First of all, while children may have a negative impact on one dimension of happiness (such as overall life satisfaction), having them is found to have a positive effect on another dimension of happiness—the eudaemonic dimension, which focuses on the sense of purpose or meaning in life. Second, children have a different impact on the happiness of women than that of men, as women, traditionally, have taken on a greater share of the responsibility and burden of raising kids. According to Luca Stanca, professor and author of “The Geography of Parenthood and Well-Being,” the parenting penalty is
...more
