Parenthood Doesn’t Raise Happiness Globally

A cross‑national analysis finds that parents are not consistently happier or unhappier than people without children, contradicting evolutionary and popular claims that parenthood reliably increases daily wellbeing and life satisfaction. This suggests the parenthood–happiness link is context dependent and cannot be used as a universal justification for pro‑family policy. — If parenthood doesn't reliably boost wellbeing, policymakers should rethink family policy messaging and target economic and social supports rather than assume children are a net source of happiness.