Knowledge: Laughter Helps Toddlers Learn New Tasks

Of course, learning isn't all fun and games, but there can be a bit of humor in it.

A new study published in the journal Cognition and Emotion reveals that incorporating humor into knowledge can help children learn, according to a news release. 

For their research, the study authors designed an experiment to determine whether using humor could have an effect on the ability of infant learning. Each of the 18-month-olds observed to participate in the final part of the study watchs adults using an out-of-reach toy. 

In one group, the adult simply played with the toy after picking it up, while in the other group, the adult threw the toy immediately on the floor while half of the children in the group laughed.

Findings revealed that the children who laughed at the antics of the adults were able to repeat the actions more successfully themselves than those who didn't laugh, including even those in the ‘humorless' control group.

However, just why humor seems to be related to toddlers' temperament doesn't seem to be entirely clear just yet. But researchers believe that both temperament and brain chemistry may have something to do with humor playing a role.

Of course, more research is needed regarding the subject. Regardless, it's always nice to add a little humor into your child's learning.

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