Dad jokes. I have books of them. I follow social media accounts dedicated to them. I tell dad jokes. I text dad jokes. I laugh at my own dad jokes.
Did you know that your kids need your dad jokes? Everyone knows that dad jokes aren’t that funny. You know it. Your kids know it. So, why in the world would your kid need them?
What’s the difference between a coyote and a flea? One howls on the prairie while the other prowls on the hairy.
Your kid needs dad jokes precisely because they aren’t funny. When you share these ridiculous jokes with your kids, it is because you want an excuse to talk to them, to interact with them, and to love on them.
Dad, you have many responsibilities beyond telling jokes.
- Proverbs 22:6 tells you to train up your children in the way they should go.
- Deuteronomy 6 instructs you to teach your children the commandments of God.
- You should discipline your children.
- Joshua teaches in the face of a pagan culture, you must train your children to serve the Lord, regardless of what others do.
- Paul teaches in Ephesians that you must bring your children up to known and fear the Lord and you should not provoke them to anger (one of my kids wrote this on a post-it note beside my bed).
- The Great Commission applies to parents and children as well. You must share the gospel with your children.
Dads, you have a lot to do. But, do you know what else you need to do? You need to love your kids and live out the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy. In Malachi 4:6, one of the prophesies about the Messiah is, “He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”
One of the most apparent evidences of Christ’s work in the world is seeing fathers and children who love each other.
Dad, your kids need to know you love them. 73% of kids want to spend more time with their parents. They want to spend time with you, and as they develop, they need to spend time with you. Positive interactions with a dad (or mom) helps to improve self-esteem, leads to lower rates of drug abuse, and improves outcomes like high school graduation.
You don’t need to be a helicopter parent. You just need to be present and you need to show some effort and interest. You need to make time for your kids and do the little things that show them they matter.
Cue the dad jokes.
When you tell dad joke, you communicate that your kids are important enough to have your attention and your time. You tell your kids a joke, and in so doing you tell them that they matter. When they know that you have spent a minute looking for that joke, they also know that they mattered enough for you to put in some effort.
There is nothing like holding on to that one special dad joke until the perfect moment, only for your kid to realize that you have been waiting all day to tell them.
Are the jokes funny? Not usually. But that is OK. Kids experience love through quality time, and quality time isn’t always what you think. You don’t have to buy a boat or take a family vacation to Cabo. You can have some quality time while dinner cooks or while you wait for brother to get out of practice.
Quality time can be reading a book together, playing a board game, or even playing a game of tag. But, it turns out, quality time can also be laughing together. Bonding over a good joke (or a bad one). Those bad dad jokes also become a sort of inside family joke. Your kids will bond over your bad jokes. The minute they hear you begin, they will exchange those little glances and eye-rolls. The collective groans and sighs. Those little moments are bonding moments that strengthen your family.
“I just read a book about the history of glue…I couldn’t put it down.”
Finally, when you tell those dad jokes, you are communicating. Is it silly communication? Yes, but it is communication, and positive communication with your kids (or grandkids, or nieces, or whoever) opens the door for more communication in the future. The more you communicate, the more you break down barriers and keep the door open for harder or more important conversations in the future.
So, dad, get busy. Your family needs you. Go tell a joke.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
