Mum life is pretty awesome, but apparently, dad life is even more awesome, according to a new study.
Researchers say that mums aren’t as happy as dads, and it could be because dads are usually playing with their kids when caring for them, while mums are doing All. The. Things.
Dads are happier than mums
Psychologists at the University of California looked at past studies that involved almost 20,000 people and discovered that fathers get more happiness out of parenthood than mothers.
The studies look at measures of well-being like happiness, depressive symptoms and stress. While other studies have compared if people with kids are happier than those without, not many have looked into which parent is happier.
What the researchers discovered is that dads generally had greater well-being than mums. Compared to men without kids, the study found that dads had greater satisfaction with their lives and fewer daily hassles than mums.
Why is dad life better than mum life?
Here’s the clincher – the researchers found that men are happier caring for the kids, while women are less happy. They think it’s because dads are usually playing with their kids while they’re caring for them and interacting with them.
“Fathers may fare better than mothers in part due to how they spend their time with their children,” explained study author Katherine Nelson-Coffey.
The research paper says, “Childcare (i.e., moments when parents endorsed that they were ‘taking care of’ their children) may be more likely to involve onerous or frustrating tasks, such as getting a child ready for school. Conversely, interacting with one’s child could include a broad array of activities, such as play or leisure, that may confer more opportunities for positive emotions.”
The researchers suggest that all parents would benefit from finding more time to play with the kids.
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