Laughter plays a unique role in building a secure father-child relationship. Unlike mothers, fathers surprise their children or playfully break social rules, making sudden funny noises. This playfully destabilize the child in safe environment and is linked to a stronger sense of attachment security.

If the sudden funny noises are accompanied by a horrible odor, don’t be surprised when they retaliate with the same noises but with far worse odors.

so dad jokes are real, and are part of being a good dad?

I can’t imagine this means anything whatsoever until numerous cross-cultural studies are done.

There are so many confounding variables that may explain the differences in reaction. One would assume that the parents are subconsciously directing their children due to their own accumulated biases.

This could be biological & evolutionary, or it could just be ingrained societal sexism. I don’t think anything in this study helps differentiate that.

So male immaturity is beneficial?

>Unlike mothers, fathers surprise their children or playfully break social rules.

Seems just a tiny bit of a generalization..

I don’t know, I do laugh more with my dad but at the same time his tendency to purposely try to spook me or catch me off guard has led to me being a lot jumpier around him than I am with my mother. If I catch her behind me out of the corner of my eye I don’t react, but if I see him I have a tendency to flinch or stiffen up without meaning to.

I think there’s the added variable of whether the dad in question respects his kid’s boundaries and doesn’t make fun of them for being upset. My own laughs at me for being jittery, so while most of the time it’s all in good fun he’s also overdone it multiple times to the point that the sense of ‘security’ around him has been weakened.

My dad was funnier. We kind of had to loosen Mom up. We did. She said you had to laugh living with a couple of goofballs like Dad and me.

This quote fromm the article stood out to me:

“Ultimately, these observations help dispel a common cultural stereotype that fathers are the primary source of fun while mothers take on a strictly serious caregiving role. The data shows that mothers are just as playful and capable of creating joyful, entertaining interactions with their children”

The findings focused on the flavor of humor and fun that yielded more attachment from a child. Surprise was more attaching for kids with their dads whereas movement and sound was the important aspect of the humor for moms.

I’m a father who grew up with a single mother. My own father wasn’t a part of my life.

I played this way with my kids and I now wonder where I learned it. It must be something I picked up from society in general.

Attachment theories and those adjacent to it are totally bumpkus. Please stop using them.

Mothers surprise their kids all the time and are funny and playful too. This headline is silly.