‘Dad jokes’ teach children to survive embarrassment, study finds

Science
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Why ‘Daddy Jokes’ Are GOOD For You: Creepy Jokes Teach Kids To Survive Shyness, Study Finds

  • Dad jokes are important for teaching children to be ashamed of parents
  • This toughens them up because they realize that shame isn’t such a bad thing

By Victoria Allen Science Editor for The Daily Mail

published: | Updated:

Try not to roll your eyes at dad jokes – they can be an example of good parenting.

Dad jokes are important for teaching children to be ashamed of their parents, argues an expert researcher.

This toughens them up as they survive their father’s embarrassment making a terrible pun and realize that embarrassment isn’t so bad.

Marc Hye-Knudsen, humor researcher and lab manager at Aarhus University’s Cognition and Behavior Laboratory, writes for the British Psychological AssociationBy teasingly attacking their children’s egos and emotions without resorting to bullying, fathers build their children’s resilience and train them to withstand petty attacks and bouts of negative emotions without becoming agitated or into acting, and they learn impulse control and emotional regulation.

In light of this, it’s worth considering dad jokes as a pedagogical tool that can have a beneficial function for the kids who roll their eyes at them.

Dad jokes are important for helping kids feel ashamed of their parents, expert researcher argues (stock image)

“By constantly telling their kids jokes that are so bad they’re embarrassing, dads can push their kids’ limits on how much embarrassment they can handle.

“They show their kids that embarrassment doesn’t kill.”

Most dad jokes are puns, according to experts, and perfectly harmless puns at that.

At best, they elicit polite chuckles instead of actual laughter, and at worst, they make people moan and roll their eyes.

Hye-Knudsen says, “To all the dads who like to tell dad jokes to your kids, don’t let their moans, their eyes roll, or their palpable irritation stop you.

“You partake in a long and proud tradition, and your embarrassingly awful jokes may even do them good.

“Keep repeating the same old stale puns year after year.

“Through painful repetition, you experience the same old joke, go through waves of not being funny, and then so unfunny that it becomes funny.

“One day you may hear your children spontaneously tell the same joke, perhaps when they become parents themselves.

‘In any case, this is concrete proof that our input as parents does indeed have an impact.

Worst Offenders: 20 Funny ‘Dad Jokes’ That Are Guaranteed To Incite Moans And Head Shakes

  1. Elevators frighten me… I take steps to avoid them.
  2. I got an email saying “Google Earth even lets us read maps backwards” and I thought… “That’s just spam…”
  3. What do you call a man with no shins? Show.
  4. Me and my friends put together a tape, we called it 999 megabytes. Still don’t have a show though.
  5. I got into a fight with 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The odds were against me.
  6. I had a dream that the ocean was filled with orange soda. It was a fantasy sea.
  7. Just admitted to the hospital due to a peek-a-boo accident. They put me in ICU.
  8. In college, I was so broke I couldn’t afford the electric bill. Those were the darkest days of my life.
  9. I went to the doctor with hearing problems. He said, “Can you describe the symptoms?” I said, “Homer is a fat guy and Marge has blue hair.”
  10. I said to my wife, “If I die, I want to die having sex.” She replied, “At least it will be soon.”
  11. I’ve decided I want a termite as a pet. I’m going to call him Clint. Clint Eatswood.
  12. So many people are too judgmental these days. I can tell just by looking at them.
  13. How many jitters does it take to make an octopus laugh? 10 tickles.
  14. “Daddy, can you tell me what a solar eclipse is?” No sun.
  15. I found out why Teslas are so expensive. That’s because they charge a lot.
  16. Guess who I ran into on my way to get my glasses fixed? Everyone.
  17. My wife blocked me on Facebook because I post too many birdsongs. Well, toucan plays that game.
  18. Have you heard about the new Origami Porn channel? It is only paper view.
  19. I was really angry when I ran into my friend Mark who stole my dictionary. I said, “Mark, my words!”
  20. I made a lot of money clearing leaves from gardens. I was raking it in.

Thanks to @dadsaysjokes on Twitter.

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