Tonight with your 5 to 8 year old
The prompt
“How do you know when a joke has gone from funny to not-funny-anymore?”
What to listen for
A kid who describes watching the other person's face or listening for a change in their laugh is already tuned in to other people's feelings, that's a skill worth naming out loud so they know you see it.
If they say "when they cry" or "when they get mad," that's honest and fine at this age, they're learning the signal, just later than facial cues. You can gently add, "sometimes people feel bad before they show it, so it's nice to check in even earlier."
If they say "I don't know," that's a great low-pressure moment to explore together rather than lecture, ask about a specific joke from today and walk through it side by side.
What this tells you
This shows how well they can read the invisible line between play and hurt, and how much guidance they still need to find it.