The importance of laughter for children

All too often the hardships of parenting consume the majority of our time with our children. We are usually overworked and trying to figure out how to make our budgets stretch to meet our children’s want and needs. We wonder if we will ever get enough of a break to enjoy our partners and friends as much as we used to.

Laughter is an invaluable weapon against the tensions that fill our lives every day. Family dynamics will become much easier if parents can try to incorporate periods of laughter with their children into every week. Here are suggestions that you might try with your family.

1. A simple thing to do for families who like movies and recordings is to select funny movies or CD’s to enjoy together. Comedy recordings that have everyone laughing hard can decrease stress more than adventure or romantic stories that can actually increase tension. Some old movies are very funny. My pre-teens really enjoyed watching Marx Brothers movies.

2. Children think that games where they get to beat their parents are very funny this is because much of our children’s lives are run according to adult schedules and ideas. It is often hard for children to feel competent or in charge when they are trying to keep up with all the things that adults are asking them to do. Children love games where they get to win and feel smart and capable.

3. If your child is easily embarrassed or ashamed, they probably would enjoy hearing embarrassing stories from your childhood. It is very reassuring to know that your parent was not always the invulnerable, capable person they often appear to be.

4. Physical play can produce lots of laughter. A five-minute pillow fight or rough and tumble can be fun and release lots of tension that has built up during the day. As with other games it is important for the child to win physical play as well. Many children ask for tickling play time from their Mom or Dad because they want attention and enjoy laughing. 

The importance of drinking water for children

Just because they have smaller bodies does not mean they need less of it. Water is in fact one of the most important nutrients for children. Often times when we read tips for nutrition for our children, they leave out important information about the intake of healthy fluids.

According to a study published in Archives of Diseases in Childhood, more than 70% of preschool children never drink plain water! What are they drinking? Drinks made with sugar, fruit juice, acids, or sugar substitutes. Yes, these drinks all have water in them, but these drinks also dehydrate your body because your body needs water to process these sugary drinks. 

Second, another health problem these sugary drinks cause correlates with weight gain. Many experts believe that these sugar filled drinks are a major contributor to childhood obesity. According to the Mayo Clinic, over the past 30 years, the rate of obesity in the United States has more than doubled for preschoolers and adolescents and more than tripled in children ages 6 to 11. With all this said, how can water benefit our body and especially our children? 

Our body’s entire anatomy depends on water for their functioning. Water is the only way our body is able to flush out our toxins before they can become poisonous in our body. Therefore, it is important that both adults and children get the proper amount of water that they need.

Water not only keeps children healthy, but also will help them perform better in school. See, dehydration leads to a reduction in both mental and physical performance. These results can be shown in the classroom! Long-term chronic dehydration may cause health problems and illnesses.

Because many schools have inadequate water resources, parents and teachers should regularly encourage children to drink water at home, and even bring their own to school. Children should especially drink water after taking part in sports, such as in gym class. 

Maternal Relationship Reduces Violence and Improves Intelligence

There is no substitute for a good mother, and a mother’s influence is one of the most powerful forces in the lives of young children. Now, research shows that a healthy, playful relationship between a child and a mother leads to adult children with higher intelligence and less involvement in violence.

Beginning in the 1980s, researchers in Jamaica evaluated 129 toddlers who lived in impoverished areas and were at risk for poor nutrition and lack of stimulation. The children were divided into three intervention groups and one control group. One group received intellectual stimulation and interactive playtime with their mothers, one group was given supplemental baby formula, and one group received both stimulation and nutrition supplementation. A fourth group received no intervention. All interventions lasted 2 years. The follow-up period has now exceeded 2 decades.

As part of the stimulation program, mothers and toddlers received weekly visits from a woman who taught mothers how to play with their children and engage them in stimulating activities. The program also provided books and toys to the families each week. The nutrition supplementation consisted of approximately 2 gallons of milk-based formula.

The latest results of these interventions, published by the journal Pediatrics, reports that children who received intellectual stimulation and had a playful, interactive relationship with their mothers had higher IQs as adults, higher educational attainment, better general knowledge, and fewer symptoms of depression or social inhibition than children who did not receive such stimulation. The same children also were significantly less likely to be involved in fights and violent behavior as adults. The children who received nutritional supplementation showed no improvement among these measurements.

The Jamaican study was small, and only included children already experiencing stunted growth due to poor nutrition. But, it leaves no doubt that the relationship between a mother and a child is significant, and the ability to intellectually stimulate and challenge children is essential to raising healthy, well-adjusted adults.