Playful pranks or practical jokes can sometimes have a bad reputation as being harmful, destructive or messy. But by keeping to our 5 simple rules, you can make sure that your family can receive all the benefits that they can bring to family dynamics without the mess. Here are our 5 ways to keep pranks fun for the whole family.
Read our playful prank story here.
5 Do's and Don'ts that Keep Pranks Fun for the Whole Family
1. They Make You Laugh Together
Do: Make everyone laugh. The best pranks or practical jokes will make the whole family laugh – even the person being pranked. Laughter has several potential health benefits. There have been studies that seem to show that laughter can relax the whole body, thus reducing tension, stress and pain. Laughter also releases endorphins encouraging feelings of well-being and happiness. And studies have also shown its good for your heart health.
Don’t: Go out to ridicule or humiliate. Pranks can sometimes end up being a form of unintentional bullying. So, remember to ensure that if practical jokes are part of your family life, that there is a code of conduct that puts laughter first.
2. They Make You Creative
Do: Be creative. Playful pranks or practical jokes come in all shapes and sizes. They don’t need to be big, extravagant or expensive. But they do allow the whole family’s imaginations to run free. They enable everyone to be silly, funny and get their creative juices flowing.
Don’t: Create a mess for someone else to clean up. Pranks can sometimes end up being messy, disgusting and destructive. They are not the practical jokes that you can look back on fondly. As a prankster you are responsible for any messes you make.
3. They Create Shared Memories
Do: Create a good memory. You might think that the success of a practical joke lies in whether it went according to plan or not. But in reality, the best result of a successful playful prank is the positive shared memory that it can create. Your prank needs to create a story that can be shared with laughter for many years to come. The overriding emotional memory needs to be one of fun, laughter and bonding.
Don’t: humiliate, stress or hurt. Pranks or jokes that humiliate, stress or cause pain are not fun for the whole family. They do not create memories but feelings of doubt, worthlessness and stupidity. Remember the goal is not to win or make the best prank. The goal is laughter for everyone.
4. They Improve Relationships
Do: Grow relationships. Playful pranks need to grow relationships. Children love to play jokes on their parents. To revel in the joy of the relationship dynamic being topsy-turvy for a little while. To have moments of control and power in a playful and silly environment. And when the world has returned to normal and the game is over, those bonds of trust between parent and child, brother and sister are left stronger and tighter.
Don’t: Destroy a relationship. Playful pranks done badly can destroy relationships. They can destroy trust and lead to secrets, lies and shame. They can lead to fear, consequence and punishment if children are not taught to properly respect the limits of a practical joke.
5. Share Your Story
If your playful prank has got everyone talking, everyone sharing how they felt, how they kept the secret, how they pulled off the ‘trick’, then you have won.
So remember, next time your family are playing pranks on each-other to remember our 5 simple rules of a successful practical joke: make everyone laugh, keep it clean, make a good memory, build up a relationship and get everyone talking.
Playful Pranks Need Laughter
For more information on why laughter is an essential ingredient to any practical joke – click here.
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