- READ MORE: 'Dad jokes' teach children to survive embarrassment, study finds
By Shivali Best For Mailonline
Published: | Updated:
As much as they make you cringe, try not to roll your eyes at your old man's 'Dad jokes'.
Experts say they might actually be an example of good parenting.
In a new study, researchers from Penn State University found thatparents who use humor have better relationships with their children.
'Humor can teach people cognitive flexibility, relieve stress, and promote creative problem solving and resilience,' said Professor Benjamin Levi, senior author of the study.
As much as they make you cringe, try not to roll your eyes at your old man's 'Dad jokes'. Experts say they might actually be an example of good parenting (stock image)
Previous studies have analysed the impact of humor across various settings, including in the officeand on dates.
However, until now, there's been little research into the effects of humor in parenting.
'There's an interesting parallel between business and parenting, which are both hierarchical,' said Lucy Emery, first author of the study.
'In business, humor has been shown to help reduce hierarchies, create better environments for collaboration and creativity and diffuse tensios.
'While parent-child relationships are more loving than business relationships, stressful situations happen a lot when parenting.
'Humor can help diffuse that tension and hierarchy and help both parties feel better about a stressful situation.'
In the study, the team surveyed 312 people between the ages of 18 and 45 about their experience of humor in parenting.
The researchers discovered a link between a parent's use of humor and the way their children (who are now adults) viewed the way they were raised (stock image)
More than half said they were raised by people who used humor, while the vast majority (71.8 per cent) agreed that humor can be an effective parenting tool.
The researchers also discovered a link between a parent's use of humor and the way their children (who are now adults) viewed the way they were raised.
Of those who said that their parents used humor, 50.5 per cent said they had a good relationship with their parents, while 44.2 per cent reported they felt their parents did a good job raising them.
In contrast, of those who said their parents didn't use humor, only 2.9 per cent reported a good relationship with their parents, while just 3.6 per cent reported that they thought their parents did a good job parenting them.
The team hopes the findings will spark larger scale studies on the benefits of using humor when raising children.
Proefssor Levi added: 'My hope is that people can learn to use humor as an effective parenting tool, not only to diffuse tension but develop resilience and cognitive and emotional flexibility in themselves and model it for their children.'
Worst offenders: 20 punny 'dad jokes' guaranteed to elicit groans and shaking heads
- Elevators terrify me... I'm taking steps to avoid them.
- I got an e-mail saying 'At Google Earth, we can even read maps backwards', and I thought... 'That's just spam...'
- What do you call a man with no shins? Tony.
- Me and my friends put a band together, we named it 999 megabytes. Still don't have a gig though.
- I got into a fight with 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The odds were against me.
- I had a dream the ocean was filled with orange soda. It was a Fanta Sea.
- Just got hospitalized due to a peekaboo accident. They put me in the ICU.
- In college I was so broke I couldn't afford the electricity bill. Those were the darkest days of my life.
- I went to the Doctor with hearing problems. He said 'Can you describe the symptoms?' I said: 'Homer's a fat dude and Marge has blue hair.'
- I said to my wife: 'When I die I'd like to die having sex.' She replied: 'At least it'll be quick.'
- I've decided I want a pet termite. I'm going to call him Clint. Clint Eatswood.
- So many people these days are too judgmental. I can tell just by looking at them.
- How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? 10-tickles.
- 'Dad, can you tell me what a solar eclipse is?' No sun.
- I figured out why Teslas are so expensive. It's because they charge a lot.
- Guess who I bumped into on my way to get my glasses fixed? Everybody.
- My wife blocked me on Facebook because I post too many bird puns. Well, toucan play at that game.
- Did you hear about the new Origami p*rn channel? It's paper view only.
- I was really angry when I ran into my friend Mark who stole my dictionary. I said, 'Mark, my words!'
- I used to make loads of money clearing leaves from gardens. I was raking it in.
Courtesy of @dadsaysjokes on Twitter.
