{"id":349,"date":"2021-11-23T19:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=104173"},"modified":"2021-11-23T19:18:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T18:18:15","slug":"which-is-the-best-country-to-be-a-parent","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/which-is-the-best-country-to-be-a-parent\/","title":{"rendered":"Which is the best country to be a parent?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Stephanie Organ\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Just how happy can a child make you? The answer, it turns out, could depend on where you live. At least that\u2019s according to a major study of 22 countries that compared the happiness of adults with and without children.<\/p>\n

By using a survey to score people\u2019s general happiness levels \u2013 rather than just asking about\u00a0a\u00a0parent\u2019s satisfaction with having children \u2013 researchers from the University of Texas concluded there was a significant \u2018happiness gap\u2019 between the two groups.<\/p>\n

Which group was better off varied between countries, with parents in nations such as the UK being\u00a0more than\u00a08 per cent less happy than non-parents on average. This gap widens\u00a0to 12 per cent in the US.<\/p>\n

However, this \u2018parental happiness deficit\u2019 doesn\u2019t occur everywhere. Parents in some countries \u2013 particularly in\u00a0those\u00a0nations with low fertility rates and more generous child benefit policies, such as paid time off and childcare subsidies \u2013 are significantly happier than non-parents. Such countries include Portugal (where parents are nearly 8 per cent happier than non-parents), Hungary (4.6 per cent) and Spain (3.1 per cent).<\/p>\n

Non-parents happier than parents<\/h2>\n

United States<\/h3>\n
\""United\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

-12 per cent<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/h3>\n
\""Ireland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

-9.5 per cent<\/p>\n

Greece<\/h3>\n
\""Greece\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

-8.3 per cent<\/p>\n

UK<\/h3>\n
\""UK\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

-8 per cent<\/p>\n

New Zealand<\/h3>\n
\""New\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

-7.8 per cent<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parents happier than non-parents<\/h2>\n

Portugal<\/h3>\n
\""Portugal\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

+8 per cent<\/p>\n

Hungary<\/h3>\n
\""Hungary\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

+4.7 per cent<\/p>\n

Spain<\/h3>\n
\""Spain\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

+3.1 per cent<\/p>\n

Norway<\/h3>\n
\""Norway\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

+2 per cent<\/p>\n

Sweden<\/h3>\n
\""Sweden\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

+1.9 per cent<\/p>\n

Source: Parenthood And Happiness: Effects Of Work-Family Reconciliation Policies In 22 OECD Countries<\/em> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5222535\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n