Study: Having Kids Increases Happiness
March 31, 2025
A new study of survey data suggests that having kids can increase the happiness and well-being that adults experience. The report comes as record low birthrates continue to occur in the U.S. and in other developed nations across the globe.
The analysis, conducted by Research Fellow Ken Burchfiel at the Institute for Family Studies, looked at data from the 2021 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) of U.S. adults aged 25 to 50. Burchfiel found that “In general, activities with children score highest on well-being. For instance, 56% of activity time receives the highest meaningfulness rating when children are present, whereas only 37% of time spent with other individuals does. Similarly, respondents are more likely to assign the highest happiness rating to time spent on activities with their kids (44%) than without (25%).”
