Giggle Together! Insights
An abridged version of the profiles of each of these Discoveries
is included in the Insights Guide that comes with the Giggle
Together! video. The following provides greater insights
into each Discovery to offer you a better understanding of how and
why the Discoveries included with Giggle
Together! inspire joy and prompt kids laughter:
Messy Tea Party
Kiss Daddy
Bubble Dodge
Hair-larity
Wake Up Daddy!
Tick Tock
Bubble Gum Pop
1-2-3...Go!
Gate Games
A Game Called Horse
Messy Tea Party
Chloe finds this tea party funny because she’s
in charge and things are not going as planned. Chloe tries to feed
her Mom, doing what Mom usually does for her, and then getting the
water in Mom’s mouth proves difficult. The role reversal and
absurdity of missing Mom’s mouth makes this tea party hilarious
for both Chloe and Mom. (HINT: Kids love being in charge, playing
the parent, getting you to do what they say).
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Kiss Daddy
In this wonderful Discovery, Gina’s Dad
takes a familiar and frequent (we hope!) interaction of sharing
affection and adds a challenge that results in adding fun! By making
it harder for Gina to kiss him, Dad is letting the anticipation
of kissing him build while drawing out their warm, close contact.
In the end, Gina gets to experience success (mastery) at the same
time she gets affirmation of the security and love in her relationship
with Dad. Success mingled with love — perfect! (HINT: Creating
occasions where your child succeeds always generates happiness and
if YOU are the prize at the end of the challenge, everyone ends
up feeling good!).
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Bubble Dodge
This Discovery brilliantly takes an activity
that most kids already find entertaining, and adds an interactive
component that increases the laughter and fun. Here, Dad does the
absurd and incongruous, he acts afraid of the bubbles! And Dad ups
the fun even more by making silly sounds at the same time he marvels
at his daughter’s bubble-blowing skills! Gina also gets a
safe experience of mastery as she “controls” Dad’s
reaction with her actions — she blows bubbles, he jumps! (HINT:
Once your child can do something that you used to have do for them
(like blow bubbles, put on their socks, comb their hair), you can
foster happy, fun interactions by letting your child do the same
action for you, but changing the reaction or the outcome!)
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Hair-larity
Gentle tickling always brings a child joy. With
Hair-larity, Mom uses her hair to create the gentle contact that
pleases Jamie and the fake sneeze adds a sound to focus Jamie on
the pleasure that’s about to come. This deceptively simple
interaction also supports Jamie’s thinking skills as he learns
about sequences and patterns (sneeze, hair swish, gentle tickling
sensation). (HINT: Many interactions with you that prompt laughter
in your child will also foster increased understanding of how the
world works and how their actions impact on what happens next —
neat, huh?)
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Wake Up Daddy!
This is an example of an anticipated surprise
linked to physical humor. Will knows his Dad is not really asleep
but he has learned that Dad will deliver a big reaction when Will
attempts to rouse him. As he waits for his Dad’s reaction,
Will is containing his excitement until the exact moment of surprise.
This containment contributes to the intensely pleasurable reaction
he experiences when Dad does wake up! Will laughs because Dad’s
pretend sleeping raises his anticipation of his Dad’s absurd
exclamation and the joyful roughhousing that results when he “wakes”
him up. (HINT: Creating situations where your child anticipates
pleasure is not only fun but also helps your child develop the ability
to manage feelings; learning to control the expression of positive
feelings is the foundation for learning to control how negative
feelings like frustration or disappointment are released).
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Tick Tock
Infants are especially good at recognizing (picking
up on) rhythms and patterns, in sounds, in touch, in motion or in
sight. Predictable things are comforting and foster their emerging
understanding of routines and order in their world. Will’s
Mom is stimulating him through the sound of her voice, through the
gentle swaying and through the tender nuzzling in his ear, all to
his obvious enjoyment. As simple as this is, it really works!
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Bubble Gum Pop
This Discovery is another clear example of how
incongruity generates laughter. Vito Jr. finds Bubble Gum Pop amusing
because the outcome (Dad's messy face) differs from his expectations
(grown-ups typically clean up messes, building an expectation that
order is better than mess). That Vito Jr. gets to control when the
mess happens builds his anticipation and allows him to be in charge
of when the “explosion” of fun happens. He is learning
to enjoy mastery while he also learns to contain his own emotional
experience until the exact moment he wants to express his pleasure.
The physical fun captures Vito Jr.’s interest and the intrigue
of Dad demonstrating a skill that Vito Jr. wants (that is, to be
able to blow a bubble). That Dad acts like a kid adds to the incongruity,
appealing to Vito and giving him permission to act like the grown-up,
by controlling the outcome. Dad has ingeniously taken a common occurrence
of bubble blowing and generated an interactive component. The interaction
and Dad's clear enjoyment makes this Discovery particularly good
for bonding. (HINT: Taking everyday experiences that are typically
“adult-only” and including your child in the action
gives you a good teaching opportunity and demonstrates to your child
your pleasure in his company. Children will often find something
about the experience surprising or incongruous. Watch to see what
makes your child laugh and just do that again, adding more interaction,
more control for your child over the surprise and the laughter will
follow!)
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1-2-3...Go!
When we pleasantly surprise children by altering
their expectations, young kids find this highly amusing. Here, Mom
establishes an expectation that leads to anticipation. When she
changes things by stopping Quinn in a way he can’t predict,
he laughs. And Mom doesn’t just vary the motion, she varies
her voice and her physical closeness with Quinn. When children are
at the “independence versus attachment” developmental
stage, this Discovery is particularly appealing because it involves
separation and coming back together. That is, Quinn enjoys independent
locomotion and the power it gives him over his experience. But,
he seeks reassurance that Mom will always be there when he wants
her and that she won’t be angry if he moves away from her.
This fun on the swing (where Quinn’s locomotion has a soothing
pattern) supports the attachment between them while generating pleasure
for both in the fun of being apart and then together. Quinn’s
laughter is deepest when he finds his mother’s face and she
is smiling too. For infants and toddlers, varying patterns can work
in your every-day life. For instance, as you walk stairs, create
a rhythm and then alter it or change the pace of spooning in food
(remember the airplane?). You'll find this simple, fun and effective
game can be used pretty much anywhere and at any time. Altering
your voice or facial expression can even be enough of a variance
in pattern to gain attention and bring on a smile. For example,
when your child is fussy in the car, sing a familiar song in a different
voice or volume or add a sound effect to your singing — like
a raspberry in the middle. (HINT: when children are in the separation-attachment
stage that coincides with the emergence of independent locomotion,
any activity that has you enjoying them leaving you and returning,
or them leaving and you pursuing will be fun for them!)
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Gate Games
Maeve and Declan find humor in Gate Games because
though they could see their mothers and even reach out, touch and
kiss them, they find something in the way. This challenges their
expectation of the world that they’re just getting to know.
This Discovery is also a variant of the well-known peek-a-boo game
where something is one place (behind the gate) and then suddenly
shows up somewhere else (over the top or around the side). Like
peek-a-boo, this parent-child interaction reinforces a child’s
“object permanence” while expanding understanding of
cause-effect relationships (because the gate is in the way, Mom
looks and feels different). Maeve and Declan' mothers are especially
good at inducing laughter by adding auditory and tactile stimulation
to the visual incongruity — they make noises, laugh, press
into the gate and tap on the netting — all actions that help
support the sustained engagement and the pleasure for their kids!
Mesh gates work here but other common barriers such see-through
fabrics or nylon screens work just as well.
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A Game Called Horse
Most parents play horse with their kids —
but how many of us use four different forms of the horse game to
bring joy to our kids? This Discovery shows that by simply trying
new forms of the games we already play, we can keep our kids engaged
and laughing. “Horse” is a game kids enjoy because it
incorporates anticipation, interaction and sensory stimulation.
Especially for kids who crave action, Horse is appealing because
it involves combining gross-motor movement with the rhythmic pattern
and the auditory input of the song the parents sing. In this Discovery,
parents initiate a playful game that involves responding to their
children’s cues, watching for when the child is laughing,
when he or she is ready for the pause and when the child is losing
focus and needs more action. Recognizing and responding to a child’s
cues is vital in infancy (when communication methods are absent)
but also very important throughout development, even after your
child speaks fluently. So this Discovery, while fun for both, is
also a comforting experience for the child as the parent interacts
by following the child's lead.
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Greater Insights
Laugh Together! Insights
Chuckle Together! Insights
Overview of Children's Laughter/Sense
of Humor |
