Put a sock on your hand, call the dog a banana or pretend you have forgotten where your nose is and you may have comedy gold on your hands.

Then there are the jokes that make absolutely no sense, the funny voices repeated 14 times and, of course, the never ending fascination with anything involving bottoms, burps or toilets.

To adults, silly play can sometimes seem like a distraction from learning. However, shared laughter, playful nonsense and age appropriate humour can give young children valuable opportunities to communicate, connect and think creatively.

Being silly is not the opposite of learning. Quite often, it is part of how learning happens.

When do children begin developing a sense of humour?

A sense of humour begins developing before children can understand or tell a traditional joke.

Babies might laugh during peekaboo, when someone makes an unexpected sound or when a familiar adult pulls a funny face. Their laughter is often connected to social interaction, surprise and anticipation.

As toddlers develop, they begin to create their own funny moments. They might deliberately:

• Put an object in the wrong place.
• Make an exaggerated sound.
• Give something a silly name.
• Copy a funny facial expression.
• Pretend to make a mistake.
• Repeat an action that previously made someone laugh.

Preschoolers may begin enjoying simple jokes, riddles, surprising stories and nonsense words. Their attempts at joke telling will not always have a clear beginning, middle or punchline, but that rarely affects their enthusiasm.

Humour develops differently for every child. Some children love being the centre of a funny moment, while others prefer watching, smiling or joining in more quietly.

Why do toddlers find the wrong answer so funny?

Young children often enjoy humour based on something being noticeably wrong.

You might point to a cow and call it a duck, place a bowl on your head or pretend that shoes belong on your hands.

For children to recognise that something is silly, they first need some understanding of what would normally happen. A child who laughs when you call a cat a dinosaur is showing that they know the expected word and have noticed the surprising change.

This is one reason why familiar routines, songs and stories can be useful for playful humour. Once children know what usually comes next, they can notice when something unexpected happens.

Changing one word in a well known song or deliberately putting a puzzle piece in the wrong place can encourage children to pay attention, respond and correct the silly adult.

Laughter helps children connect with other people

Shared laughter can create a lovely feeling of connection.

When an adult joins a child’s joke, responds to a funny expression or playfully copies an action, the child sees that their idea has been noticed.

These back and forth interactions can help children learn that communication is shared. One person acts, the other responds and the interaction continues.

Humour can also help children connect with their peers. Children might invent a silly game together, copy each other’s movements or laugh at an unexpected moment during play.

These experiences can involve:

• Watching other people’s reactions.
• Taking turns.
• Sharing ideas.
• Responding to facial expressions.
• Adjusting a game so others can participate.
• Learning what other people find enjoyable.

Not every child will express enjoyment through loud laughter. A smile, eye contact, repeated action or attempt to remain nearby can also show that a child is engaged.

Silly play can support communication and language

Humour gives children a fun reason to listen and communicate.

A child might need to understand a familiar word before they can enjoy it being replaced with a silly one. They may experiment with sounds, rhythm, volume and expression while making up nonsense words or funny voices.

Playful conversations can introduce children to:

• New vocabulary.
• Rhyming words.
• Different tones of voice.
• Storytelling.
• Questions and answers.
• Describing what is happening.
• Predicting what might happen next.

Children who are still developing spoken language can participate too. Humour can be shared through gestures, movement, facial expressions, sounds and actions.

The aim is not to turn every funny moment into a language lesson. Simply talking, responding and enjoying the interaction can create natural opportunities for communication.

Humour encourages flexible thinking

Much of children’s humour involves changing something familiar.

A spoon becomes a microphone. A cardboard box becomes a car. An educator pretends not to know how to put on a hat. A story suddenly includes a purple chicken wearing gumboots.

To enjoy or create this kind of humour, children experiment with possibilities beyond what is directly in front of them.

This can support imaginative and flexible thinking. Instead of there being only one correct use for an object or one possible ending to a story, children discover that ideas can be changed, combined and reinvented.

Open ended play gives children space to test these ideas without needing to produce a particular finished result.

Being silly can help children feel confident

Making another person laugh can be a powerful experience for a young child.

They have created an idea, communicated it and received a response. This can encourage them to repeat the interaction, try something new or become more comfortable contributing to a group.

A playful environment can also make it feel safer to make harmless mistakes.

If an adult can laugh gently at their own muddled words or pretend to get something wrong, children see that every mistake does not need to become a serious or embarrassing moment.

This does not mean laughing at a child when they are upset or struggling. The humour should feel shared and safe, rather than being directed at someone who does not find it funny.