kids jump on bedOkay, I really didn't want to laugh out loud when I watched this video. I really didn't. Cute kids, dancing -- Hey, look out little buddy, you're gonna fall right off the ... bed. HAHAHAHA! (Before I go any further, allow me to point out that this adorable boy was NOT injured by his tumble.) Like I said, I didn't want to laugh. But I couldn't help it! And unfortunately, we all face these types of challenge as parents -- they're impossible to avoid, because kids fall down kind of a lot. Sometimes in a hilariously slapstick way.

This happened at my house just last week. Well, my almost 7-year-old son didn't fall off the bed like this tot, but he did accidentally walk into a wall when he wasn't looking where he was going (and I am always reminding him to look where he's going!!!). He didn't get hurt. In fact, he almost started laughing at himself ... until he realized that his own mother was laughing at him (and trying to hide it, but not doing a very good job, obviously).

So, I tried to turn my parenting fail into what I believe is known as a "teachable moment" in child-rearing lingo. I told him about The Three Stooges and Tom and Jerry and Ben Stiller and we talked about why we ("we" meaning human beings) have the instinct to laugh when somebody gets a pie in the face or dunked in a tank of water at a state fair or whatever else. My son thought maybe it has something to do with the fact that we don't really want to think somebody got hurt, so our brains turn it into something funny. (My own personal theory leans more towards Schadenfreude, but who knows?)

Either way, we ended up having a good conversation and my son didn't feel bad anymore about his mommy laughing at him when he walked into a wall, so, parenting score!

Now watch this video and tell the truth ...

Did you laugh when the little boy fell off the bed?

 

Image via VideosdeRichie/YouTube