A new pilot study has shed light on the power of humor in parenting, highlighting its role as a key tool for nurturing positive parent-child relationships. According to the research, published in the journal PLOS One, humor not only enhances the quality of these relationships but also leaves a lasting impact on how children perceive their upbringing.
“Humor can teach cognitive flexibility, alleviate stress, and encourage creative problem-solving and resilience,” says Benjamin Levi, a professor of pediatrics and humanities at Penn State College of Medicine and the study’s senior author. Drawing from both personal experience and professional practice, Levi emphasized the constructive potential of humor in parenting. “Our key question was how to use humor effectively and constructively in the parenting process.”
While humor is a well-documented tool in various fields, its specific role in parenting has received less formal attention. Lucy Emery, the study’s first author and a pediatrics resident at Boston Children’s Hospital, noted that humor’s role in hierarchical relationships—such as in business—has been proven to foster collaboration and reduce tension. She highlighted the similarities in parent-child dynamics, where humor can ease stress and create a more positive atmosphere.
The study surveyed 312 individuals aged 18 to 45, exploring their perceptions of humor in their own upbringing and its role in their parenting practices. Over half of the participants were raised by caregivers who used humor, and 71.8% agreed that humor is an effective parenting tool. Interestingly, there was a strong correlation between a parent’s use of humor and how adult children view their relationship with their parents. Those raised with humor reported more positive relationships and a higher regard for their parents’ effectiveness.
The findings reveal a significant disparity between those who experienced humor in their upbringing and those who did not. Among those whose parents used humor, over 50% reported a positive relationship with their parents, compared to just 2.9% among those whose parents did not use humor. Similarly, 44.2% of those raised with humor believed their parents did a good job, versus a mere 3.6% in the other group.
Levi acknowledged that while it might seem intuitive for parents to use humor if they were raised with it, the stark differences in outcomes were surprising. Building on these findings, the research team is now expanding their study to include a more diverse group of parents, with a focus on gathering qualitative data on humor in parenting.
“My hope is that parents will embrace humor not only to lighten the mood but also to build resilience and cognitive and emotional flexibility—for both themselves and their children,” Levi shared.
The study also featured contributions from Erik Lehman, a biostatistician at Penn State, and Anne Libera, director of comedy studies at Chicago’s The Second City, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of this promising research into the benefits of humor in parenting.
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