Posted on 03/08/2011 10:54:33 AM PST by dawn53
All parents know that having kids is a blessing — except when it's a nightmare of screaming fits, diapers, runny noses, wars over bedtimes and homework and clothes. To say nothing of bills too numerous to list. Some economists have argued that having kids is an economically silly investment; after all, it's cheaper to hire end-of-life care than to raise a child. Now comes new research showing that having kids is not only financially foolish but that kids literally make parents delusional.
Researchers have known for some time that parents with minors who live at home report feeling calm significantly less often than than people who don't live with young children. Parents are also angrier and more depressed than nonparents — and each additional child makes them even angrier. Couples who choose not to have kids also have better, more satisfying marriages than couples who have kids. (More on Time.com: 5 Pregnancy Taboos Explained (or Debunked))
To be sure, all such evidence will never outweigh the desire to procreate, which is one of the most powerfully encoded urges built into our DNA. But a new paper shows that parents fool themselves into believing that having kids is more rewarding than it actually is. It turns out parents are in the grip of a giant illusion.
(Excerpt) Read more at healthland.time.com ...
I mostly agree with the author. I find people all the time having children and not realizing what they are getting into. We would be better off if everyone realized what raising a child entails and if they asked themselves if they can fulfill those responsibilities.
Funny how everyone who is FOR ‘no questions asked’ ABORTIONS, and NOT HAVING ANY CHILDREN AT ALL, have ALREADY BEEN BORN.
How many parents, deep deep down, wish that their kids were never born? I think that the answer is ZERO, or close to it. To me, this is irrefutable evidence of the benefits of parenting.
Maybe the author is right. His parents should never have CONCEIVED him.
That's our sentiment exactly. Don't have grandkids yet, but from what my friends tell me...it gets better still once they come along :)
wow, raising children is hard? No kidding...that’s what makes it great.
The world would be a better place if his parents (and all liberal parents) had believed this.
It was almost my first thought when I read the article. When I looked up his bio, it didn't take too long to confirm.
And in your last days, I'm sure it is very comforting to know that not a damn person in the world cares about you, and wouldn't do a thing for you, if not for the money.
Comparing having children to fixing up an old car that never works is just sick and twisted. I guess I am too far gone to realize how stupid I am to keep having children. /s
By the way, I don’t know what other people are spending on their kids but mine are pretty reasonable to have around.
If you value life or children more than this, you won't fit in.
This is why the libertarian candidates push abortion.
Sounds more “liberal” (and extremely so) not really “libertarian”.
[Getting married in June]
Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy a long lifetime of love and happiness!
bttt
No you didn't. I'll take the slam for being redundant, though I felt it had to be said.
Do you have kids? I would agree that alot of people don’t understand what it entails going in, and I wonder how that can be since they had to know the struggles experienced by their parents during their own upbringing. But the fun, satisfaction, joy, gratification from parenting makes the sacrifices (especially the monetary ones) so worth it, IMO.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. :) I won’t have that Time trash in the house either.
Wow. I wonder how economists factored in the fact that when people get older, they can look at their kids and have no doubt that they accomplished something meaningful with their lives.
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