

So if you’re looking at children from the perspective of personal happiness, the phases of the married life without children are the happiest periods. between the departure of the last child from home and the death of one’s spouse.between the wedding and the birth of the first child.In his seminal work “ Meanings of Life“, Roy Baumeister tells us that there are two happiness peaks in the lives of adults in America, namely: Research shows the disadvantages of parenthood to be the strongest in the United States. To make matters worse, people generally become less satisfied with their marriage when they have children (making the attempt to fix a marriage by having children even more ironic).

This is why single parents report the lowest levels of well-being compared to married or unmarried couples who are living together. It goes without saying that all of these stressors apply even more to the lives of single parents.

Anderson, Russel, & Schumm, 1983 or Campbell, 1981), even though parents think it will make them happier. Research shows (over and over again) that having children reduces happiness (e.g. Thanks.ĭo you think having children makes you happier? Please read the article before leaving a comment. Reading these comments will teach you more about human nature than the article will because of the strength of human biases (especially cognitive dissonance reduction and confirmation bias) that is being portrayed. It’s been two years since I published this post and the comments are still pouring in.
