If you don’t laugh…

A good sense of humour is a must if you want to be a happy parent.  I strongly recommend cultivating an attitude of relaxed amusement.  You quickly learn, after bringing your little newborn home that the hilarious scenarios within comic movies and TV shows featuring new parents aren’t overblown but rather are amazingly accurate; especially the scene where everyone gets covered in poo.  When you find yourself in one of these situations you have two choices.  You can start weeping or you can see the humour in what is, after all, a very funny situation and start to laugh.  A good sense of humour can also help a parent to weather the storms of toddler tantrums without becoming angry yourself.  Just remember that, with toddlers, you need to keep your amusement to yourself.  You don’t want to accidentally reward a tantrum with laugher and end up with a repeat performance or make your toddler feel mocked. Let yourself discover particular phrases, songs or ways of thinking that help you to see the funny side of life as a parent and use them often. There are good reasons, I think, why so many children’s songs and shows are so nonsensical and just plain funny. The regular laughter keeps mum and dad happy.   In this spirit, I share with you my own song for the newborn poo-everywhere scenario.  It is sung loudly and cheerfully to the tune of the Spot Song (by John Hamblin, featured on PlaySchool ABC TV):

‘Do a poo over here, and a poo over there, There is poo on my onesie, and there’s poo in your hair, I’m doing lots of poo and it’s going everywhere! It’s a pooey kind of day.’ *Repeat until everyone is clean*

Apply it to your life: How do you remind yourself of the funny side of life as a parent?