Having Kids Makes You Happy

I will repost the comment I wrote before:

Comment: This article certainly sparked heated debate. Wow.
That said, I think that there is one thing that today's global society lacks: RESPECT. Honestly this is not a black and white topic People have different reasons/motives for having/adopting children or remaining childfree. RESPECT them. Honestly are those that disagree with you truly harming you? No. People come in all forms, some wonderful, some so-so, and others are just plain old horrible. Everybody exists for a reason, some people opt to procreate or adopt and subsequently raise children, others choose to forgo becoming parents. What it comes down to is: It is EACH individuals VERY PERSONAL decision. You made your decision, they made theirs. To each their own and hopefully everybody is content with their decision if not that is ashame but you made the decision and now you must live with it. And by living with it I mean: Do the absolute best you are capable of in your given situation, no matter what it may be.

It is none of my business to judge your decision nor is your decision my business to judge.

How does anyone measure happiness?

muzicbox9...I love what you said. I've been with my husband for 18 years and we just had our first child. I've lived the childless life for a long time. My husband and I had tons of fun in our 20's and 30's. We traveled, we partied, we did everything imaginable and everything we desired at a moments notice. Now we are financially secure and have settled down in our wild ways. We were ready to have a child. Now we can dedicate the rest of our lives to this wonderful bundle of joy. And yes...he is a bundle of joy. There are moments when our son cries and we can't figure out why. Most nights when we're up every hour on the hour to feed him or put the passy back in his mouth. And of course....there are moments we wish we had our old life back. But.....I can honestly say...I'm happy. I was happy before my son....and I'm happy now. Seeing him smile or hearing him giggle is so joyous. And I can't wait to take him to all the places we have seen and do all the things we have done....but this time with our son. I can only suggest that people should wait a few years (not as long as we did) to have children. Have fun...enjoy your youth. You'll have great stories to tell your children about your life before they came along. Well...maybe not...HAHAHAHA!

Kudos to your article. Does having kids make you happy? All I can say is, you have to make your own happiness, with or without children. I'm 39 and have gotten married for the first time just two years ago. Since our marriage, people have been inundating us with endless questions like "when are you having kids?" My wife and I do plan on having a family one day, but it's going to be on our terms alone. We're enjoying our life together with our various hobbies, and we don't intend to have children until we're both good and ready for it. We're happy with who we are and we don't need a child to depend on for our own emotional well-being, nor will we raise our child to feel that way, either. I feel that if you try and relive your life through your children, of course you're going to be unhappy. You have to maintain your own identity, and have your own interests, dreams and desires, and that you don't have to put these things on hold just because you have a child. I personally look around me and see how misbehaved kids are today and keep telling my wife how much better we'd be at parents. Because we're older (my wife is 35), I don't regret us putting off our decisions on family until we were older and more stable. We were able to save and have an opportunity to give any children we have a decent future, unlike having to struggle like we both did.

moment in First i must say that I have no kids, and no plans to have any. However, I have many friends with children and eagerly await having nieces and nephews to spoil. I personally do not think my husband and i are happier than my friends with kids. I can't even say it is quieter or that we sleep more, as we have pets, so I don't see what the big deal is. I must admit, I HATE being told that we will "change our minds" at some unforeseeable

This article certainly sparked heated debate. Wow.
That said, I think that there is one thing that today's global society lacks: RESPECT. Honestly this is not a black and white topic People have different reasons/motives for having/adopting children or remaining childfree. RESPECT them. Honestly are those that disagree with you truly harming you? No. People come in all forms, some wonderful, some so-so, and others are just plain old horrible. Everybody exists for a reason, some people opt to procreate or adopt and subsequently raise children, others choose to forgo becoming parents. What it comes down to is: It is EACH individuals VERY PERSONAL decision. You made your decision, they made theirs. To each their own and hopefully everybody is content with their decision if not that is ashame but you made the decision and now you must live with it. And by living with it I mean: Do the absolute best you are capable of in your given situation, no matter what it may be.

It is none of my business to judge your decision nor is your decision my business to judge.

alisa-anne, thanks so much for your comment, lol. I have the utmost respect for people who chose to have kids, but as of yet I have none and I'm not sure if I ever will. I'm perfectly content with that, and have every intention of living a fulfilling life regardless. I have the utmost respect for parents, you're job is certainly a far cry from easy and I believe every word of what you say is true about how rewarding it is. But with that being said, I'm still not sure if it's for "me". It's very upsetting when you're constantly having to defend yourself to others, and it's so refreshing when you come across someone who has the sam respect for you as you do for them. I wish you the best with your family! :)

violet520, the reason parents are online at this time of night is not because of the nutcase you posted to, it is because this is the only time there is not a clingon stuck to you like a horse fly. Right now my house is wonderfully quiet. This is my alone time, and I love it. Hun, kids are great, but enjoy your life, and screw the freaky soccer moms. They have nothing better in their lives than to live through their children and slowly kill their hubbys.

Ok, I have six, (yes insanity) but I must agree with the study. I am a parent, my husband and I choose to have our kids. I am and engineer, he is a dirt digger. We own a home, cars and the fun stuff, our kids go to a great school, and every Christmas is amazing watching my little demons smile and run amuck. Now, having said this, yes it is more stress full. Life is tougher, more hectic, even all out crazy and loud sometimes. I do not care if it was planned or and omg what the hell happened baby. You do not know what being a parent is until you have no slept in a week, and worn vomit clothes in public. Look like hell warmed over, stared at a wall for an hour just because it can???t talk back. If you say no, not true, you are either not a parent, or a freak of nature, or honestly out right full of it. Remember, the old lie all parents tell themselves, my kids won be like that.

Ok, I have six, (yes insanity) but I must agree with the study. I am a parent, my husband and I choose to have our kids. I am and engineer, he is a dirt digger. We own a home, cars and the fun stuff, our kids go to a great school, and every Christmas is amazing watching my little demons smile and run amuck. Now, having said this, yes it is more stress full. Life is tougher, more hectic, even all out crazy and loud sometimes.

I do not care if it was planned or and omg what the hell happened baby. You do not know what being a parent is until you have no slept in a week, and worn vomit clothes in public. Look like hell warmed over, stared at a wall for an hour just because it can???t talk back. If you say no, not true, you are either not a parent, or a freak of nature, or honestly out right full of it. Remember, the old lie all parents tell themselves, my kids won be like that.

The "purpose" of humanity based on every animal before us is procreation, but every other animal has to deal with predators, disease, and a struggle to obtain food, which we have pretty much ridded ourselves of. For this reason, procreation is not beneficial to any animal but humans. The more people there are on Earth, the more resources we use, the more ecosystems we damage. Screw the impact on personal health, screw the impact on societal health, we as humans have overstayed our welcome.

Do the results of those studies take into consideration or differentiate between parents who chose to conceive chilldren and those who accidently got pregnant and had a child. I feel like that would make a difference in the stat numbers & percentages.

I feel like those who planned their pregnancy and felt ready for children may have a different overall perspective than those who may have had their child come about via an unplanned pregnancy. Which is not a bad thing at all, I'm just saying I know for a fact many families are started accidently...and a bit sooner than one really wanted if at all.

Is man really that selfish that the consideration to have or not have children depends on whether the children will make him/her happy? Puh-leeze ... children are not commodity to be had for one's personal aggrandizement!