Humor and Children's Development A Guide to Practical Applications

Here is the first book that is geared toward practical applications of humor with children. Health care professionals, counselors, social workers, students, and parents will find this to be a fascinating, instructive volume that illustrates how to effectively incorporate humor into children?s lives to produce enormously positive results. With a strong ?how to? focus, this enlightening volume addresses the use of humor in the classroom--to promote learning and to foster higher levels of creative thinking. Experts who are on the cutting edge of humor and its benefits for children examine the importance of humor in fostering social and emotional development and in adapting to stressful situations. And for the scholarly reader, Humor and Children?s Development documents the major research trends focusing on humor and its development. This excellent resource--certain to spark further debate and research--offers an unrivaled opportunity to further understand children?s behavior and development.Humor and Children?s Development was featured in the February 1990 issue of Working Mother magazine in article titled ?Let Laughter Ring!? by Eva Conrad.The chapter entitled ?Humor in Children?s Literature? by Janice Alberghene was one of the finalists for the Children?s Literature Association?s Literary Criticism Award for the best critical article of 1988 on the subject of children?s literature.

Contents
Preface

• Introduction: Recent Developments in Humor Research
• Part I: Developmental Changes in Children’s Humor
• Introduction
• Age Differences in Children’s Humor
• Part II: Cognitive Benefits
• Introduction
• Using Humor to Promote Learning in the Classroom
• Going West to Get East: Using Metaphors as Instructional Tools
• Using Humor to Develop Creative Thinking
• Part III: Social and Emotional Benefits
• Introduction
• The Contribution of Humor to Children’s Social Development
• Humor and the Mastery of Living: Using Humor to Cope With the Daily Stresses of Growing Up
• Part IV: Using Humor as an Intervention Technique
• Introduction
• The Use of Humor With Children in Hospital Settings
• The Use of Humor by Pediatric Dentists
• Guidelines for Using Humor in Therapy With Children and Young Adolescents
• Part V: Mass Media Uses of Humor
• Introduction
• Guidelines for the Effective Use of Humor in Children’s Educational Television Programs
• Humor in Children’s Literature
• Part VI: Chapter Commentary
• Introduction
• The Role of Humor in Enhancing Children’s Development and Adjustment: Chapter Commentary
• Subject Index