Joy: Experiencing smiles and laughter.

How Joy relates to Gender Equity.

Parenting is hard work, and gender-equity parenting requires even more energy. Experiencing joy is a critical counterbalance to the effort we put into such intentional parenting. Joy helps us stay connected with what is fun and enjoyable about our lives.

Examples of what Joy looks like in an adult.

• Someone who enjoys being silly and supports others in their silliness.
• An adult who has energy and enthusiasm for life.
• Someone who laughs almost every day.
• An adult who can play, without needing to have a winner or a loser.
• Someone who makes time to create for the pleasure of it, and isn’t worried about the end result.
• An adult who knows what they like to do and does it (as long as other people aren’t harmed).
• Someone who appreciates the simple things in life, such as the smell of fresh laundry, watching a ladybug crawl, hearing a great story, or the taste of a perfect apple.

Examples of how we can teach Joy to our child.

• Do things with our child just because they are fun.
• Think of activities we genuinely like doing that also happen to be kid-friendly.
• When doing something with our child we’re not as excited about, think about what part we could enjoy and do more of that.
• Tell our child about times we’ve had fun, felt amazing, or loved life.
• Do activities that encourage laughs, giggles, and snorts; ones that promote peeing in our pants, milk coming out of our nose, or making our stomach and face hurt from laughing so much. Note: If tickling is a favorite, make sure the “tickler” stops when asked to.
• Tell our child when we’re having fun with them and when we see them* having fun.

 *I am using “they/their/theirs/them/themselves” as singular pronouns.

Back to Guiding Principles for
Developing Whole Children

Self Awareness | Reciprocity | Full Personhood | Equality | Physical Ownership | Verbal Conflict Resolution | Emotional Wellness | Advocacy | Humility | Authenticity | Contribution | Resiliency | Joy | Gratitude | Community | Critical Thinking