A new study suggests having children may not make people happier, despite the common belief that parenthood brings lasting joy.
Children may not bring happiness
Researchers found little difference in overall wellbeing between parents and people without children, questioning the idea that kids are directly linked to happiness.
The study, published in Evolutionary Psychology, analysed data from more than 5,000 people across 10 countries, including the UK.
Researchers looked at two types of wellbeing: everyday emotional wellbeing, such as happiness, sadness and loneliness, and a deeper sense of meaning or purpose in life.
The results showed that parents were no happier than non-parents when factors such as relationship status were taken into account. Overall life satisfaction was also widely similar between the two groups.
There was a slight increase in a sense of meaning among mothers, although the difference was minimal.
The scientists said: "In general, combining our findings with prior research suggests that parenthood is either neutral or has a very small impact on hedonic wellbeing and life satisfaction."
However, it goes against previous studies and surveys. In the European Values Survey, which surveyed nearly 60,000 people across the continent, around 90% agreed that “watching children grow up is life's greatest joy”.
Researchers believe the gap between public perception and the study's findings may come down to the type of happiness children bring.
Parenting may create intense but brief positive moments, such as pride during important milestones, rather than a consistent rise in day-to-day happiness.
The study also found that parents reported slightly lower levels of satisfaction in their relationships compared to non-parents.
Although the difference was small, it points to the added pressures that can come with raising children, including factors such as sleep deprivation, financial strain and the pressures of daily routine.
However, the researchers reassured that “these expectations will likely not materialise”. They stated that their “results combined with the results of previous literature suggest that parenting has many rewards, but a permanent increase in baseline hedonic wellbeing is unlikely to be one of them”.