I know this much is true: No one, absolutely no one, has the power to make you happy. Not even your children. I know it might sound ridiculous to some, but think about it for a minute. Happiness is something you control because you're the one who decides how to react to life around you. So the question of whether having children makes us happier or not really depends on whether you've already been able to find happiness on you own.
If you haven't found it, I can assure you that you won't find it by having children. In fact, I'm pretty sure your life will be a living hell because having children can be the hardest and the least rewarding job of all times!
Read more in ¿Qué más?: Don't worry, be happy! It's good for your heart heath
But if you have already found happiness on your own, then I truly believe your life will only be enhanced by having children–even with all the chaos, heartache, expenditures and aggravations associated with them! So I've always been curious about the countless studies that suggest that marital satisfaction suffers tremendously after the birth of the first child, but things get much better once the last child has left home. Or how about research that shows that some women equate childcare to housework in terms of how much they like doing it?
I'm the first one to admit that my life is completely different (in some ways better and in others not so much) since the birth of my daughter Vanessa, but I'm also the first one to firmly say that I wouldn't have it any other way. Although they can drive me up the walls like no one else can, the happiest days of my life have been when I found out I was pregnant and when I got to hold my babies for the first time! I can honestly say my children have made my life that much better, but I believe it's only because I was already happy before I had them.
Then again, my kids are only 5 and 2, so it may be wise for me to say that, at least in my case, the jury's still out…
What do you think? Did having children make you happy?
Image via hall.25chris/flickr
