Couples with Children Are Happier

Couples who have children are happier than those without, a poll suggests. Kantar Public polled 1,004 people for the Chosun Ilbo and found that couples with kids tended to be happier with life and derived more satisfaction from it than those who did not.

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One interesting find is that couples without children harbor a considerable amount of unjustified fear, with four out of 10 saying they would not be happy if they had children. But among those with kids, only three percent said they are unhappy.

When respondents without children were asked if they would be happier with kids, 41 percent said they would be "very happy", while 18 percent said they would be "somewhat happy". But 41 percent had negative attitudes, with 32 percent saying they would be "rather unhappy" and nine percent saying they would be "definitely unhappy" if they had children.

An alarming 49 percent of women in their 20s and 30s in their prime child-bearing years said they would be unhappy if they had children. Yet among married respondents with children, 97 percent gave positive responses, with 59 percent saying they are "very happy" raising kids and 38 percent "somewhat happy".

The happiness of respondents with children did not have any correlation with education or income. Among respondents who are "very happy" raising kids, 60 percent had no more than a high-school diploma, while 59 percent had university or higher degrees.

But some gender differences were apparent. Some 73 percent of men with kids are "very happy" but only 49 percent of women. Experts attribute the difference to the fact that women still do most of the work in raising kids.

Among those without children, 38 percent felt their quality of life would deteriorate if they had them, while only 31 percent felt it would improve. But 43 percent of married respondents with kids said their quality of life improved with having children, while only 22 percent said it grew worse.

Gender differences were also apparent here, with 52 percent of men saying their quality of life improved but only 36 percent of women.

When all respondents were asked if they are satisfied with their present life, 78 percent said they are satisfied, 16 percent fairly satisfied and six percent dissatisfied. That translates into an average of 7.2 out of 10 points. But among married respondents with children, 81 percent said they are satisfied with life, compared to only 73 percent of singles and married couples without kids.

By gender and age, women in their 30s were the most satisfied with their lives at 7.4 points, followed by men in their 40s with 6.9 points.