PARENTS OF FOUR OR MORE KIDS HAPPIER

(September, 2015) A new study finds that the happiest parents are those who have four or more kids. A study conducted by Australia’s Edith Cowan University found parents had the most life satisfaction with larger families. Study author Dr. Bronwyn Harman spent five years interviewing hundreds of parents from different family makeups and based her findings on resilience, social support, self-esteem and life satisfaction. She said, “The parents usually say they always wanted a large family, it was planned that way, and it was a lifestyle they’d chosen.” Harman initially believed parents with more children would be less happy, but her research concluded that the joy parents get from their children balances out the chaotic family nature more than that of a smaller family. The study also revealed that children of larger families are more independent at a younger age and always have friends.
* I know some NBA players who must be in rapture.
* Maybe having all the kids drove them nuts and they just think they’re happy.
* I know what went wrong here. She studied resilience, social support, self-esteem and life satisfaction, but left out exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
* If you’ve ever seen a parent with two or three kids, I guarantee you the look on their face does not say “We need at least two more of these!”
* I guess Dr. Harman just couldn’t bring herself to include a checkbox that said “Big mistake.”