Ok, so as a group we parents may whine and complain a lot. It's cathartic, after all. But in spite of being frequently deprived of both sleep and spare time, it seems we're happier than our non-parent compadres.
So say researchers from the University of California, Riverside, the University of British Columbia and Stanford University in a series of studies conducted throughout the United States and Canada.
"We are not saying that parenting makes people happy, but that parenthood is associated with happiness and meaning," said Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at UC Riverside. "Contrary to repeated scholarly and media pronouncements, people may find solace that parenthood and child care may actually be linked to feelings of happiness and meaning in life."
"In Defense of Parenthood: Children Are Associated With More Joy Than Misery" will be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science.
In spite of the added responsibilities that parenting brings, moms and dads report greater happiness and fulfilment than those who remain childless. Empirical data also supports the evolutionary perspective that having children is a "fundamental human need."
The studies recorded the happiness levels of parents versus non-parents in terms of overall and moment-to-moment contentment.
Some of key findings:
Parents are happier when taking care of their children than while doing other daily activities.
Fathers, in particular, expressed greater levels of happiness, positive emotion and meaning in life than their childless peers.
So much for smug childless couples. Don't be fooled by those put-upon, frappuccino-swilling moms at the cafe. They may be packing bags under their eyes, but on the whole are happier than they would have you believe.
Or in the words of Elizabeth W. Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC: "These findings suggest that parents are not nearly the miserable creatures that we might expect from recent studies and popular representations."
Certainly motherhood adds a rich level of meaning to life. My life is undoubtedly more stressful -- and blissful -- since my son came into my life nearly four years ago. But I would add that there are different kinds of happy, and they aren't really comparable.
Are you happier with kids than you were without, or is it like comparing apples with oranges?
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