According to this Newsweek article, the answer is . . . no.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/143792?GT1=43002

Quote :

"In Daniel Gilbert's 2006 book "Stumbling on Happiness," the Harvard professor of psychology looks at several studies and concludes that marital satisfaction decreases dramatically after the birth of the first child—and increases only when the last child has left home. He also ascertains that parents are happier grocery shopping and even sleeping than spending time with their kids. Other data cited by 2008's "Gross National Happiness" author, Arthur C. Brooks, finds that parents are about 7 percentage points less likely to report being happy than the childless."

Is life all about selfish pursuits of happiness? No, I would argue it is not, but lets not kid ourselves, kids can be a royal pain in the ass.

7/2/2008 1:16:45 PM

Confirmed NO

7/2/2008 1:17:39 PM

that's because the vast majority of people are raising little assholes these days

7/2/2008 1:17:49 PM

dogs > kids

7/2/2008 1:19:19 PM

^^,^ winnars

[Edited on July 2, 2008 at 1:20 PM. Reason : i hate my keyboard]

7/2/2008 1:19:43 PM

yeah this whole 21st century parenting ideal sucks. The kids are all brats and the hands off approach makes it worse.

7/2/2008 1:20:02 PM

oh I'm gonna beat the shit out of my kids

7/2/2008 1:20:37 PM

Quote :

"that's because the vast majority of people are raising little assholes these days"

Probably more than a little truth in that. No one likes being out of control and parents just don't seem to have a grip on their kids these days.

7/2/2008 1:20:48 PM

Quote :

"dogs > kids"

really, all pets > kids

7/2/2008 1:21:21 PM

Quote :

"that's because the vast majority of people are raising little assholes these days"

seriously.

and my kid makes me pretty happy. But a lot of people think having a kid will fix a broken marriage, or fill some void in their life. That is definitely not the case. If you already have serious problems in your life, having a kid will probably make them worse.

You gotta be pretty happy with yourself before having a child can add any happiness to your life.

7/2/2008 1:21:34 PM

4^ yeah...i going to do like my preacher growing up did...

if i discipline my kids and they threaten to call social services on me....i'm going to give them a reason to


^having a kid to save a marriage is one step worse than getting engaged to save a relationship

[Edited on July 2, 2008 at 1:23 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/2/2008 1:21:44 PM

my sis's kids eat no junk food and smile when they get hurt and cause no drama...
Its the parents not the kids. They also watch no tv.


(insert you're not doing it right picture)

7/2/2008 1:22:04 PM

^^^ well said. i suspect. being childless myself i don't know.

7/2/2008 1:22:11 PM

Here's how we indians roll.




White People: Beat your kids.

7/2/2008 1:23:30 PM

Quote :

"The kids are all brats and the hands off approach makes it worse."

ABSOLUTELY!

The parents that fall for this shtick are really the pathetic ones, though. Who gives a shit what some douchecock with a degree and no children says about raising your kids? What made you what you are, and what did your parents do that you think kept you in line? You should probably copy them.

I'm also amazed how limp-wristed the education system is today with respect to controlling and punishing kids, and with how much they pamper them in school. Probably has to do with all those batshit crazy parents getting sue-crazy or whiney-asshole crazy and causing policy changes for everyone else.

7/2/2008 1:25:41 PM

Quote :

"You gotta be pretty happy with yourself before having a child can add any happiness to your life."

You are a wise man BobbyDigital!

As far as disciplining kids-
I think Indians discipline their children the way I was disciplined (and I am white). I def got beatings. Very funny video.
Ken and I def will whoop Maya if it comes to it. That might be the first resort-depends on what she does. I am a firm believer of putting soap in the mouth...for cursing, disrespecting, talking back, picking on other people. It def works and I use liquid soap. I think that is fairly humane.

Something that makes me so mad is when people split up and they are wanting custody of the child- both sides are advised in counseling not to whoop their kids. What the heck is that?

7/2/2008 1:44:25 PM

Quote :

"that's because the vast majority of people are raising little assholes these days"

The nut doesn't fall far from the tree. it's because many (not all) of the people are assholes themselves.

7/2/2008 1:48:56 PM

im gonna make my kids pick their own hickory switch.


a strong hand will pay off in the long run. I couldn't stand my dad for a long time. I thought he was supreme evil hardass. But it made me who i am today. And, now that i realize it we get along pretty damn well. You gotta make the kids understand, as hard as it can be, that they are not the center of the universe.

7/2/2008 1:57:14 PM

I remember my dad had me help him make a paddle one day. I thought it was him teaching me a little bit about woodworking, but it turned out that I helped him make the weapon I got spanked with

7/2/2008 2:03:14 PM

In my opinion, spanking has to happen, but shouldn't happen so often that it loses it's meaning. I really think that at 9-10 years old, other punishments work much better, such as taking away the xbox for a week, or whatever.

I have no clue how some five year olds are little brats, and some are great to be around. I don't believe that every five year old that is a good kid was just beaten relentlessly by their parents. There must be some other trick.

7/2/2008 2:04:17 PM

oh yeah, I dont want my kid to be timid and afraid of doing shit because they are scared of getting spanked. I would never get that far or over the top with spankings.

I just want them to know what is right and wrong and know that if they do something grossly inappropriate, they will have to face the consequences

but I guess all this isnt entirely up to me, I know AlliePaige has her own feelings behind this stuff

7/2/2008 2:07:12 PM

Holy shit. Are you people seriously advocating beating children? Do you go around hitting people who don't do what you want in your everyday life?

Even a cursory knowledge of child psychology and some of the statistics associated with child abuse SHOULD make you change your mind. It's fucking lazy, emotionally driven parenting. It is ineffective and it is wrong.

7/2/2008 2:08:03 PM

Quote :

"that's because the vast majority of people are raising little assholes these days"

very true. I see kids getting away with so much more than I would have gotten away with - starting with my little brother

my little cousins are so disobedient compared to how I was

7/2/2008 2:08:31 PM

^^thats a nice opinion you have there, please dont try to push it on me

[Edited on July 2, 2008 at 2:09 PM. Reason : sadf]

7/2/2008 2:08:51 PM

nice edit!!!! hahahahahahahaha!!!!

you have a pretty wife.

7/2/2008 2:10:53 PM

I honestly don't know if I want kids.

7/2/2008 2:12:16 PM

fuck it

[Edited on July 2, 2008 at 2:13 PM. Reason : i don't feel like counting]

7/2/2008 2:12:17 PM

Quote :

"oh I'm gonna beat the shit out of my kids"

I'm going to beat the shit out of your kids too.

7/2/2008 2:15:34 PM

Skack ftw!

7/2/2008 2:16:06 PM

Quote :

"thats a nice opinion you have there, please dont try to push it on me "

It's a bunch of bullshit that the debate about kids that are "out of control" becomes lazy and ignorant parents talking about how they need to be more physical with their kids if they get out of line. The kids who's parents that think they can half-ass raise their kids and then hit them whenever they "really fuck up" are the fucking problem in the first place.

I'm not trying to push any opinion on you, but I would encourage any parent to be more aware of EFFECTIVE parenting techniques that don't involve physical pain as a consequence. We aren't talking about training livestock.

7/2/2008 2:16:29 PM

thanks, I think so too


and I'm not condoning "beating my kids because they dont do what I like", but I do condone punishment for inappropriate behavior (breaking rules, etc.)

whether the punishment comes in the form of timeout, groundings, taking away of nice things (toys, games, etc.) or occasional spankings should be up to the parent - not some nutjob psychologist who has no clue what is actually taking place

7/2/2008 2:16:43 PM

kids just have to know that they are getting spanked because they did something VERY WRONG. if you just spank your kids for everything, its gonna lose its effect.

7/2/2008 2:18:10 PM

Quote :

"I'm going to beat the shit out of your kids too."

i would expect nothing less if my kids acted up while under somebody else's care...


if i got spanked away from home, i got it even worse when i got home

7/2/2008 2:20:44 PM

^^yeah, exactly

^and I was being a little over the top and sarcastic with my first post. I'm not really going to ever "beat the shit out of my kids".

7/2/2008 2:23:29 PM

kids are assholes, not "everyone else's kid is an asshole"

that's why growing up is growing up: they have to learn how to exist without screaming and crying like little banshees

it's not worth the time or effort

7/2/2008 2:23:59 PM

I want to have identical twins and be a complete asshole to one of them and nice as fuck to other one and see how differently they turn out

7/2/2008 2:24:52 PM

^ I'd laugh if they teamed up together to Menendez you.

7/2/2008 2:26:36 PM

parenting is a natural instinct. i hate people that have a stack of parenting books. just do what feels right.

7/2/2008 2:28:44 PM

yeah...i'm pretty sure i didn't come with an owner's manual

and my parents figured it out

7/2/2008 2:29:49 PM

7/2/2008 2:43:14 PM

HAHA EXCELLENT POST XSMP

YOUR HUMOR IS SO REFRESHING

7/2/2008 2:44:25 PM

Quote :

"Holy shit. Are you people seriously advocating beating children? Do you go around hitting people who don't do what you want in your everyday life? "

a simplistic viewpoint for a simplistic mind.

7/2/2008 3:02:27 PM

Quote :

"kids are assholes, not "everyone else's kid is an asshole" that's why growing up is growing up: they have to learn how to exist without screaming and crying like little banshees it's not worth the time or effort"

Not all kids are assholes. I've seen plenty of kids that are very well behaved and very social. With that said, I've seen far more kids that are nightmarish.

7/2/2008 3:09:50 PM

true, the asshole kids are just the one you notice.

who's going to notice a kid being quiet and not causing trouble in a public place?

7/2/2008 3:13:28 PM

My grandmother, who then goes up to their parents and talks about how she likes that they have well-behaved kids for 10 minutes.

7/2/2008 3:14:56 PM

my kid makes me very happy.
With that said...I hope she still makes me happy when the middle school and high school years kick in. I think I was a pretty good child and I was beat a good amount of my younger years. I think my last beating was 14 and my dad realized I was a bit stronger and so that was my last beating. I did the usually mischievous childhood things.

Then on the other hand, my parents got lazy with my sister right after me and she became the nightmarish one. She got preggers at 16, went to parties where she experimented with different things, was the first child of my parents to tell them to fuck off and therefore social services was called on my dad.

I think that is why if it comes to it, I am going to whoop my child.

7/2/2008 3:18:00 PM

I hate kids. Seriously.

7/2/2008 3:19:04 PM

yeah, i'll spank my kid.

i'm the oldest, and you can tell my mom got lazy disciplining my brother and sister, because their attitude, outlook on life, and behaivor are progressively worse.

or they get progressively worse...

either way, my sister's worse than me, and my little brother is worse than my sister.



[Edited on July 2, 2008 at 3:21 PM. Reason : WHATEV]

7/2/2008 3:20:45 PM

Quote :

"It is ineffective and it is wrong."

go hug a tree hippie!

7/2/2008 3:49:50 PM

set em up

7/2/2008 3:54:16 PM