How Watching The Office Made My Child an Advanced Being

I guess my son, Donovan, was about 9 when he started watching The Office with me. We would climb in my bed on Saturday nights, eat his brownie creations and watch the Dunder Mifflin foolery, laughing hysterically. We became deeply connected to the well developed characters and story lines. And we started quoting scenes that were relevant to our daily experiences.

Because I grew up watching the old black sitcoms like Martin, Sanford and Son, Good Times, etc, and because my family had a traditional “clap back” banter, I had an uncanny ability to find funny in places that astounded and humored everyone around me. But Donovan was groomed to a different generational wit. The Disney Channel wasn’t exactly busting my gut.

But, The Office seemed to bridge a gap for us. I started to notice that my son was picking up a very mature sense of humor. His ability to catch punchlines on and off the show was impressive for someone that young. At 12 years old, he still texts me funnies that pay rent in the laughing section of my psyche.

But there was so much more that he was starting to get out of the show. To me, The Office is a rare gem of a series that balances keeping up with a large cast of characters and their interplay while maintaining a cohesive flow. That flow included so many components that helped teach him levels emotional intelligence.

The show humanized broad personality types by engaging them in situations that tested their integrity and…