New research shows that parents' level of happiness can vary depending on their children's order of precedence.
The first child increases their happiness, which is evident in their state of joy before and after the child is born. That happiness quickly decreases when the parents go back to having the "pre-child" state of happiness.
The second child brings a similar pattern, although the level of happiness felt before and during birth is reduced to approximately half of what was felt with the first born.
When it comes to the third child, the level of parental happiness that goes with giving birth is almost non-existent.
"Our results show a temporary and transitory gain in parents' happiness around the birth of first and second children," says Mikko Myrskylä, director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany and professor of demography at the London School of Economics.
Parents who displayed the greatest and longest lasting boost to happiness with regard to their children's birth were those that belonged to the age bracket of 35 to 49 years. Parents who are older and better educated experience a greater sense of well-being associated with childbearing.
In contrast, younger and less educated parents experience happiness that falls flat or even downward. This notion can somehow explain why the decision among couples to postpone fertility has become very common.
The team of researchers learned that younger parents display a diminishing level of happiness.
"Those who become parents in their teens have a predominantly declining pattern of happiness that does not increase above the baseline even during the year of birth," says the team.
When it comes to comparing the happiness of men and women in their childbearing experience, women show a greater elevation in happiness than the men. This is displayed when the couple anticipates and welcomes a new baby into their life.
The study does not suggest that the third child is less loved than their older siblings. While nothing can compare to the joy that parents feel in welcoming a new baby into the family, it must be understood that all newborns do not bring equal happiness to their mom and dad.
"Instead, this may reflect that the experience of parenthood is less novel and exciting by the time the third child is born or that a larger family puts extra pressure on the parents' resources," says Myrskylä.
