What’s appropriate for kids?

I was once asked to do a show at a children’s school festival, and I was completely unprepared. My whole assortment of jokes, at that point had nothing that could entertain children, or so I thought. When I accepted the offer I had come to the conclusion that I would definitely boycott several jokes that I had previously been using. I had taken up the offer because I decided that with growth I had to change my act to suite a wider audience. I began by setting two major rules: “Keep the jokes Simple” and “Use CleanJokes”.

Brainstorming for ideas felt difficult at first since my approach to comedy had always been different, but things began to fall into place. After a week of standing in front of a wall of nothing, I saw my dog do something really dumb and my nephew cracked up. I knew at that point that point that animal jokes would do great with them. As the days went by I began to spend more time with my nephew and his actions helped me discover the world of humor I had been missing; the underlying hilarity of the little things.

I picked up new branches of school jokes that could easily be used for a younger audience. Avoiding topics of politics and race, as well as removing the dirty elements of humor, all I was left with was an absolutely raw form of comedy.

When the day for the festival finally arrived I had become a pro, if I say so myself, at humor for children. I understood that the easiest way to lose their attention was to use a few science jokes and the best way to regain their attention was by throwing out a couple of food jokes. Although I was not greatly applauded upon by the crowd of semi-interested hungry children; many of the parents appreciated my act and felt that I was the right blend for school jokes.

If you ever get the opportunity to perform for a venue and audience you’ve never performed for, then take it as a challenge and try to learn as much as you can from the experience.