Harman interviewed 950 parents from a wide range of family set-ups, and concluded that the happiest families were those with four or more children. The main advantages cited by these parents were increased positive social interactions within the family and high levels of support among siblings.
Grow your family to at least four children! According to a study out of Australia's Edith Cowan University, parents with the most life satisfaction (which means those who are the happiest) are those that have four or more children.
Child number two or three doesn't make a parent happier. And, for mothers, he found, more children appear to make them less happy—although they are happier than childless women. For dads, additional children had no effect on their well-being in his study.
No, really. A 2007 study found that the majority of Americans believe 2.5 kids is still the ideal number of children to have, and six out of 10 Americans believe "smaller" families — with two kids or fewer — is the way to go.
People with more siblings are more likely to report happiness in the workplace. It's a difference of 8 percentage points of workplace happiness from only children to people with four or more siblings.
More Kids Means Better Sharing
When you have four children, they don't have any choice but to share. Kids share their parents' attention, their toys, and often their bedrooms. There are enormous benefits to sharing, too! Kids learn empathy and patience growing up in a home where they need to share.
They found that one or two children made no difference to happiness, for men or women. However, this study found that three or more children negatively affected well-being. But there is more to life than just happiness. Often, the moments we truly savor are stressful.
Pros of having a third baby
You'll still be able to go out easily as a family of five. Your kids will have more than one sibling. Having three kids may be an easier transition than you think.
Three or more children = wrong
Despite the growing trends mentioned above, two children still seems to the ideal number. An actual study revealed one to two children is the ideal number for “happiness”, but with two you don't have to deal with the aforementioned only child issues.
A TODAYMoms.com survey of more that 7,000 mothers found that the least stressful number of kids is four, while the most stressful number is three. Scary Mommy blogger Jill Smokler told Today that she wholeheartedly agrees.
As it turns out, having three kids makes moms the most stressed of any combination of kids, according to a TODAY Parents survey. Mothers of three (naturally) reported more stress than parents of one or two kids ... but moms with four or more little ones actually reported lower stress levels.
Having three children creates such a sense of familial joy that the extra work (mostly) feels worth it: You get three times the love – From the time they are born, your kids love you. Passionately and demonstrably. With three kids, you get that three times over.
According to a Gallup poll, 4 in 10 Americans say three or more children is the ideal family size.
In one large study from the Brookings Institute, for example, scientists found happiness was high for 18- to 21-year-olds and then dropped steadily until about age 40. But past middle age, the pattern began to reverse—gradually climbing back up to its highest point at age 98!
A brood of three would mean starting by age 23 to have the same chance of success. Wait until 35 and the odds are 50:50 (see “When to get started”). The suggestions are based on averages pulled from a swathe of data so don't give a personal prediction.
Researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Canada's Western University did just that. And they found that two kids are the ticket to happiness. When it comes to a third child, the increase in happiness surrounding the birth is negligible.
Since having five or more kids is generally the cutoff point for being considered a “large” family, here are all the ways your parenting will change once you hit that pivotal plus-five milestone.
Third babies seem easier than your first or second.
You're also a little more laid-back by the time you have a third. You're not a newbie like you are with a first child, and you're not trying to learn how to juggle multiple children like you are with a second.
Researchers concluded that two girls are unlikely to fight, will play nicely together, rarely annoy their parents and tend not to wind each other up. The key to a happy family is having two daughters, according to a new study.
“If you want to maximize your subjective well-being, you should stop at one child,” the study's author told Psychology Today. A more recent study, from Europe, found that two was the magic number; having more children didn't bring parents more joy.
More Americans say that regret is common among adults who decide to remain childless than among parents: 40% say adults who have chosen to remain childless very often or somewhat often regret that choice, while 40% say they regret it not very often or not often at all.
Kids Become More Self-Sufficient
Another thing I think is great about having 4 kids is it teaches kids to be more self-sufficient. Mom and dad aren't going to be doing everything for you, so you'll need to learn at an earlier age how to become more independent. Our kids also learn to help each other.
Statistics. Based on these studies, it seems that just 6-14% of families have four or more children. That would make families with at least 4 kids a large family.
Some 19% have three children, and 8% have four or more.