Take a look at this article. So…what do you think? Does having children make a person happier over
Take a look at this article.
https://www.npr.org/2013/02/19/172373125/does-having-children-make-you-happier
So…what do you think? Does having children make a person happier overall, or no? Or is that even a “yes or no” question? Explain. Does it matter whether parenting makes a person happy? Why or why not? What cultural assumptions do we make about parenting and happiness, and how do those assumptions affect parents and non-parents?
ANSWER
Children and Happiness
I do not think that parenting and happiness is a yes or no question. Parenting is rated among the lowest in the form of things that make people happy. However, research shows that people with children are happier than those without children (Inskeep & Vedantam, 2013). It matters whether or not parenting makes people happy because people need to be in the right state of mind while parenting to avoid passing some issues to their children. There is, however, a flaw in how happiness and parenting are viewed. Parenting brings joy, and it also comes with its challenges and therefore, I do not think happiness and unhappiness can be measured in parenting. Parenting has the happy days and the days when one feels like the children are overbearing and need space from them which is understandable. Because something brings a person happiness, it does not mean that it brings them happiness constantly. I enjoy watching movies, but sometimes I do not want to watch a movie I prefer taking a walk.
The cultural assumptions on parenting are that parents should find happiness in their children and that they should not complain of their children wearing them down. That is, however, wrong and sometimes leads to parents suffering from mental breakdowns. Children can be a burden, and it is okay sometimes to feel overwhelmed and admit that one needs a break from parenting. The fact that parents do not tell the non-parents about the lows of parenting also affects the expectations of new parents. They expect it to be all fun, but parenting is exhausting. The late nights and ER visits can be constant and physically and emotionally draining. The fact that a person is drained by pare ting does not make them unhappy. Having children, therefore, gives varying forms of happiness depending on the readiness of the parents to have children. It generally increases life satisfaction (Ugur, 2020).
References
Inskeep, S. & Vedantam, S. (2013). Does having children make you happier? https://www.npr.org/2013/02/19/172373125/does-having-children-make-you-happier
Ugur, Z. B. (2020). Does having children bring life satisfaction in Europe?. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21(4), 1385-1406.
