When children laugh they are powerful.
One of the best ways to make a child laugh is to make them the smartest person in the room.
Children spend most of there time being told what to do, being reminded how small and powerless there are.
Every now and then they come across a situation where they know better than an adult. And it makes them laugh to their belly.
I grew up with ‘wash your face with orange juice’ and sought to create the same cheeky fun that Maestro Peter Coombe achieved.
Cheeky The Monkey is the main character in Cheeky Tunes. She is illustrated to look like a preschooler. She is constantly interrupting the performer’s songs and singing cheeky words to replace to lyrics. The kids love it. They know where Cheeky is but the performer can’t see her.
We play tricks on Grandma.
During the songs ‘Tricks on Grandma’, we play a game where we have to sneak around Grandma and play a few little harmless tricks on and finish by jumping out and yelling ‘Boo!’ to give her a fright. In the end, we tell Grandma that we love and it’s just a joke.
Children build confidence and intelligence by strengthening their ‘cheeky’ muscles. It is a skill to recognise the ridiculous and playful world and also master the balance of how far a joke can be taken.