The Mascot is the child in the family who brings relief through their sense of humor. This is the child doing backflips on the couch amid family chaos or crisis. They are the joke tellers and comics who help relieve stress and pain.

Attention seeking motivates this child. They can be charming, cute, and somewhat immature. Hyperactivity may be noticeable.

This is the class clown, who gets recognition for being silly which often morphs into annoying. It may be hard for this child to focus as their distracting behaviors are a challenge to themselves and the surrounding others.

It is difficult for this child to express their feelings. Difficult feelings are inaccessible as they are good at joking their way out of difficulties. Often others do not take them seriously.

This child covers up their pain with humor. They believe that when tragedy, pain, and suffering are made light of, they can avoid them.

The role this child plays in the family is to make everyone feel better and distract others from their pain.

In troubled families, this laughter can prevent healing rather than producing it.

The beliefs of this child include:

“If I make others laugh, the pain will go away.”

“I can make things better with my humor.”

As adults, they may suffer from depression and addiction. They may have limited access to deep feelings. They may find it hard to put down the clown’s mask.

They may avoid doing any uncomfortable work on themselves, brushing off the need to do so, and ignoring the importance of addressing their personal healing.