Laughing our way through his childhood

Other than love and connection, the other key thread I want my son's childhood fabric to be woven with is laughter.  I come from a family of laughers, and am attracted to friends who make me laugh.  I want my son to know that life doesn't need to be so serious, and that being funny is something worth being. 

I am serious about parenting, but It doesn't mean I need to be a serious parent!  Just today when my son asked me to rip off some toilet paper for him as he couldn't get the roll started, I replied,  "sure, but how big is your bottom"? and rolled out the entire roll onto the floor.  Silly? - yes.  Likely to be repeated numerous times by a nearly 4 year old? - probably.  Juvenile? -Totally! But it broke the seriousness of a week of illness, runny noses and lack of sleep, and I truly believe that all the little moments of laughter will create a fun, memorable and connected childhood fabric for him. 

The seriousness of life creeps in all too easily, even with such a joyful little man in the house.  I realise that I can choose to let myself be stressed, or I can laugh.  I can panic about all the things I haven't done in a day or I do something that I find fun.  I can get cross at my son or I can make him laugh.  I hope that he learns he can also choose his reactions.  He can chose to get angry if something doesn't go his way or he can find the humour in the situation.  He can find fault with himself, or he can laugh at his own shortcomings.  I spend a lot of time thinking about what my son needs in life, and from me, and I think laughing is one of the things we both need, numerous times a day.  So I look for moments to lighten the mood.  We chase each other round the house, wear undies on our head, imitate each other, make silly noises, sing silly songs, play tricks and make up silly stories.  I love being a parent, truly 100% love it, and the odd days when it's less enjoyable I need to ask, has he laughed enough today?  Have I? Humour rebuilds our connection in the bad moments and less face it, it's far more fun than nagging.

And lastly, we celebrate each other's humour.  My son was just under three and a half when he first displayed the quick wit that my family shares.  When I fell off the edge of a pathway into a plant, his little eyes twinkled and he gave a huge smile as he asked, "Mum, did you go on a bush walk"?  I couldn't have been any prouder!