Having children won’t make you any happier

While most parents would insist that their children bring them joy, new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Western University suggests this may not be exactly the case. Their work suggests that there is a brief, temporary increase in happiness following the birth of the first and second child that quickly declines, while any subsequent births appear to have no effect on happiness.

The research shows that the gain in happiness takes place prior to and just after birth of the child, but rapidly decreases to pre-child levels in the year following birth. Gains for the second birth are around half that of the first, while the increase in parental happiness surrounding the third is negligible. This may be due to the previous experience of parenthood, making further births less novel and consequently less exciting.  Women gain more in happiness, but also face steeper drops, perhaps reflecting the larger initial gain. In the long run, however, there are no gender-based differences in levels before or after children.

Age appears to play a significant factor in the reaction to the birth. Those who wait until later in life to start a family, or those who are more educated, experience a particularly positive response to a first birth with the strongest gains being between the ages of 35 and 49. Conversely, teenage parents experience a predominantly declining pattern of happiness that does not increase above the baseline, even during the year of birth.

Commenting on this, assistant professor from Wester University Rachel Margolis noted ‘The fact that among older and better-educated parents, well-being increases with childbearing, but the young and less-educated parents have flat or even downward happiness trajectories, may explain why postponing fertility has become so common.’