A recent study issued from Open University, in the United Kingdom concluded that childless couples were happier than those with children.
The study looked at over 5,000 people of fairly diverse demographics over a period of two years. Each was asked a number of questions related to the quality of their relationships.
The results found that, generally speaking, couples without children reported being happier than those with. They were more likely to feel valued by their partners and described feeling more intimacy and romanticism.
The study also looked at gender differences in the studies. The conclusion was that men without children were more likely to be happier than those with. However, women without children were consistently less happy with life than women that had children.
Results further indicated that women were twice as likely to say that their children are the most important people in their lives. Fathers, in contrast, were most likely to say that their partners were.
Critics point to other studies, describing the benefit of children to relationships. For example, in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control found that couples with children were more likely to stay together than couples without children.
Another study, conducted by the journal, Population and Development Review, concluded that parents between the ages of 30 and 39 became increasingly unhappy the more children they had. However, from age 40 on, parents with 1-3 children reported being happier than their childless counterparts. Parents that were 50 years or older reported being happier than couples without children regardless of how many children they had. The trend seemed to be that couples became happier with children the older they grew.
Ultimately, the new study from Open University will likely not quell the debate as to whether it is more fulfilling to have children or not. As a family law attorney, I frequently see that children become a point of irreconcilable contention between parents. However, I also see couples that seem to feel that children are the glue that binds their relationship together. Data from previous studies seem to muddy the question. So, in the end, the decision to have or not to have children, will simply fall to you.