Children love jokes. We see it in their bodies, which quiver with excitement as they finish telling a joke, and in the cloud of disappointment covering their faces if no-one laughs enough. Adults, on the other hand, may feel slightly anxious when someone begins to tell a joke.
There is always that slight uncertainty about what might be coming next.
Perhaps this is linked to the different ways in which children and adults react to surprises. Children love surprises! Adults often feel a vague sense of unease around a surprise. When playworker Pip was leaving club after three years, both the children and the staff wanted to give him a surprise party. Although touched and overwhelmed, he seemed somewhat uneasy about the whole event. Later, he explained, 'Well, it was a lovely thing to do, and I really appreciated it, but I felt cast in their plot.' He had been feeling sad about leaving club but felt he had to behave in an expected delighted way.
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