Humor as a Coping Mechanism

How many of us are feeding our souls with hilarious made-at-home videos about the coronavirus? There is some pretty amazing creativity happening out there, individuals and families who are using humor to cope and sharing their art with the rest of us through social media. I have several favorites, the Sound of Music one, and a family remake of Les Miserable’s One More Day. If I could figure out how to copy one from FaceBook, I would have included a video Yigal Azaria that has made me laugh loudly, something that is not so easy to these days.

Materials

• Bran cereal – the kind that looks like twigs (but any cereal will do, and so will other ingredients like dry dog food).
• Two zip lock bags, quart sized (because the first one may break as you pound and crumble the cereal)
• pitcher/glass/cup of warm water
• loose parts digestive tract made from items you might find around the house, plastic bags/umbrella bags, string, cardboard…..
• tape, glue, staples (whatever way works best to make digestive tract)
• Scissors

With humor in mind, I am stepping out on a limb to introduce a family activity that we have used in hospitals to help kids play and laugh about bowel issues that are usually a cause for shame and embarrassment. Many kids with chronic illness, disabilities, cancer, or trauma suffer from intestinal difficulties, toileting issues and discomfort. Playing about it can break through the shame and silence, teach children about how their bodies work and how healthy diets, hydration, and exercise can keep things running smoothly. Perhaps in this time of sheltering in place, we aren’t getting the exercise or diet we need to stay regular. So, bare with me and I will lead you through a fun, gross, and silly activity for the whole family.