Laughter - Not Always the Best Medicine

It isn't nice to laugh at your children when they are afraid, or when they get hurt. Sometimes, though, even the best mom just can not stop herself from laughing at her child's mishaps and adventures.

Last night we had a pretty good thunder storm here. There was a great deal of noise and light, but very little rain. When this first started, the girls were happily playing and listening to whatever nonsense was on the TV. I was vaguely aware that there was lightening, but it didn't really sink in that we were about to have a storm.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the house was bombarded with thunder that was strong enough to shake the walls and rattle the chandeliers. Poor Marisa screamed and cried and came running to me, of course, with all the dramatics of a terror stricken female. Her journey across the room was marked with continued yelps of fear and shock, just cute enough to send even the most stellar mom into fits of giggles.

I couldn't help it. I tried so hard not to laugh because I realized just how terrified she truly was, but I failed in my attempts to hold the giggles at bay. She was just so darn cute when she threw her hands in the air and yelped, then jumped clear across the room just to reach the relative safety of Mommy's arms where she knew that she would be protected from whatever evil had just descended upon our home. Then, each time the thunder would ring through, she would whimper a bit and snuggle in just a little closer, as if the only thing standing between her and certain doom was my arm. It was sweet and adorable and funny. Yet for Marisa it was a scary experience.

There are times when we really shouldn't laugh, but the humor of the situation is just too overpowering to prevent our natural inclinations. Children offer so many opportunities to find the humor in the simplest little things that we tend to overlook in our daily lives. To me, it was yet another thunder storm that just might provide us with some much needed rain. It took the innocence and outlook of a young child to remind me just how scary the big world can be when you have no control and no idea about what is going on around you.

So, as you find yourself laughing at your child's issues, be sure to take a moment to consider how your child might be perceiving the situation. That might help in your attempts to manage your laughter, at least until you can remove yourself from your child's company. If we must laugh at them, they don't always have to know about it, right?