Having Kids Makes You Happy

My husband and I have been together 8 years. Neither of us want children and we don't have any. A lot of my friends have children and while they all love their children dearly I still hear things that make me thankful of my decision. There is a lot of societal pressure on me to have children and very people in my life (other than my girlfriends with young children) understand or accept my decision. I don't think that every couple should have children solely because society says yous should but I also think there are a lot of people who would not be truly happy without them. Having children is a very personal decision and I know that I am happier now than I ever could be with offspring but that doesn't mean that that applies to everyone. Do what makes you happy and don't worry about the research that is in or out of your favor. (And yes, honestly, I do feel slightly vindicated by this study but that still doesn't make my choice universally right.)

Yeah. We shouldn't have kids. We all love money more than children. Definitely. We can use that $237,520 to buy a summer house and a speed boat or maybe a ferari. Or maybe some very fancy pets, so its -almost- like we have kids, but these we can put to sleep if they're ever being too rambunctious.

Nothing in life should be difficult. Difficult things are never rewarding. Screw families, I'm looking out for numero uno!

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Happiness is not a constant state, it is but a moment. like when you get a raise, graduate, telli your husband "Im pregnant" when you both were searching for it, your new home, a night in the town with your old friends, finishing a great book, etc. No one is happy all the times..that will be crazy then how will you know the joy of happiness if you never experience sorrow. Everyone experience hapiness and sorrow (people with children & childness people) it's part of being alive and been human. The questions is are you content with your choices and your lifestlye and that's a very personal reflection. Are people with children selfish? are people that dont wan tchildren selfish? WHO CARES you dont need to justify your choices to anyone but yourself. Are you content with the choices you made then considered yourself blessed. As many people I've experience both been childless (doing what I please when I pleased which not always led to feeling happy)and with child and experiecing the statisfaction of receiving a "I wove you mommy" , teaching by son how to ride a bike, and seen a little bit of myself in him, it has been wondurful to see him grow!. Im I always glad that I have a kid? no, not always like when I want to finish reading a book and I'm iterrupted, like when my son has tantrums, when he wakes me up at 5:30 AM! Do I wish I was childless? No, I just wish for a few childless moments... but nevertheless I'm content with my life as a mother. If you dont want to have kids? I wish you the same fullfilness as does with children , If you have kids and regret it? I pitty you Really that's a tragedy...

I don't think it is true in all cases because there are couples that desperately want children and can't have them, however couples that do not want children and don't have them are definitely happier than couples who did not want or were not ready for children and had them anyways.

Also i know a lot of people that will disagree with me on this but this is what i have noticed about couples that have children. Every Single couple that i personally know that has had kids, it has deteriorated and sometimes completely destroyed their relationship. I am not saying that it is the kids fault at all or even saying it happens to everyone, just every couple that i personally know. It has been my experience that kids do put a huge strain on a relationship and not all couples can handle that strain. The key is to acknowledge if you are one of those couples that can handle it or not and base the decision on having kids accordingly

I don't have kids and i don't really plan to. I was raised in an abusive environment as well and i would not want to bring any kids into the world knowing that i would not be the best mother that a child could have due to my lack of understanding of how a good parent is supposed to be, Is'nt it better to know that you would not make a good parent and decide against having a child than to be like the millions of unfit parents in the world?

Putting someone else's needs before our own wants goes against our nature. You can't enjoy children or Life fully until you have come to the conclusion there is something wrong with you and the entire human race. People who write these articles always point out a problem but rarely have a solution. There is a solution though, You just have to want it. They discuss life and don't even know why we are here or where we came from. They think a large brain will give them the answers when what the really need is a new heart. If you live your life trying to please yourself you will never be happy! We are made with a desire for something more, but we always refuse to look in the right direction. Read Mathew chapters 5 & 6 of the New Testament in a more recent translation like the New Living Translation, because it is easier to understand. There you will find the way to happiness.

At the end of it all, no one ever said "Gee I wish I would have spent more time at work". The only possible way to full contentment is through selfless devotion to family and home.

After my continued work in retail and watching the way parents interact with their children (it's not pleasant to watch), I can honestly say that they are usually the most miserable people I've ever seen. This isn't always the case, of course; parents who maintain control and have well-behaved children do exist, and they seem no more or no less happy than folks who choose not to have children. But to watch these adults scream at, coddle, and struggle with their ill-mannered, whiny, spoiled little brats is painful at best. What's really tragic are those people who'd make marvelous parents but can't have children, whether it's medical or because they find love within their own gender, while any *** who either can't be bothered to use birth control or feels ENTITLED to have children can continue to overpopulate this planet. Yes, I said this planet is OVERPOPULATED, and for those who choose to be childless, whatever your reasons, I salute you.

I have to agree with every word Serena said. It is a FACT that the world is full of hateful people who could care less abou each other. It needs to change fast or else we are all going to be in for alot of trouble on the horizon. Those of you who think the only way you will be happy is to have a hild should not consider it beause it is alot of work to be a parent. If you cannot enjoy being a parent for all the joys it brings then forget it. Everyday I get more and more disgusted with the way that society treats each other and its a sad thing. People should really take a step back and take a look at the big piture and see it for what it is. I know I annot be the only one who feels this way. I will say one last thing that being a parent has done nothing but bring my family happiness.

Having a child taught me and my husband to be better happier persons and to value what is really important in life. Our marriage life is better than ever, full of experiences, adventures, emotions and appreciation for family and for each other. It is through our son we learned to laugh at situations that would seem very upseting before; and YES, our son taught us to LOVE and TO BE LOVED in a way that no words can describe!
P.S. About the studies: there is a very high degree of subjectivism (he said; she said), therefore, a very low degree of reliability... Additionally, it is a bit presumptuous of authors to say that parents are not telling the truth; and what about childless people, are they really that perfectly honest?..

Still being a kid myself and also from a family that had five children all at one time, I know that the financial situations get hard and tend to stay that way when you have to take into account all of the mouths you have to feed and all of the bodies you have to clothe. Plus all of the electricity, gas, water and all other miscellaneous needs that comes with a big family with many different personalities. My parents are down to two children now. Me and my younger brother. I get to hear them argue constantly. Both me and my brother brought up. My father has a very strange way of dealing with his problems. He'll blame the oldest child in the house for it no matter what it happens to be. First it was my oldest sister, then my oldest brother, then my second oldest sister, now me. Of course, I was the child that started the beginning of their marriage together, so he is actually a little more harsh on me than with my other older siblings. He'll be fighting with my mom then shout at me "I wish we never had you!" Or something equally hurtful and uncalled for. I guess He'd be supporting this article. My mother, on the other hand, would be against this article. She always tells us how much she loves us and that she's glad we're around to help her when we can. Children aren't for everybody. Only those who are level headed and know how to take care of themselves first. Lashing out against your children isn't going to exactly make lasting relationships.

That's great. Let's all stop procreating just because we'd be "happier" without kids. That's a good societal goal. Jeeze, we've evolved to be a bunch of whiny, self-serving jerks- totally unwilling to compromise, what now, even for our own children?! It's called family. Forgive me for pointing this out, but this article is extremely... childish! "I can't have a kid, I'd have to share my Xbox and take them to school when I could be making more money to serve myself!" And how happy will you be when you are 70 years old and no adult children or their grandchildren are around to keep you company or help you when you become ill? What a strange definition of happiness...

I don't disagree or agree with the article, rather, what it comes down to is some couples are meant to have children and others are not. Many (and I mean MANY) times, people have children for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they think they'll be happier, they may believe its their purpose, others just think their biological clock is ticking. God bless to all the people who have children, and who don't have children, and are happy.

I don't disagree or agree with the article, rather, what it comes down to is some couples are meant to have children and others are not. Many (and I mean MANY) times, people have children for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they think they'll be happier, they may believe its their purpose, others just think their biological clock is ticking. God bless to all the people who have children, and who don't have children, and are happy.

I do not agree with this article at all....I think that any of these people that claim to be happier in any way, shape or form should have thought a little harder before bringing a precious life into this world. Our society has really lost track of what really matters in this world, we need to get back to basics. We are a society full of selfish, self-centered human beings and that will not help to further us in the distant future. It will eventually lead to a downfall and having to rebuild from scratch. (i.e. World War III).......You are truly blessed if you bring a life into this world and if you don't think so than you should really find a family to care for your child or children that does......

I do not agree with this at all....I think that if you are one of the parents that is less happy than maybe you were not meant to be a parent to begin with and should have thought a lot harder about your decision before bringing a precious life into this world. Life is about life, other than that, we are promoting selfish and self centered human beings which does not further our society in any way or help the nation or the world. We need to get back to basics and what really matters in this world, I think our society has really lost site of that.