GET SILLY WITH THE KIDS

There’s so much laughter potential in spending time with kids because they’re more in touch with their silly side. They also love telling and learning silly jokes (‘why did the teacher have to wear sunglasses? Because her students were so bright’). Collect kid-friendly jokes from books or online and do some joke-swapping. Or turn the kitchen into a dance studio for a few minutes, have a disco in the lounge or dig out some board games.

When there’s play involved, laughter isn’t far behind. Play teaches both big kids and little kids that there’s another way to respond to conflict and crisis. Playing to distract or reframe helps to develop personal resilience.

– Ros Ben-Moshe, Adjunct Lecturer at LaTrobe University’s school of Public Health and Psychology.