustrated, stressed, etc. they might learn to do the same. What an important tool to have in their toolbox of life!
And this is why we’re doing this challenge! This is why it matters so much to me. I want to equip my children with good senses of humor and great memories of laughter. Even just looking at five of the benefits of laughing makes me want to do it more! And most importantly, when my children leave, and it will come fast, I know, I don’t want to be riddled with regrets of not spending that time with them. I hope you’ll join me—remember, it’s about progress, not perfection!
RElated: The Importance of Celebration
