Do you know what makes your kids laugh?

Not just fart jokes (those are universal). What makes them laugh when no one is looking?

I’m going to go all gushy-love-parent on your here: it’s hard to find a more joyous sound in the universe than a child truly laughing. Not the “I’m supposed to be laughing because I guess that was funny.” Especially not the “I’m laughing so my parents will buy me gum.” Definitely not the “I’m laughing because my friends are laughing but I really don’t think it’s all that funny, but I’m too self-conscious to not join in.”

No, this is the “I’m all alone and I have no one to impress laugh.” The “I don’t even care who hears me laugh.” The “I’m just a kid and this is really funny” laugh.

Dance as if no one is watching … laugh as if you’re 10 and reading a Donald Duck.

Do you know? Have you witnessed it? What about with 12 to 16-year olds? Tougher to actually spot in the wild, right? But when you accidentally quietly sneak up and they’re laughing, it’s as if you found a $100 bill on the ground and no one is around: it’s all yours and it’s your lucky day. You’re happy to be alive and you relish the sounds of happiness and humor coming from kids who share your blood line.

In case you’re not into the Dutch language, here’s what had my 10-year old laughing out loud and gathering us all up so he could read it out loud to us to share what he thought was the funniest thing ever.

It’s a conversation between Katrina and Donald Duck (they’re quite the couple). They’re going back and forth and what Lu likes about it so much is that they’re being overly affectionate towards each other. Perfect combination of embarrassing girly stuff and really fun use of nicknames. It just gets sappier and sappier as it goes along. My son couldn’t even read aloud towards the end of the page as he was laughing too much.

Donald Duck: (wow, I don’t even know if this means something, sounds very sweet and sugary!)

Katrina: Hello, tiger.

DD: Sweetie, I miss you.

K: I miss you, too, little bear.

DD: Send me a telephone kiss.

K: Smack! You are my darling French fry*.

DD: And you’re my little donut**.

K: And you’re my sugar cake.

DD: And you’re my honey candy.

K: And you’re my little cookie monster.

In the last scene, I’m not even sure what’s going on, but all of the sugar and sweets are out the window as Donald is with a group of people and they’re hearing all of this. I’ll have to get the full background from Lu to figure it out.

So there’s what we’re laughing at around here. What makes your child laugh?