The verdict is in – ruining your children’s lives with terrible dad jokes is actually good for their character. The cringier, the better!
An expert wrote in the British Psychological Society’s journal that dad jokes are important to help children learn to be embarrassed and toughen them up to accept that embarrassment isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Having the stomach to handle a terrible dad joke can help them build resilience and prove that embarrassment isn’t going to kill them.
Of course, you need to perfectly time your dad jokes for maximum eye rolls and embarrassment, such as when your child is with their friends or in a crowd of people. Other excellent times to pull out the worst dad jokes is at any event that requires you to make a speech and, of course, any time you are meeting one of your child’s friends for the first time.
“By teasingly striking at their children’s egos and emotions without teetering over into bullying, fathers build their children’s resilience and train them to withstand minor attacks and bouts of negative emotion without getting worked up or acting out, teaching them impulse control and emotional regulation,” a researcher of humor and lab manager at Aarhus University’s Cognition and Behavior Laboratory, Marc Hye-Knudsen wrote.
“In light of this, it is worth considering dad jokes as a pedagogical tool that may serve a beneficial function for the very children who roll their eyes at them..
So to all the dads out there who love telling dad jokes to your kids: Don’t let their groans, their eye rolls, or their palpable irritation stop you. You’re partaking in a long and proud tradition, and your embarrassingly awful jokes may even do them some good.”
Hey, who are we to argue with science? Bring on the eye rolls and the terrible dad jokes!
Our fave bad dad jokes
There are SOOO many to choose from, but here we go. Our top ten in bad dad jokes – the worst of the worst, guaranteed to make your children cringe and possibly disown you.
10. I used to be addicted to the hokey pokey.
Then I turned myself around.
9. What do you call an alligator in a vest?
An investigator.
8. Why did the scarecrow win an award?
Because he was outstanding in his field.
7. Why don’t skeletons ever go trick or treating?
Because they have no body to go with.
6. I used to work in a shoe recycling shop.
It was sole destroying.
5. What’s the best time to go to the dentist?
Tooth hurt-y!
4. What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?
Nacho Cheese.
3. When is a door not a door?
When it’s ajar.
2. What did one ocean say to the other ocean?
Nothing, they just waved.
1. Why are ghosts such bad liars?
You can see right through them.
And one more for good luck:
Why aren’t koalas actual bears?
They don’t meet the koalafications.
Terrible. Just terrible.
There have been several studies into the wonderful world of parenting and a few very interesting outcomes. Did you know, for example, that if you have two boys, your second child is going to most likely be a little sh*t stirrer?
Another study confirmed that swearing actually makes you a better person.
