Ah yes, the modern version of the “I hate my wife”-joke.

As a childless person myself, I can tell you that I rarely have the energy to “go have fun” after a long day of work. In fact, I prefer to just be at home and be a boring, basic bitch.

I can also tell you that almost every parent I know, and I know many because almost everyone my age have kids, are super active and do all kinds of fun things with their kids all the time. Especially those whose kids have gotten older and less dependent. It is a big, big, big misconception that parents never have fun. They do. A lot. They travel, go to parks and museums, theaters, circuses and talks with child entertainers. They take part in local community activities like sports and arts and whatever else is out there and they bond with the other parents who also wish to build a good community for the kids.

I have also seen how efficient parents are with time management. Not because they were born with that skill, but because they HAD to get good at it, so they pretty much never have a boring day ever. Are they tired and exhausted? Yes. Do they sometimes wish for a break from the kids? Also yes. But I would wager a guess that they all have lives that are tenthousand times more exciting than or many other childless people do. Not that it is a competition. Personally, I like the boring life where I get to do whatever I want without interruptions. I like that I get a break from other people because it overwhelms me to be around more than three people for long stretches of time. That just how I am and that is why I’m childless.

But I in no way feel superior to parents pr have this childish preconception that parents’ lives suck. You can only have that opinion if you’re never around people who have kids.

Sorry for being a party pooper, but I really, really hate this stupid joke and I hope it soon goes out of style and becomes something we look back at and cringe at in the same way we do with “I hate my wife”-jokes.

There are scientific studies which show that parents are overall less happy than adults without kids.

Of course parents still do a lot of stuff but it’s because most of the time it’s even more stressful to stay at home with the kids. And as you noticed it’s stuff mainly for the kids. Of course some things parents can enjoy as well. But the main thing about being a parent is that you can’t just do what YOU what, especially not spontaneously.

And the post was about vibing on the couch, which is definitely something parents do a lot less than they would like to.

Got a link for that study? I highly suspect that the happyness of the adults with Children depends on which country they are from.

No sorry, but I remember that in scandinavian countries the difference in happiness was much less, because raising children there is more seen as a societal task and less as the sole responsibility of the parents.