Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Does parenting make you more or less happy?

I know that I'm only a little over a year into my title as "Parent," so perhaps I'm not the best judge of this, but... A recent article in The New Yorker, addressed this very question by looking at numerous studies to determine whether the benefits of having children, outweighs the costs. Most of the studies showed that people with kids are busier and more stressed - leading them to less happy with life than people without kids.

These studies... just didn't resonate with me. Perhaps its my "only YOU can make YOU happy" outlook on life. Perhaps its my "I refuse to be UNhappy attitude"... but parenting... has NOT made me a "less happy" person. Busier, yes. Stressed, yes.

6 comments:

Rick said...

... but in the long run it is wellgleduan worth the commitment.

Rick said...

Excuse the typo, that should read " ... but in the long run it is well wroth the commitment."

Rick said...

Oh well, you know what I mean.

Cousin Anji said...

Being busy and stressed does not always equal unhappy.

Shelly C. said...

Busier? Yes. More stressed? Yes. Less sleep? Yes. Less money? Yes. More fulfilled than I ever thought possible? Absolutely.

CHarris said...

I couldn't agree with you more, Alison. My life wouldn't be nearly as fulfilled without my kids. Less busy and less stressed, but also less fulfilled.