Typically a more upbeat scene than your average academic conference.
Posted on 05/08/2008 6:14:33 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Harvard Professor: Children Can Send Marriage Into Downward Spiral
Thursday , May 08, 2008
Marriage has been shown, through research, to be an unending source of joy, a Harvard professor said at an Australian conference this week.
But introduce children into the relationship and that joy may plummet, according to a report from the Australian Associated Press.
"Figures show that married people are in almost every way happier than unmarried people — whether they are single, divorced, cohabiting," Harvard University psychology professor Daniel Gilbert told the Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney.
"Married people live longer, married people earn more money per capita, married people have more sex and enjoy it more," AAP quoted Gilbert as saying.
But, despite the belief that children are the apples of our eyes, they actually can have a negative influence on marriages, according to the report. And more kids equals more sadness, Gilbert said.
U.S. and European studies show that married couples’ happiness spikes when they're expecting a baby but once that baby arrives, it plummets.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I wonder how many children HE has?.............
Give this Dolt a prize for realizing that some people just aren’t here to be parents.
So if kids are going to ruin the marriage, why get married? No one is forcing people to get hitched.
Was this brilliant research federally funded?
Luckily for kids, people usually don't have them to max out their personal happiness utility.
kinds = kids.
The only downward spiral my kids caused were my breasts.
Who are all these little people and how did they get into my house?
I couldn’t agree more. If you want kids you must marry. It’s important.
If you don’t want kids why marry? What’s the point? The piece of paper doesn’t mean anything and it just makes it cost more to break up if that happens.
I agree. Forget the terrible twos. That's nothing. It is the teen years that are hard. If we could only find a way to put them into a state of suspended animation during the teens.
But there must have been great comfort in knowing that they reached the babies’ mouths. :>)
Typically a more upbeat scene than your average academic conference.
Difficulties and troubles in a marriage do not multiple geometrically. In other words, if there is a degree of work in raising two children, the work is not doubled if there are four. Parental instincts, if imbued by faith, are miraculous in their depth of power and wisdom.
While I’m pretty happy being single and no kids, I do think people with big families are especially blessed.
If kids sour the marriage, you have to wonder what kind of kids they are and who is raising them.
Too many immature parents out there.
Heck, with 3 kids I didn’t have time to be sad.
susie
One of my sons was a difficult teen, the other two were pretty easy. I actually find it more stressful now that they are off on their own and I don’t have quite as much input!
susie
I'm sure that is true in some cases, particularly if the children become the center of the family instead of the marriage relationship. But I have found being a parent a source of great joy and satisfaction. Sure, there were times of sadness, anger, etc. You're going to have that with any relationship and with any worthwhile endeavor.
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