ABSTRACT
Play and humour are present from the earliest months of life through the joyful interplay between a caregiver and a baby. The context for affectionate playfulness is found in the daily creation of small, ordinary opportunities for co-operative communication through loving face to face contact. This mutual pleasure derived from each other is a sign of well-being and a building block for sociability. Feeling good about ourselves in relation to others through shared laughter or anticipated rhythms of singing games, nursery rhymes and, later in life, family fun and shared humour for example, is about the stirrings of interest and pleasure in others. The earliest smiles, pre-verbal communication and sounds which are exchanged before words are the tools for adult communication as well. Such playfulness supports a willingness to give something a try with another and to see what happens next. When there is attuned communication and reciprocal interest, then curiosity is aroused about the intentions of another. What may hopefully be created together between two people is not only about what happens in the external space but also about subtle shifts of internal vitality that are created and actively sought by infants and adults alike.
