Preschool Humor

Silas has discovered joke-telling as a way to be entertaining. His first real joke was a knock-knock joke and it was pretty cute:

"Knock-Knock"
"Who's There?"
"Cow Go"
"Cow Go Who?
"No, Cow's Go 'Moo'!"

Cute, right. But understanding why it's funny hasn't yet occured. So now Silas is into making up his own jokes, and they're not very funny. As one can imagine, what is funny to a preschooler, is usually nonsense to a grown-up.

At first, I was encouraging his efforts by laughing and telling him that he was funny, but with his recent spoiled-child behavior, I've decided to be more realistic about his attempts at joke writing. I explained that jokes are funnier when they make sense and that the way he was telling jokes were funny only to himself.

So he decided to tell himself a joke:

"Knock-Knock, Silas"
"Who's there?"
"Cowboys and Trees"
"Cowboys and Trees Who?
"Cowboys go 'blah tree boo ticka ree'" (or some other such nonsense)

And then he erupted into high-pitched forced laughter, apparently having cracked himself up. I hope we haven't started something new here.

When I was seven, my three-year-old brother, Stephen, learned his first joke. The first time he told it, my mom nearly wet herself with laughter, totally encouraging him to tell it again and again. And he did tell it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again... you get the picture.

I grew so tired of that joke and all the attention my darling little brother received from telling his stupid joke again and again, as if he were the Little Emperor and could do no wrong. I resented him for being the favorite of the family and for coming along and stealing my thunder as youngest child.

And so I wonder what it will be like for Silas when another child comes into the family. Having been the middle child, I'm sure I will be sensitive to his feelings of de-thronement, while also reassuring him that he is still a special and loved member of our family. But I also am aware that he desparately NEEDS a sibling and that he will be a wonderful big brother, eventually. (Just as sibling rivalry eventually ceased between Stephen and me and now I can say I am very happy to have him as a younger brother - though it was pretty much constant fighting until I left for college!)

And what was Stephen's first joke?

Q: "Why did the elephant wear diapers to the party?"
A: "Because he didn't want to be a party pooper!"

It's really not that funny, is it.