Do Kids Make You Happier? New Review Says Maybe Not

A 36-year-old woman looked at the science to decide if she should have kids before her fertility window closes. She found that, on average, having children doesn't make people happier or less happy. It also doesn't clearly change mental health. The studies are all over the place: some show parents are more satisfied, some less, but most show no real difference. When there is a difference, it's tiny.

But averages don't tell you what will happen to you. Some women get postpartum depression; others say the newborn phase was the best time of their lives. The author notes that people are not averages—you know yourself best. If you had kids and they made you happier, that's true for you. If they made you less happy, that's also true.

There's also a difference between life satisfaction (how you feel about your life overall) and emotional well-being (how you feel day to day). Parenting might lower daily emotional well-being by adding stress, sleeplessness, and money worries, but it might raise life satisfaction because people find kids meaningful. One study even found that taking care of kids is about as enjoyable as doing household chores.

So the decision to have kids shouldn't be based on whether it will make you happier. It might not. Instead, think about what you want your life to be about. The author's conclusion: don't have kids just to be happy. Have them if you want to be a parent.