Want to Be Happier? Become a Parent
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Sure, being a parent is a stressful job, but it turns out people who are parents are actually happier than non-parents. According to USA Today, two new studies presented at the Population Association of America’s annual meeting suggest that earlier findings that parents are more depressed and less happy aren’t true.
One study looked at 130,000 adults (of that number, 52,000 were parents). Researchers looked at parent happiness levels before they had kids and after they had kids. Experts found that parents’ dissatisfaction levels weren’t worse after they had kids. The study found that parents were happier when they were getting ready for baby and during the first year after baby’s birth.
The second study analyzed surveys of 120,000 adults between 1972-2008 and found that while parents were more dissatisfied than non-parents in 1985-1995, between 1995-2008 parents were happier (the happiness levels of non-parents declined.)
Do you think parents are happier these days? If you’re a parent, do you think you’re happier than your non-parent friends?
Plus, more from The Bump:
Get the Help You Want When Baby Comes Home
The Knot Blog
The Nest Blog
I think I am happier – I have more focus, more direction in my life. It’s a complicated happiness, like the difference between being on a super fast roller coaster versus gardening all the ingrediants for an amazing celebration. I think I was going from cheap thrill to cheap thrill, what I have now is more layered and long-lasting (but still glad I have the memories from before!)
I wonder how they define “happy.” I am delighted and thrilled to have my kids but they can make me insane at times, too. I have zero time for myself since I also work full-time, which certainly doesn’t make me happy. But at the same time, since my day is so jam-packed, I don’t sweat the small stuff at all and focus on only what’s important because there’s no time for anything else! A side effect of that has to be feeling happy.
Interesting. Overall, my child makes my life happier – because she brings me so much joy. However, I think it’s the love you have for a child that makes you happier. The bond that you share. Each person has their own sense of what makes them happy and some people prefer lots of “me time,” and do not want the financial costs associated with children. And that is okay too. People need to determine what will fill their life with joy – it could include having kids and it could mean not having them. To each, their own!