Your 5-Year-Old: Funny business

Funny business

Heard a good knock-knock joke lately? Or taken a big pratfall? Five-year-olds have delightful — if pretty simplistic — senses of humor. Laughter tends to grease the wheels of cooperation around the house. If your child is happy or just distracted by something silly, she's less likely to put up a fuss.

Your 5-year-old now
Just as your child's body and intellect are maturing, so is her sense of humor. That's a good thing. Children with a good sense of humor cope better and have a better sense of self-esteem and more friends. Humor can also build vocabulary and reading skills.

Five is a transition age regarding humor. For example, they are learning the mechanics of joke telling. They understand that jokes have punchlines at the end and that people laugh when you tell one.

Five-year-olds love physical humor. Tripping over your feet on entering a room is always good for an uproarious laugh. Knock-knock jokes are a big favorite, too, although the ones you'll first hear — again and again — may not make any sense.

Your life now
Will your child need a cell phone as she enters the school years? It's unlikely. In kindergarten and first grade, she won't yet be involved in school sports or after-school activities. Since she'll be taken to and from school on a regular schedule, she'll have little need to call for practical reasons like transportation. In fact, a child this age is rarely out of sight of a supervising adult. Plus, most 5-year-olds aren't mature enough to keep track of all their possessions, especially something as small as a phone.