ARE CHILDREN STILL HAVING FUN - OBSERVATI ONS ON HUMOR IN SCHOOLCHILDREN

Based on participatory observations using a qualitative cross-longitud inal design, humorous interactions among children in their natural soc ial context were described and categorized systematically over a long period for the first time. The data consist of 2055 humorous scenes cr eated by 93 seven-to twelve-year-old peers from six grades in the peri ods 1992/93 and 1994/95. The humorous interactions range from grotesqu e play like teasing, annoying, and pranks, to parodistic word games li ke mocking and joking, and even include satirical, almost ironic, witt icisms. The functions, problems, and developmental tendencies of child humor were also analyzed. According to the data, adolescents learn to find ever more intelligent solutions to social incongruities, anxieti es, and conflicts as they interact with their peels. The original insi ghts from this study should help pedagogues and parents understand, ac cept, and encourage child humor.