Parents: Are They Blue?

East Valley Tribune ^ | 15 May, 2006 | Jenifer B. McKim

[HungarianGypsy]

Hey, you moms and dads out there showing off the latest photos of your kids and bragging about their recent achievements. You might not want to be quite so smug: Parents are more depressed than adults without kids. Despite the joys you think parenthood may bring, a study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior reports that having children does not make you happier.

[HungarianGypsy]

Overwhelmed? Sometimes. Stressed? Yes. Depressed? Only when I have PMS or read articles like this.

[Izzy Dunne]

No problem, just visit the Sweetwater Post-Natal Abortion Clinic.

[Thrusher]

Propaganda.

[wideawake]

LOL! A lot of culture of death propaganda hitting the wires out there lately: prayer doesn't work, moms who stay home are uniformly obese and sure to die quickly while moms who work are all achingly beautiful centenarians in training, parents are depressives while people who spent their late forties trolling bars for third-time divorcees have rich and fulfilling lives, etc.

I also understand that war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength.

[colorcountry]

You have to remember, some parents have children who are liberals.....it must be pretty depressing.

[Essie]

Ask these couples when they are in their sixties, seventies, and eighties if they wished they'd had children. It will be a different story then.

I have to agree with the article's premise that our society does not support family life, but I cannot believe that being childless actually makes one happier. With all it's ups and downs, I think that having a family is what life is really about.

[Spruce]

My first child was born when I was only 20. Having a child kept me at home, or at work, while my friends all went down HARD on cocaine and other drugs.

Having children saved my life, in a sense.

Being a father also made me a much happier person. I wish I could have had many, many more children.

[frogjerk]

Simon and co-author Ranae J. Evenson analyzed data from the National Survey of Families and Households, which was based on a sample of 13,000 U.S. adults. They found that no parental group did better than a childless group with similar education, economic and marital backgrounds.

Married parents with minor children in the house did better than most. Married parents in general did better than single parents. Parents with noncustodial children and adult children at home report significantly higher symptom levels, the researchers said.

Seems contradictory to the headline.

[evets]

It is to laugh.

[mlc9852]

"a study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior reports that having children does not make you happier."

They needed a study for that? I believe people without children are happier and probably much better off financially overall.

[frogjerk]

``There is a lot of guilt. I see a lot of fatigue in parents trying to do everything,'' he said. ``It is just so overwhelming with what parents are expected to do with their kids today.''

Bowing to peer pressure and keeping up with the 'Joneses' is always good for your stress level... -sarc

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

FREERIDERS are happy people!!!!

PING!

[MortMan]

I believe most fathers of young children are at least partially blue! ;-P

[skr]

Any bets on the political affiliation of the stressed/depressed/without zest parents?

[wideawake]

Propaganda.

Let's read further:

Married parents with minor children in the house did better than most. Married parents in general did better than single parents. Parents with noncustodial children and adult children at home report significantly higher symptom levels, the researchers said . . . The researchers emphasized that they studied symptoms of depression — rather than a clinical diagnosis of depression.

Propaganda indeed.

You know I myself am really depressed because I have two beautiful daughters and a wonderful wife that I love to spend all my spare time with. It's killing me inside. If only I could do something more rewarding, like march in an anti-war protest or spend money on cover charges for trendy nightclubs.

[frogjerk]

They needed a study for that? I believe people without children are happier and probably much better off financially overall.

I for one disagree. My life would be rather empty without my wife and children.

[akorahil]

I also understand that war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength.

Excellent response Comrade! You must be well aware then that Big Brother is Watching you.

[dhs12345]

Could be that a parent tends to care and think more about the future... beyond our own life expectancy?

Instead of "me and now" it is "my family and 40 years from now."

This is not a bad thing, though.

[Izzy Dunne]

Generally we encourage mothers to make this choice only when the product of conception is "unviable", i.e. unable to survive on their own. Examples would include chronic illness or sickliness, hostility, rebellion, the inability to get a job and move out of the house, etc.

[beeler]

I personally couldn't imagine trying to raise a child in today's world. However, some of my friends who have children seem to actually enjoy it. Although, they're probably just trying to trick me so I can be miserable like them.