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Essay On Happiness – 10 Lines, Short And Long Essay For Children

Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Happiness For Lower Primary Classes

10 lines on happiness for kids, paragraph on happiness for children, short essay on the importance of happiness for kids, long essay on happiness in english for children, what will your child learn from the essay on happiness.

The importance of happiness in life  cannot be negated by any means. It is a feeling we experience when we are full of joy. We feel happy and content when we accomplish something in life, get something new like a car, or house, a job, an admission, etc., visit a new place with loved ones, have quality family time, or get praise for our deeds. But, in the case of kids, they find happiness in trivial things, which for them, mean a lot. For instance, playing hide and seek, ludo with parents, visiting a park with grandparents, their favourite dish for dinner, an outing with family, bedtime story, a warm embrace, etc. Writing an  essay on happiness for classes 1, 2 and 3 kids  will allow them to explore their version of happiness and simultaneously learn the art of writing. This article comprises many such essays for your reference on the topic.

Writing an essay on happiness  for kids is tricky as they might not find the right expression to do it. Here are some key points for kids that they can use in writing an amazing essay on happiness.

• Write an introduction explaining the concept of happiness.
• Kids must write their definition of happiness and what makes them happy. They can recollect some old memories and write about them too.
• The essay should be written in simple sentences.
• The conclusion must summarise the topic well.

Not all words can catch the real essence of happiness, as the  importance of happiness  is beyond any expression. When kids write an  essay for classes 1 and 2  on this topic, they should explain their understanding of this emotion well. Writing in points is advisable for small kids at the learning stage of sentence construction. Given below are 10 lines on happiness for their reference:

• Happiness comes with the feeling of inner joy and satisfaction.
• Happiness spreads positivity and cheers all around.
• One can not learn happiness; it is an emotion to experience.
• To be happy, one need not be wealthy.
• Happiness cannot be stored or measured but can be shared or spread.
• Everyone has different things that make them joyous.
• No one can steal happiness; it’s something that stays within.
• Even a simple act of kindness or help can make an individual happy.
• Virtues like sharing and giving can make one content and happy.
• The UN declared 20th March the International Day of Happiness to strengthen the importance of happiness in life.

Happiness is a very common topic to be given to the kids in primary classes. Beyond complex statements, teachers expect them to write their understanding of happiness in simple sentences. Here is a paragraph that your kids can use as a reference.

Happiness is the most important thing in life. It is an emotion that can only be felt or lived. As human beings, we feel happy when we feel satisfied and content inside. I feel happiest when I play with friends in school and at home or go out with my parents on weekends. Family time makes me very happy. I feel happy when my mother hugs me before seeing me off to school. I feel happy when my father drops me at the bus stand before going to the office. I feel happy when we all sit together at the dinner table and share our day’s activities.

When students advance academically, they will be expected to write a short essay on the topic of happiness. Kids can refer to the template below to get some ideas and new points to mention.

Happiness is an emotion that an individual can only feel and showcase in actions. Many things make a person happy in their life. It can be a new home, new car, new dress, new toy, etc. But, in my case, I feel happy when I do good in my studies and my teachers, parents, and friends compliment me for the same. I want to achieve great success in my studies in my life and make my parents and teachers proud. My mother and father have many dreams regarding my future, and I would like to fulfil all of those and make them and myself happy. For me, the sense of achievement in life brings happiness and satisfaction. I feel happy when I learn new things in life and get motivated. I have understood that only you can make yourself happy, and I want to make myself happy with my hard work, passion, and achieving a sense of purpose in life.

An  essay for class 3 on happiness should be more detailed and have a clear perspective of the child’s experience. It can have many sub-heads for a better explanation of the topic. Given below is the template for their reference.

Life without happiness is dull and monotonous. Happiness is the key to everything, and it spreads positivity within us and to the people around us, and we cannot undermine its value. We should strive to achieve absolute happiness to lead a meaningful life.

Happiness And Its Benefits

Happiness is the reason to lead a fulfilling life. It is a state of mind that everyone should maintain and strive for. When we have a happy nature, we emit a positive vibe that attracts many optimistic people around us. Scientifically, a happy person leads a healthy life. Happiness keeps our heart health in check, our immune system stronger, and helps us fight negativity easily. Our doctor has asked my grandfather to laugh and stay happy to combat his health issues. He said you would not need these many medicines if you stay happy; you can get well naturally. As per him, a happy person can manage stress well and live a longer life. Happiness increases our motivation to do things better and take on new challenges head-on in life. Happiness is contagious; if we are happy, we can keep our loved ones happy too.

Discover The Inner Happiness

Happiness is the most basic thing that can be achieved with minimal effort. The key is discovering your inner satisfaction and joy, which can be done naturally. Finding what makes you happy is essential. It can be anything, studies, singing, dancing, etc. Drawing, giving food to the needy, and dancing makes me feel happy. My father has told me that if you feel happy doing something, you will excel. He said, when our minds and souls feel satisfied, the result of that action is always positive and worth mentioning.

Is Money The Key To Happiness?

Well, for some, it can be. But in real life, happiness is not subjected to having good money. Small things can make you happy. Delicious food, good friends, and relaxing family time can make anyone happy. I feel happy when my mum makes delicious pancakes on a rainy day, which don’t cost much. How you choose to see life decides your real happiness. Being happy is in your hands.

Ways To Keep Yourself Happy

• Pursue your hobby:  Do whatever you like in your free time to boost your happiness. It can be painting, dancing, skating, swimming, or spending time with friends and family.
• Count your blessings:  Be thankful and count your blessings in life. Remember what you have and not what you don’t.
• Have positive thoughts:  It is a popular belief that “your thoughts make you”. So think good and positive about everything and everyone. And, you will be able to live with contentment.
• Take one day at a time:  Don’t stress too much about the future. It will take its sweet time to happen. Live in the present and cherish every moment.

The most important thing your child will learn is the value of happiness in their life. They would learn to find joy in small moments in their daily activities and will also learn to structure such essays well.

1. Why Is It Important To Keep Yourself Happy?

Happiness leads to a fulfilling life and healthy. If we stay happy, we can keep everyone around us happy and cheerful.

2. How To Attract Happiness And Make It Last Longer?

Happiness is the most inexpensive virtue of life and can be explored in many ways. Our hobbies, likings and day-to-day activities can make us happy. Helping others and sharing can attract happiness in our life. We need to keep doing what is beneficial for our happiness and others around us to make it last longer.

Happiness can’t be bought but lived and felt. We all need to understand this to make our kids understand the same, and there is no better way than writing to make them learn.

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Happiness Essay | Essay on Happiness for Students and Children in English

February 12, 2024 by Prasanna

Happiness Essay: There is no one hard and fast definition for the term happiness. Happiness differs from person to person; different people have different perceptions and conceptions of being happy. Whatever that may be, Happiness is an essential feature of human life. Without it, life holds no meaning at all. It is not possible at all for a person to live their lives devoid of joy and Happiness.

The topic of Happiness is of the utmost importance. It is also treated as a crucial and popular topic on which students are asked to write compositions. For the convenience of school students, we have compiled a collection of one extended Essay and one short Essay on the topic of Happiness. Additionally, a set of ten lines on the subject is also provided.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Happiness for Students and Kids in English

Below, you can find a 600-word Happiness essay as well as a 200-word Happiness essay for students and schoolchildren. Long Essay on Happiness is helpful for students of classes 7,8,9 and 10. Short Essay on Happiness is helpful for students of classes 1,2,3,4,5, and 6.

Long Essay on Happiness 500 Words in English

Happiness is subjective. There is no one way in which the term can be defined. For different people, Happiness holds different connotations. For some, it implies a state of mind; for others, it might mean a standard of lifestyle. Each human being is an independent, free-thinking individual. Everyone has an outlook on life that is different from the other. Hence, the definition of Happiness is also variable for people. However, whatever may be the definition of Happiness, there is no denying that Happiness is an integral part of our lives. Without it, there is no point in living or going about in life.

There is a common phrase that goes: “Money cannot buy happiness.” To some extent, it can be heralded as being valid. However, some people may find it to be false. For a specific section of society, Happiness is defined by wealth. These people tend to consider wealth as the measuring rod for their joys in life. For them, Happiness in life comes from material possession and well-being. Riches, money, jewels, gold, and wealth make them happy; they remain content with these in their lives.

For another section of society, wealth does not act as the agent for Happiness in their lives. Many consider Happiness to be a peaceful and calm sense of joy that occurs within one’s mind. For them, it cannot be measured in terms of worldly things. Happiness tends to become a feeling, that can be grasped through the satisfaction of the mind and soul, and not through the pleasure of the body. Happiness, for some, can also imply success. Being ambitious, hardworking, and successful often become ways in which a person obtains Happiness in life.

Whatever be our modes and methods of becoming happy, it tends to keep changing over time. No feeling is absolute. It might happen that the things used to make us comfortable during our childhood, no longer hold the same significance in our lives. This happens because our priorities and our goals change over time. As we grow up, our outlook and vision in life mature, and we no longer base our Happiness on things we used to love previously.

Thus the state of being happy largely depends upon what a particular person wants from life. It depends upon a person’s desires and goals in life. Above all and in most cases, indulging in the things that one loves the most becomes the key to a happy life. Hence, love and Happiness are directly linked. Without love, Happiness does not persist. Likewise, without Happiness, love does not persist.

As mentioned, a variety of things make a variety of people happy. There is no right or wrong way to obtain Happiness. Different people have different methods by which they can derive Happiness. All of them are valid; none of them are false or incorrect. Judging people based on what they love and what they hate is not justifiable. We all have different priorities in life, and not all of those are similar. They can be different, but that doesn’t mean they are wrong. Doing anything that makes one feel happy inside out should be considered as valid and rightful.

Short Essay on Happiness 150 Words in English

The key to happiness lies in doing what one loves. A lot of people end up having a remorseful life, filled with regrets; this happens because they settle for something that they do not genuinely like. Irrespective of what the society imposes on us, we must indulge in only that which makes us feel happy and joyous.

One cannot achieve complete and untainted happiness. Someone can’t dwell in a state of utmost bliss and Happiness. All of us have our fair share of miseries and regrets in life. But there also occurs moments of indefinite and immeasurable joys. We should all cling to those moments of joy and cherish them wholeheartedly to have a happy life in the grand scheme of things.

10 Lines on Happiness Essay in English

• A happy life exudes positivity and joy.
• Different people hold different opinions on Happiness.
• Not everyone has a similar point of interest from which they derive Happiness.
• Happiness is directly linked with love and positivity.
• In an ideal situation, doing what one loves is the ultimate path to absolute Happiness.
• The fulfillment of personal goals and desires makes one happy.
• It is immensely important for a person to lead a happy life.
• Without a happy life, one becomes exhausted and tired of daily routine.
• The feeling of Happiness is not constant. It is lingering.
• Happiness is subjective and cannot be tied to one particular thing alone.

FAQ’s on Happiness Essay

Question 1. How to lead a happy life?

Answer: To lead a happy life, one must dwell in a positive and encouraging environment. Taking up that which one loves doing as one’s profession and source of livelihood is also the key to a happy life.

Question 2. How to stay happy?

Answer: There is no hard and fast method of staying happy. One cannot remain satisfied all the time. We all have our depressing and sorrowful episodes. But life also gives us moments of joy and Happiness.

Question 3. Is Happiness important?

Answer: Yes. Happiness is important. Happiness Is probably the most significant aspect of one’s life.

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Childhood Happiness: More Than Just Child's Play

The lasting value of childhood happiness..

Posted January 13, 2012

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How happy was your childhood ? A seemingly simple question can be more complicated to answer than one would think. Most people are able to think of a wide array of events, activities, people and things they encountered during their childhood. Some memories are happy, and some sad, upsetting, or frightening. Is the impression we have of our childhood happiness the sum of all that we have experienced or primarily a function of the good or the bad?

It isn't clear how accurate childhood memories are. Many of them are incomplete and have been influenced by the retelling, input from others, and viewing photographs and souvenirs. Our understanding of childhood events can be quite different when viewed from the adult perspective. So, impressions of childhood are not necessarily accurate reflections of the quality of that time period. An individual can remember childhood as better or worse than it really was. While the events themselves can have an impact on psychological well-being during adulthood, one's perception of the events can also influence well-being.

For example, believing that you were cheated of the things, experiences, love or acceptance that every child deserves can negatively impact relationships and feelings of adequacy and belonging. Recent research suggests that the impression of having had a happy childhood is associated with greater social connectedness, enhanced sense of self, and healthy behaviors. Adverse impressions of childhood are related to greater difficulty in relationships, self-insight, and dealing with distress.

An incredible amount of attention has been devoted to how children should be raised. Parents can seek advice from experts in books, magazine articles, on television and websites. Parents want to know how much of their children's time should be spent in educational endeavors, sports, creative arts, and recreational activities. Which toys, games, smart media, television programs, exercise, music, and role models are safe, acceptable, beneficial, or harmful?

Recent research is beginning to explore the extent to which different aspects of childhood are associated with an individual's impression of how happy her or his childhood had been. Impressions of childhood happiness are related more closely to social events and activities than to more solitary ones. For example, having a party for a special occasion is important to the memory of having a happy childhood, whereas getting things a child had wanted such as toys and games is not. Family traditions, praise from a family member, and interacting (doing things together, sharing secrets, etc.) with siblings, friends, or trusted adults are all important to establishing a happy childhood. The time a child spends entertaining him or herself by playing video games, watching television, hiking, fishing, drawing or listening to music contributes less to the sense of childhood happiness.

Parents worry about unhappy or adverse experiences that can happen in childhood. Again, the social or solitary nature of problems is important. For example, serious health problems or academic difficulties are not strongly related to the sense of how happy one's childhood had been, whereas witnessing parents argue, being bullied, or being rejected by peers contribute to a sense of having had an unhappy childhood. Children can't be protected from every adversity, but attention to their feelings can make a difference. While separation from a loved one is an unhappy experience, feeling lonely is more important to the adult sense of having been unhappy as a child. Similarly, children are not always satisfied with their physical appearance, but changing what they can by losing weight or trying a new hairstyle can lessen the emotional impact.

Parents can observe their children's activities and their performance in school, sports, music or art. What is not as obvious is how their children feel about the events and experiences, and how they feel will be more important in shaping their view of childhood happiness. It is more important that a child feel proud of an achievement or pleased with their performance than being selected for a team or receiving an award.

It isn't possible to ensure that a child will experience only success and happy times. But recent research suggests that the role of other people and how children feel can be more important than the events. Getting things a child wants, academic issues, or failing to make a sports team are not strongly related to the adult perspective of childhood happiness. It is feeling loved by parents that makes the most influential contribution to childhood happiness. As adults, we no longer feel that the number of toys, sports trophies, or top grades we received as children were as important as we thought. What is important to us as adults is knowing that we shared joys and sorrows, successes and disappointments with people who loved us. Long after our memories of toys, gifts, test scores have faded, the feelings of trust, comfort, reassurance, and love remain.

Krystine Batcho, Ph.D. , is a professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.

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CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS article

Happy children: a modern emotional commitment.

• Department of History, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States

American parents greatly value children’s happiness, citing it well above other possible priorities. This commitment to happiness, shared with parents in other Western societies but not elsewhere, is an important feature of popular emotional culture. But the commitment is also the product of modern history, emerging clearly only in the 19th century. This article explains the contrast between more traditional and modern views, and explains the origins but also the evolution of the idea of a happy childhood. Early outcomes, for example, included the novel practice of hosting parties for children’s birthdays, another mid-19th-century innovation that has expanded over time. Explaining the intensification of the happiness commitment also reveals some of the downsides of this aspect of popular emotional culture, for example in measurably complicating reactions to childish unhappiness. The basic goal of the essay is to use this important facet of modern emotional history to evaluate a commitment that many modern parents assume is simply natural.

One of the most pervasive beliefs about emotion, at least in American culture, is the idea that children should be happy and that childhood should be a happy, perhaps unusually happy, stage of life. There is little question that many parents are strongly guided by this standard, even though a variety of experts argue that they often go about it in the wrong way. And it is highly likely that many adults simply assume that childhood happiness is a natural connection, that while its implementation may be varied and debated and while a few reprobates may not accept the goal at all, the basic notion is simply a normal part of human life.

International polling confirms the pervasiveness of the happy childhood assumption, in American and several other cultures – though it also opens the door for a somewhat more nuanced assessment. A recent survey found that 73% of Americans rated happiness as the most important goal in raising children and assessing the results of education – far ahead of any other option. And they were joined, or even modestly surpassed, by a number of other modern Western societies: Canada at 78%, with France heading the pack at 86%. Other goals paled in comparison, even though it was possible to select more than one option: only 20% of Americans rated success as a major goal (along with 17% in Australia and the United Kingdom).

However – and here is the first opening for more than a brief summary of the happiness/childhood emotional linkage – several other major societies presented quite a different profile in the same poll. Most strikingly only about 49% of respondents in India selected happiness, overshadowed by the 51% who put success and achievement first. Mexicans also rated success most highly. The Chinese, interestingly, did not seize on success but they did not highlight happiness either, putting good health at the top of the list. The poll suggested, plausibly enough, that a predominant commitment to children’s happiness was an artifact of advanced economic development (bolstered, quite possibly, by a particular dose of Westernism as well) ( Malhotra, 2015 ).

Certainly the American assumption that happiness and childhood go together can be additionally confirmed. A childrearing expert, Robin Berman, puts it this way: “When I give parenting lectures around the country, I always ask the audience ‘What do you want most for your children/’… The near-universal response I get is ‘I just want my kids to be happy.”’ Berman herself deeply challenges the validity of this commitment, but for now the main point, again, is to emphasize the depth of the American assumption (shared, clearly, with other Western societies). It is understandable that many Americans simply take the priority for granted, open perhaps to a discussion of what strategies best achieve the goal but not inclined to subject the goal itself to much scrutiny. The idea that children should be happy, indeed that childhood stands out as a particularly happy time of life, is deeply ingrained ( Berman, 2016 ).

But without placing too much emphasis on international polling, the gap between Western and Asian (or Mexican) responses already suggests that the childhood/happiness equation is not automatic or in any sense natural, but the product of more particular circumstance. And this in turn opens the way to a more searching analysis, aimed initially at determining where the idea that children should be happy came from in the first place and then tracing the way the association has evolved in the United States, with some clear downsides or problems attached.

Assessing the childhood/happiness linkage provides in fact a fruitful opportunity to demonstrate the role of emotions history in shedding light on significant popular assumptions and commitments. The emotions history field, which has grown rapidly within the history discipline over the past 30 years, contends that key aspects of the emotional beliefs and experiences of any society are shaped not by invariable psychobiology but by particular social and cultural circumstances. This means that we can learn more about the past by including emotional variables in the human equation and that – as in this case – we can understand current patterns better if we examine how they have emerged from contrasting assumptions in the past ( Matt and Stearns, 2013 ; Boddice, 2018 ).

In the case of happy children, the emotions history approach raises two initial questions, before we get into most recent evolution of the association: what did people think about happiness and childhood at an earlier point and when (and of course why) did the happiness emphasis begin to develop.

The most glaring historical challenge to the childhood happiness equation is not easy to handle, but it adds up to the statement: before about the middle of the 19th century most Americans (and, probably, most people in most agricultural societies) did not equate children and happiness and indeed were unlikely to see childhood as a particularly happy phase of life ( Greven, 1988 ; Mintz, 2006 ). This does not mean that they necessarily expected children to be unhappy, or that they were gratuitously nasty to children, or that they did not enjoy moments of shared joy. But any kind of systematic happiness, or even a common use of the term, was simply not part of popular expectations ( Gillis, 1981 ). 1

And the reasons for this stance are not hard to identify, in a combination of general features of premodern childhood and some particular cultural assumptions that took deep root in colonial America. In the first place, high child mortality rates – with 30–50% of all children born perishing before age 5 – surrounded children themselves with frequent death and constrained adult reactions as well. A dead child might be deeply mourned, but the expectation of transiency obviously affected perceptions of childhood more generally: adulthood could easily be seen as a preferable state. Further, for most people childhood after infancy was primarily associated with work, under the sometimes rough direction of adults. Childishness, in this context, was not highly valued, as opposed to the early acquisition of more mature qualities. In all probability, obedience was the quality most sought in children themselves. Small wonder that, before the 19th century, few autobiographers spent much time describing their childhoods in any detail or referring to their early years with any pleasure ( Stearns, 2016 ).

This is not to say that before the 19th century children had no pleasure, or that adults never enjoyed their more informal interactions with offspring: considerable historical debate cautions against too gloomy a view. Work requirements were not always too intense, particularly for younger children, and there were informal opportunities for playfulness ( Huizinga, 2016 ). 2 Traditional leisure outlets, and particularly the village festival, gave young people some space for pranks and hijinks. But none of this seriously qualifies the claim that more systematic ideas associating childhood with happiness were lacking.

In the colonial American context, this general situation was exacerbated, particularly in New England, by the strong Protestant commitment to the notion of original sin. How many adults viewed actual children through this severe lens is hard to determine, though it was certainly linked to harsh disciplinary practices in schoolrooms and churches. But even if youngsters were not actively seen as sinners requiring redress, Protestant beliefs certainly argued against conceptions of happy childhoods. Indeed a number of studies suggest that, even for adults, an emphasis on a degree of melancholy was urged even for adults, well into the 18th century ( Greven, 1988 ; Demos, 1999 ; Mintz, 2006 ).

Granting the perils of trying to establish the absence of a quality in the past, the claim seems reasonably secure: the association of childhood and systematic happiness, as opposed to periodic moments of release, is essentially a modern development.

Several factors, taking shape in the later 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States and other parts of the Western world, began to reshape the conception of childhood, despite the lingering hand of the past.

Interest in happiness in general began to accelerate in Western culture during the second half of the 19th century ( Kotchimedova, 2005 ; MacMahon, 2006 ; Jones, 2017 ). The Enlightenment encouraged a new commitment to optimism about life on this earth, and hopes for happiness increased accordingly. Apologies for good humor, common during the previous century with its preference for melancholy in the face of human sinfulness, began to disappear ( Stearns, 1988 ). Even more, a positive expectation that decent people should present a cheerful demeanor began to gain ground. One historian has suggested that, along with the general push from Enlightenment thinking, improvements in dentistry and a decrease in rotten teeth heightened a willingness to smile openly – and to expect others to do the same ( Jones, 2017 ). Emphasis on happiness may also have been furthered by some measurable improvements in life’s comforts, from home heating to cleaner clothing, at least for the property-owning middle classes. And of course, in revolutionary America, pursuit of happiness was listed as a basic right.

This significant cultural shift did not initially apply to children, at least with any specificity. Older beliefs persisted. Checking the rise of attention through the relative frequency word use (happiness, cheerfulness) bears this out suggestively ( Figures 1 , 2 ). Google Ngrams suggest the chronological lag: while references to cheerfulness and happiness in general peaked in relative frequency during the 18th century in American English, commentary on happy children was virtually non-existent until the 19th century, and became at all common only in the middle decades of the century. 3

Figure 1. Frequency of the word “happiness” in American English, 1700–2008, Google Ngram viewer, accessed March 19, 2019.

Figure 2. Frequency of the phrase “happy children” in American English, 1700–2008, Google Ngram viewer, accessed March 19, 2019.

Obviously, sometime was required to overcome earlier assumptions and extend new cultural expectations downward in age. For several decades after 1800, some halting steps suggested the difficulty of fully overcoming earlier standards: thus the idea of cheerful obedience gained ground in family manuals. Insistence on obedience was maintained, but for the first time the potentially demanding hope that it could be accompanied by a cheerful demeanor was added to the list ( Stearns, 2014 ).

In addition to the time required to apply an initially adult innovation to the thinking about children, several other shifts in the first half of the 19th century further explain the timing of the change. Most obviously, amid intense American debate during the 1820s and 1830s, traditional notions of original sin were increasingly replaced, in mainstream Protestantism, by insistence on childish innocence. By the late 1820s the most widely purchased family manuals routinely highlighted children’s sweetness and purity, which only bad adult behavior would corrupt. An obvious barrier to the notion that children might be happy was being lifted, though amid ongoing sectarian dispute ( Sedgwick, 1850 ). 4

Here it is possible to see how the new cultural commitment to happiness combined with several other social factors to generate a new approach to children. Most obviously the birth rate began to drop, which may have facilitated more emotional attention to the individual child. Work obligations increasingly yielded to schooling as a child’s obligation, in the middle classes; seeing children in less functional terms might have contributed to a new interest in happiness, bolstered as well by a desire to cushion the burdens of education. Most tantalizingly, the middle decades of the 19th century saw a general middle-class interest in portraying the family as an emotional refuge from the complexities of economic and social life amid early industrialization – what one historian has called the family as “haven in a heartless world.” Here was a clear context for new attention to cheerful children as part of this equation, linking the shift to social pressures as well as the larger cultural framework ( Lasch, 1977 ; Mintz, 2006 ).

Certainly, as the role of the middle-class family began to shift away from function as a production unit and toward service as a source of emotional refuge and support, the ideal of a loving and happy assemblage, children very much included both as beneficiary and source, became increasingly common. While smile-drenched photographs would await the 20th century, in part thanks to improvements in technology, positive representations of the family unit, often grouped around a piano, became increasingly common ( Mintz, 2006 ).

Again, the middle decades of the 19th century were something of a transition. Association of happiness and childhood continued to gain ground, but explicit discussions of parental obligations concerning happiness, or of happiness as an explicit goal, were not yet fully developed. Had polls been conducted in the 1850s, they might have suggested the same kind of priorities for achievement or health, over happiness, that remain common in places like India or China today.

But one innovation, that would ultimately become emblematic of the conversion of expectations about childhood, quietly started becoming standard fare in middle-class life: the (presumably) happy birthday – directed toward children – girls and boys alike – above all. Here is another case – more specific than children’s happiness in general – where understanding innovation cuts through any assumptions of timelessness ( Pleck, 2000 ; Baselice et al., 2019 ).

For children’s birthdays are a modern invention. Royals publicly touted their birthdays in many societies, going back to the Egyptian pharaohs, as a means of promoting public attention and support. European aristocrats may have begun celebrations in the 18th century, but the emphasis was on adults as well as social privilege. The idea of singling out children depended on a much higher valuation of their individual importance than any traditional society had generated – which is why the emergence of the new practice is so revealing.

The first recorded child birthday in what was becoming the United States occurred in Boston in 1772, for the 12-year old daughter of a wealthy family. Presumably this was a way to show off the family’s wealth as well as honoring a child. As the birthday practice began to spread, very slowly, several goals were often mentioned besides the family’s material achievement: a means of encouraging young people to display gratitude and sometimes as well an opportunity for the birthday child to give little gifts to servants as a token of appreciation ( Pleck, 2000 ; Cross, 2004 ).

By the middle of the 19th century birthday celebrations were clearly becoming more common. Several manuals were written to guide the practice, one of them going through several editions. Emphasis rested on a modest party, with pastries and special fruits (commercial baking was improving at this point, thanks in part to German immigration: an obvious source of cakes). Parents would usually offer a single gift, sometimes a toy but sometimes religious or educational material. By the 1870s, when the hugely successful Ladies Home Journal was founded, women’s magazines began to feature stories about successful birthdays at least once a year, until (by 1900) the practice had become so common that guidance was no longer needed (except perhaps for encouraging parties for adults as well). By this point many African American schools were also celebrating birthdays, and there were signs of working-class and immigrant interest as well ( Prentiss, 1857 ; Barnard, 1861 ; Leslie, 1869 ; Industrial School for Colored Girls, 1916 ).

The new practice faced some opposition (as it still does today in societies were birthdays are just beginning to surface). Some religious writers worried that children would be made too prideful, that a celebration that should actually honor God, or at least one’s parents, was being distorted. While worries about consumer excess were not yet common (this would await the 20th century), some commentators criticized children who came to insist on annual festivities; the demanding child was hardly a traditional ideal ( Davenport, 1864 ; Hill, 1906 ).

But, obviously, birthdays advanced quite rapidly, clearly indicating an eagerness to highlight the individual child, and this even before the massive reduction in child mortality that would further support the practice. And the question, briefly, is why. Of course families imitated each other; undoubtedly children learned from their friends and put some quiet pressure on their parents; consumer success and opportunities to display gratitude continued to enter in. But by the 1850s all the published recommendations on birthdays, and all the comments from approving parents, stressed the role of these festivities in making children happy.

The parents and prescriptive writers who commented on birthdays and cheered them on made the basic goal very clear: birthdays were becoming important because they made children happy, and happiness in turn was quietly turning into a priority. Thus a comment in 1886 insisted that birthdays should be pleasurable, full of “rejoicing jubilees”: “a ripe, full year is a glorious thing to have had,” and for their part children, “poor little things,” “need all the fun they can get.” Schools began to pick up the celebratory theme: a Helena, Montana, high school noted “the charming custom” growing among students and teachers to acknowledge the occasion through surprise parties and small gifts. Late 19th-century etiquette writers, recommending birthday festivities, urged the occasions be “joyous, for children are easy to please” and “nothing is quite as beautiful and gratifying as a group of laughing, happy children.” Childrearing manuals, though late to the topic, echoed similar sentiments. Right after 1900 Alice Birney commended regular attention to birthdays by “makers of happy homes” because of the “pleasure and enthusiasm” that the festivities generated ( A New Idea, 1855 ; Aldrich, 1891 5 ; Gardner, 1904 ; Primary Education Journal, 1907 ; Buffalo High School Yearbook, 1925 ; Helena Independent Newspaper, 1982 ). 6

Beyond the rise of the birthday and its signal connection to aspirations for children’s happiness (and the concomitant expansion of Christmas celebrations), wider commentary on the importance of happy childhood proliferated in the early 20th century. Whereas 19th-century childrearing manuals had remained somewhat hesitant, prioritizing other goals and insisting on connecting happiness to moral behavior, popular entries after 1900 prioritized the goal with no strings attached. “Don’t forget to be indulgent; do your best to make a pleasure possible, and enter heartily into it.” To be sure, parental “readiness” to “bring happiness into your children’s lives” should be rewarded by good behavior. But happiness began to be its own goal, predicated on a belief that children’s dispositions prepared adult qualities, and was important to train people up to be cheerful ( Leach, 1993 ).

From about 1915 on, the happiness theme became truly ubiquitous. “Happiness is as essential as food if a child is to develop into normal manhood or womanhood.” Parents had a “duty” to make their offspring happy: “The purpose of bringing-up in all its phases should be to make the child as happy as possible” (italicized in the original for emphasis) ( Birney, 1905 ). “Make a child happy now and you will make him happy 20 years from now… And happiness is a great thing…It contributes to the making of a normal childhood, which is in turn the foundation of normal manhood or womanhood.” Chapters of parenting books began to be devoted explicitly to the need to promote childish happiness, even, in many accounts, as the expense of discipline. Even the rather severe behaviorist, John Watson, intoned, “Failure to bring up a happy child…falls on the parents’ shoulders” ( Stearns, 2012 ). And, symbolizing the intensification, it was in the 1920s that the song “Happy Birthday” emerged, gaining widespread popularity during the following decade. Enjoyment and nurturing of happy children had become a central feature of ideal family life but also a solemn obligation as part of preparing for successful adulthoods. Finally, the theme began to spill beyond family life, to other institutions that dealt with children. “Cheerfulness” was one of the twelve characteristics enshrined in Boy Scout Law, for example, while the Campfire Girls insisted on happiness directly. And – though this issue remains with us today – schools and teachers began to be drawn into concerns about children’s happiness as well ( Groves and Groves, 1924 ; Spalding, 1930 ; De Kok, 1935 ; Baruch, 1949 ; Gruenberg, 1968 ).

Intensification of the childhood/happiness has obviously continued into recent decades, among other things adding measurably to parental obligations. By the 1960s parents were reporting an increasing sense of obligation to play regularly with their children, as part of their commitment to sponsoring happiness. In the schools, the Social and Emotional Learning movement (another 1960s product) has gained ground, urging teachers to emphasize positivity and guard against less happy emotions. Serving the happy child continues to gain momentum ( Stearns, 2019 ).

But the main point – happy childhood as a product of recent history – deserves primary emphasis. The commitment to happy childhoods obviously builds on the precedents that had developed during the later 19th century. It connected quite explicitly to increasing hopes for happiness in life in general and to beliefs that cheerful people were more likely to win success in life. And the escalation surely benefited from the new demographic framework: with low birth rates and, now, rapidly declining child mortality, it was easier to connect the early years of life with more positive goals. Happy childhoods became part of what has been aptly described as the rise of the “priceless” child ( Zelizer, 1994 ).

Though the idea of children’s happiness emerged over time, and responded to a number of wider cultural and social changes, it must be remembered that it was a really new aspiration. The fact that most modern American, or French, or Canadian parents regard it as a normal goal, indeed a self-evident priority, should not disguise its innovative nature or, in historical terms, its relative recency. Our current assumptions have a past, responding to a changing environment.

But there is more to this historical perspective as well, including some complexities that are at least as relevant to contemporary childhood and parenting as the happiness commitment itself. The evolution of the idea of the happy child, particularly from the early 20th century onward, also highlights some of its downsides and risks. Three points stand out, all of which add to the expansion of parental obligations inherent in the modern happiness theme itself: the extent of parental responsibility: the association with consumerism; and, above all, the problem of sadness.

The first wrinkle in the surge of interest in children’s happiness, as it took shape from the early 20th century onward, was a basic question that was, however, rarely hauled out for explicit evaluation: were children naturally happy, or did parents (and other adults) have an obligation to create happiness in a more difficult terrain? Commentary on birthdays in the 19th century occasionally, as we have seen, suggested that the celebration should help compensate for a less-than-joyous stage in life. And this might touch base with more traditional ideas about the drawbacks to being a child. On the other hand, enthusiasm about childish innocence, though more modern, might emphasize children’s spontaneous gaiety and their positive contribution to a cheerful family.

Actual childrearing materials frequently suggested a mixed opinion – sometimes within a single passage. Thus from a 1920s manual: “childhood is meant to be a joyous time. In the opinion of most adults it is actually the most joyous time of life” (the dramatically modern view). But then, twenty lines down, “Nevertheless it is the province and duty of parents to make the childhood of their progeny a joyous time.” Other materials suggested that the obligations here could be quite demanding.”: “Avoid unpleasant incidents like the plague. They shake the fabric of happiness to its foundations.” Make sure that kids never go to bed sad: “Darling we are quite happy now, aren’t we? Look up and smile at mother… You know she loves you so much and wants you to be always the very happiest little boy in all the world”( O’Shea, 1920 ; Galloway, 2013 ).

Inconsistency about children’s nature, where happiness was concerned, may be built into the modern process to some extent. Many parents will have days when they can simply capitalize on a child’s good mood, and others when a tremendous amount of effort is involved. The uncertainty obviously staked out a potentially challenging obligation for adults, adding to the growing emotional list of what a good parent was responsible for: if children were not naturally happy, or when their mood turned sour, the vigilant parent needed to compensate. But uncertainties also spilled over into the other main complexities of the growing commitment to happiness.

This in turn relates to the second complexity. It was probably inevitable that interests in happy childhood became deeply connected with family consumerism. The marriage began to take clear shape early in the 20th century and it steadily intensified thereafter. The first explicit parental purchases for children date back to the late 18th century, when the focus was on the new genre of children’s books. Interest expanded in the 19th century, as in the practice of birthday gifts, but the range remained rather modest. But with the 20th century, and particularly with the rise of the toy industry, the interest in using purchases to promote children’s happiness became increasingly entrenched.

Many aspects of this intertwining are familiar enough. Shortly after 1900 many parents began to buy toys even for infants (including the soon-famous Teddy Bear). There was brief discussion of whether this kind of attachment to things was desirable in the very young, but hesitation was brief and short-lived. “Things” made children happy and prepared a life of consumer attachments, and they helped fulfill the otherwise daunting parental task of linking childhood and joy. Whole companies devoted their attention to the happiness connection: Disney, founded in the 1920s, made happiness its core theme, and later would proclaim that child-centered parks like the California Disneyland were the “happiest places in the whole world.” Not to be outdone, soon after World War II McDonalds would sell its child-focused and highly caloric burger combination as a “happy meal,” complete with cheap toys ( Cross, 2004 ).

Another post-World War II innovation pushed the linkage further. Many parents began to prepare for Christmases or birthdays by encouraging their children to draw up wish lists, which usually turned out to be quite long and detailed exercises in maximization ( Moir, 2017 ). The result? Another dilemma. As one children’s consumer expert put it: “how much do you want your child to be happy – meeting what you think are their desires?” ( Rosen, 2015 ). Against this, the sheer limits of a family budget (though sometimes transcended through the credit card) and a recurrent concern that many kids were becoming too greedy and materialistic, that they were internalizing the happiness/consumerism equation too thoroughly. Worst of all was a growing belief that children learned, if unwittingly, to play on their parents’ commitment to happiness, developing a sense of entitlement that overwhelmed any sense of gratitude ( Stearns, 2012 ).

The consumer/entertainment/happiness combine played on one final later 20th-century development: a redefinition of boredom. Boredom was a modern concept in itself: the word came into common usage only in the mid-19th century, associated obviously with the growing interest in active happiness. Initially, however, boredom applied to childhood mainly as a character lesson: children should be taught not to be boring. After 1950, however, the meaning was flipped: boredom now became a state to be blamed on others, a reason for personal discontent. And children became adept not only at identifying their boredom, but at strongly implying that their parents, or teachers, or others had an obligation to do something about it. “I’m bored” became yet another way of telling the adult world that it was falling short, for the child should be entertained ( Stearns, 2003 ; Toohey, 2011 ).

In real life, of course, most children learned to handle a bit of moderation. Wish lists were rarely fully fleshed out, and children could even survive the lack of the year’s most popular toy or game. But the dedication of part of childhood to early forms of consumerism, and the pressure on parents to fulfill part of their happiness obligations through toys and entertainments, played no small role in actual family life and, sometimes, a nagging sense of falling slightly short.

And this linked to the third complexity of happy childhoods: the inevitable tensions that resulted when confronted with the unhappy child. Not surprisingly, the relative frequency of discussing unhappy children went up rather dramatically in the 19th century (as Google Ngrams suggest), as a counterpart to the new expectations more generally. While rates dropped a bit thereafter, the topic remained vivid, encouraged by growing interest in, and claims by, child psychologists and other experts. Two outcomes seem pretty obvious. First, of course, the unhappy child (or the period of unhappiness), whether directly experienced or not, was a cautionary tale for parents themselves: something must have gone wrong, some adult must have failed in her duties, for this to have emerged. The facile association of unhappy childhoods and parental dereliction (and often, resultant unhappy adulthoods) became a conversational and literary staple by the mid-20th century, particularly amid the popularization of Freudian psychology ( Ludy, 2007 ). And second, when the unhappy child was encountered there was a risk of exculpatory diagnosis: the child must be unhappy because of some psychological disorder, the unhappiness a sign of some kind of illness, beyond the responsibility of good parents. It became harder to accept or even understand the sad child ( Berman, 2016 ).

Historical value judgments are never easy, particularly since by definition we are trapped in our own contemporary standards. It is hard not to believe that, for all the complexities involved, the emergence of the idea of happy children was an advance over earlier frameworks – which is one reason that the idea of children’s happiness has spread geographically as part of globalization (though without yet creating uniform agreement). But, inevitably, since we are enmeshed in the happiness culture it is hard to evaluate it against past patterns.

Certainly, there are the downsides, which the historical approach, cutting through any assumption that the idea of happy childhood is a natural human concept, helps highlight as well. It becomes too easy to overdo the happiness card, whether the result is undue accumulation of childish junk or the difficulty of appreciating periods of childish sadness. It is easy to complicate the actual achievement of normal happiness by expecting too much, by reacting to quickly to emotional lows. As it emerged from the 19th century onward, the assumption that children should be cheerful as part of the child’s contribution to the happy family can be genuinely burdensome, just as the assumption places obligations on parents as well. The realization that much of this is a recent historical product, which might be open to some reconsideration or modification, can be constructive. Not a few experts are joining in urging greater nuance and flexibility about the childhood/happiness association.

There is one final point. We began this essay by noting the premium that Western parents, when polled, place on children’s happiness. But of course happiness is not the only thing we want, and it is even possible that our cultural standards prompt us to claim a higher priority than we really mean. Contemporary Americans certainly do not want unhappy children, but the classic helicopter parent, this creature of the past quarter century, may actually be more focused on achievement than we explicitly recognize – however, parentally orchestrated that achievement may be. Recent analysis that suggests how successful many middle-class parents have become in positioning their children for college and beyond, in a newly demanding economic environment, may complicate the happiness equation: these parents want to think their offspring are happy, but they are orchestrating other goals ( Druckerman, 2019 ). The extent to which middle-class American parents are unusually focused on the importance of hard work, compared to European counterparts, certainly raises some questions about actual priorities, despite lip service to the hope for childish joy ( Doepke and Zilibotti, 2019 ). The happiness standard will surely prompt the demanding parent to bursts of indulgence, often with a strong consumer component, and probably some real guilt about not succeeding as consistently on the happiness front as we would like.

The relatively modern conversion to the notion that children should be happy added important criteria to the ways many American parents evaluated their own performance and clearly helped motivate changes in actual interactions with children, including the growing commitment to consumerism. It affected people’s evaluations of their own childhoods, and could affect children directly as well, as in the injunctions to be cheerful. But, as several recent studies of happiness suggest, the results in terms of actual happiness and well being are harder to assess: expectations could be raised beyond reasonable hope of fulfillment, and signs of occasional sadness might become harder to handle ( Ahmeds, 2010 ). Add into this the pressures for achievement and success, so vivid in the current generation of middle-class teenagers, and the evaluation of actual outcomes, as opposed to professed goals, becomes undeniably complicated.

Author Contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

• ^ In contrast, youth, though never systematically empowered, might be valued. Greek and other cultures celebrated the beauty and athletic prowess of youth. Artisanal arrangements in many societies – Europe, Japan, the Middle East cherished a few relatively carefree years between apprenticeship and full adulthood. But childhood was a different matter.
• ^ Huizinga’s Homo Ludens mounts a particularly detailed case for children’s play in traditional societies.
• ^ Google Ngram Viewer is a search application that allows one to measure the relative frequency of particular terms or words in the Google Books database. While in some ways problematic and obviously not a complete representation, the tool is a helpful way to assess cultural trends and changes.
• ^ These early Victorian manuals interestingly combine the emphasis on childish innocence with continued insistence on obedience with rarely if ever a bow to happiness.
• ^ Aldrich also writes of taking “personal note” of each student on the birthday.
• ^ As noted above, the American Journal of Education had been recommending birthdays since the 1860s.

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Keywords : happy children, childhood, emotions history, American culture, childrearing, happiness

Citation: Stearns PN (2019) Happy Children: A Modern Emotional Commitment. Front. Psychol. 10:2025. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02025

Received: 16 April 2019; Accepted: 19 August 2019; Published: 06 September 2019.

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Copyright © 2019 Stearns. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Peter N. Stearns, [email protected]

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Essay on Happiness

List of essays on happiness, essay on happiness – short essay (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on happiness – for kids and children (essay 2 – 200 words), essay on happiness – 10 lines on happiness written in english (essay 3 – 250 words), essay on happiness (essay 4 – 300 words), essay on happiness – ways to be happy (essay 5 – 400 words), essay on happiness – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 standard) (essay 6 – 500 words), essay on happiness – ways of developing happiness (essay 7 – 600 words), essay on happiness – sources of suffering, happiness and conclusion (essay 8 – 750 words), essay on happiness – long essay on happiness (essay 9 – 1000 words).

Happiness is defined by different people in different ways. When we feel positive emotions we tend to feel happy. That is what happiness is all about. Happiness is also regarded as the mental state of a person in an optimistic manner.

Every person defines happiness in his/her own manner. In whatever manner you may define happiness; the truth is that it is vital for a healthy and prosperous life.

In order to make students understand what true happiness is all about, we have prepared short essays for students which shall enlighten them further on this topic.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 3, 4 ,5, 6 and 7 Standard).

Introduction:

Happiness is a state of mind and the feeling expressed when things are going great. It is what we feel when we get our first car, buy a new house or graduate with the best grades. Happiness should be distinguished from joy. When joy is a constant state of mind, happiness depends on events in our lives.

Importance of Happiness:

The opposite of happiness is sadness which is a state of negativity in the mindset. When we remain sad for an extended period of time it can lead to depression. To avoid this state of mind we must always remind ourselves of happenings in our lives that made us happy.

Conclusion:

Though life throws countless challenges at us on a daily basis, if we drown in those challenges we would definitely become depressed. It is important that we find positive things in our daily lives to get excited about and feel the happiness.

Happiness is a state of mind which makes you feel accomplished in life and having everything in this world without a single reason to repent. Well, although there can be no perfect definition of happiness; happiness is when you feel you’re at the top of the world where a sense of complete satisfaction prevails.

The meaning of happiness is relative and varies from people to people. For some, happiness is when you experience professional success, reunions with family and friends, eating out, reading books or watching good movies. While for others, happiness can be accomplished by some weekend activities which might help you de-stress and get the satisfaction of mind.

If you involve yourself in social activities where you help the needy and provide support to the weaker section of the society, you can experience happiness if not anything else. When a young boy flies a kite, plays with mud, and watches the nature, for him, that is the greatest happiness in the world.

The happiness of mind is often considered quite contrary to jealousy and anger which you experience once you have failed or unaccomplished any desired goal. You should always try to rehearse the ways of keeping yourself satisfied and keeping away from negativity to experience peace and happiness in life. True happiness begins where desire ends!

What is happiness? It is a state of being happy. But it does not mean to be happy all the time. Happiness is a feeling of something good that is happening in our life. We feel happy when we achieve something. But happiness is spread when our dear one is happy as well. Some people find true happiness in playing with their pets, while some may find happiness in staying engaged in creative work.

Happiness is often derived from channelizing thoughts to positive thinking. However, it is not as simple as it may sound.

To achieve the state of complete happiness one has to practice on improving the state of life by:

1. Staying contended in life with what you have. Cribbing and grumbling never lead to happiness.

2. Staying focused on the current life instead of daydreaming of the good days or old days.

3. Stop blaming for something that went terribly wrong in life. The life is all about moving on. Stop worrying and set new goals in life.

4. Being thankful to God for all the good things that you have in your life.

5. Having good people around you who can boost up positivity in your life.

Everyone desires to be happy in life. Happiness cannot be achieved without establishing complete control of one’s thoughts as it is very easy to be carried away by the waves of thoughts and emotions surrounding us. Remind yourself of the good things of your life and be thankful about it.

What is happiness? Some would state that happiness implies being well off. Others would state that for them, happiness intends to be sound. You will discover individuals saying that for them happiness implies having love in their life, having numerous companions, a great job, or accomplishing a specific objective. There are individuals, who trust that the want of a specific wish would make happiness in their life; however, it may not be so. Having true happiness is something which is desired by all.

The Path to Happiness:

There are small things which when incorporated into our daily lives, can lead us to the path of happiness. For instance, instead of thinking about problems, we should actually be thinking about the solutions. Not only will we be happier but we shall also be able to solve our problems faster. Similarly, once in a while, you start the day with the longing to achieve a few targets. Toward the day’s end, you may feel disappointed and miserable, in light of the fact that you haven’t possessed the capacity to do those things. Take a look at what you have done, not at what you have not possessed the capacity to do. Regularly, regardless of whether you have achieved a ton amid the day, you let yourself feel disappointed, due to some minor assignments you didn’t achieve. This takes away happiness from you.

Again, now and then, you go throughout the day effectively completing numerous plans, yet as opposed to feeling cheerful and fulfilled, you see what was not cultivated and feel troubled. It is out of line towards you.

Each day accomplishes something good which you enjoy doing. It may tend to be something little, such as purchasing a book, eating something you cherish, viewing your most loved program on TV, heading out to a motion picture, or simply having a walk around the shoreline. Even small things can bring great levels of happiness in our lives and motivate us for new goals.

Happiness is not what you feel from outside, rather it is something which comes from your inner soul. We should find happiness in us rather than searching for it in worldly desires.

Happiness is defined by different people in different ways. Some find happiness in having a luxurious life while some find it in having loving people around them rather than money. True happiness lies within us and our expectation of happiness. It is something that should be felt and cannot be explained in words.

Even though this simple word has a lot of meaning hidden in it, many fail to understand the real one or feel the real happiness. Finding happiness in the outer world is the main reason for this failure. Nothing can buy you happiness, whether be the favorite thing you desire for or the person you love the most or the career you build, unless and until you feel it within yourself.

Ways to be Happy:

Bring happiness and soulful life to yourself rather than expecting it from the outside world like things, money, etc. Being happy is not as easy as advised to be one happier person. To be content and happy with whatever you have and yourself it takes time and patience. You should practice to be a happier person in all moments and eventually you will notice that no sorrow can sink you down.

Whatever good or bad happened in your past shouldn’t bother your present. Learn to live today with more happiness than yesterday and forget about your past sadness for a harmonious life. Thankfulness to the life you got is another important character you should acquire to be happy. If you compare yourself with someone with better luxurious life, then you will never be happy or content and do it the other way.

Don’t depress your mind with bad and negative thoughts about yourself and around. Try to find every goodness in a situation you face and accept the things that already happened, whether good or bad. Never forget to choose merrier and positive people to be closer to you so that their vibes will also help you in being one merrier person.

Whenever you feel low and depressed never hesitate to go to those around you to find happiness. But be aware of those negative ones that may pull you even deeper into the bad thoughts. Always surround yourself with positive thinking and motivating people so that you can rise higher even from the deepest fall.

Happiness is nothing but a feeling that will be seeded into your soul only if you wish to and nothing other than yourself can indulge this feeling in you. Don’t spoil your life finding happiness somewhere else.

Happiness is a very complicated thing. Happiness can be used both in emotional or mental state context and can vary largely from a feeling from contentment to very intense feeling of joy. It can also mean a life of satisfaction, good well-being and so many more. Happiness is a very difficult phenomenon to use words to describe as it is something that can be felt only. Happiness is very important if we want to lead a very good life. Sadly, happiness is absent from the lives of a lot of people nowadays. We all have our own very different concept of happiness. Some of us are of the opinion that we can get happiness through money, others believe they can only get true happiness in relationships, some even feel that happiness can only be gotten when they are excelling in their profession.

As we might probably know, happiness is nothing more than the state of one being content and happy. A lot of people in the past, present and some (even in the future will) have tried to define and explain what they think happiness really is. So far, the most reasonable one is the one that sees happiness as something that can only come from within a person and should not be sought for outside in the world.

Some very important points about happiness are discussed below:

1. Happiness can’t be bought with Money:

A lot of us try to find happiness where it is not. We associate and equate money with happiness. If at all there is happiness in money then all of the rich people we have around us would never feel sad. What we have come to see is that even the rich amongst us are the ones that suffer depression, relationship problems, stress, fear and even anxiousness. A lot of celebrities and successful people have committed suicide, this goes a long way to show that money or fame does not guarantee happiness. This does not mean that it is a bad thing to be rich and go after money. When you have money, you can afford many things that can make you and those around you very happy.

2. Happiness can only come from within:

There is a saying that explains that one can only get true happiness when one comes to the realisation that only one can make himself/herself happy. We can only find true happiness within ourselves and we can’t find it in other people. This saying and its meaning is always hammered on in different places but we still refuse to fully understand it and put it into good use. It is very important that we understand that happiness is nothing more than the state of a person’s mind. Happiness cannot come from all the physical things we see around us. Only we through our positive emotions that we can get through good thoughts have the ability to create true happiness.

Our emotions are created by our thoughts. Therefore, it is very important that we work on having only positive thoughts and this can be achieved when we see life in a positive light.

Happiness is desired by every person. However, there are very few persons that attain happiness easily in life.

It is quite tough to get happiness in life as people usually link it with the things and the people around them. The simple fact is that happiness usually starts as well as finishes with your own life. All those people who understand this fact easily get the true happiness in their life.

Happiness in Relationships:

There are lots of people who link happiness with the money and there are few others also who link it with the personal relations. It is very important to know that if you are not happy with yourself then, it is not possible to remain happy in your relationship as well.

The problems in the relationship have been increasing speedily and the main cause behind it is the huge amount of expectation that we have from the other individual. We always want them to make us feel happy. For example, some people feel happy if their partner plans a surprise for them or if he/she buy them a new dress. But all these things are not a true source of happiness in life.

Ways of Developing Happiness:

The lack of happiness in the relationship not only exists in couples but also in the relationship of friends, sister – brother or parent-child.

The following are the few ways that help in creating happiness in the relationships:

1. Pay Attention to Yourself:

You should always pay attention to yourself to get happiness. You should not give importance to any other person in your life in comparison to yourself and also expect the same from that person. Giving too much importance to the other and not receiving anything back from them makes a person disappointed and happiness gets lost.

2. Have some Initiative:

You can make the plan of traveling outside yourself. Don’t wait for your parent, partner or kid to take you outside. You can ask them to come along with you if they want. But, if they decline your offer then, don’t get discouraged and carry on your trip plan along with full happiness.

3. Provide some Space:

It is necessary to provide some amount of space to every individual and spend some time with oneself. It helps in creating happiness.

Happiness is Necessary for Good Life:

It does not matter that whether you are a working expert, a schoolchild, a retired person or a housewife, happiness is necessary for everybody to live a good and happy life. Happiness is essential for an individual’s emotional comfort. A person who is not fit emotionally will feel an impact on his complete health that will drain very soon.

Unluckily, despite the fact that happiness is tremendously necessary, people do not give so much importance to all those habits which can keep them happy. They are so excessively captivated inside their professional lives as well as other nuts and bolts of life that they overlook to relish the happy memories of their life. It is also the main reason that problems like anxiety, stress, and depression are increasing gradually in people’s lives today.

Happiness is an internal feeling. It is a healthy emotion. Happiness helps us to stay fit both mentally and physically. Happiness helps in lowering stress and keeping away from any health issues. The reason of happiness may be different for different person. You just need to find out what actually makes you happy. So, if you want real happiness in life then, you need to understand that only you can make yourself happy.

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way” this sentence has been attributed to Buddha. Well, at least that’s what it says on one sticker in my dorm room. The fact is that man has occupied himself with the path to happiness for millennia. Something happened during our evolution that made us deeply question the purpose of our existence. People like Buddha are part of the answer, or at least they try to give us the answer.

Since these questions have troubled us there have been many who sought to answer them and by doing so, they formed philosophies and religions. The search for earthly happiness will make many do incredible deeds but if this energy is used in the wrong way it can cause great suffering. How can we know which recipe for happiness is the best one and what we should devote our time and attention to? The trick is, there is no right answer and as the first sentence of this essay states, there is no way to be happy because being happy is the way. That’s how I got my head around this problem, let me explain some more.

Source of Suffering:

At the expense of sounding Buddhist, when you think about most of the things that make us unhappy are material in nature. They are the things that we really do not need but they make us feel happy. This notion is not just something the wise man from the 6 th century BC India expressed but many more have said this before and after him. Socrates and Jesus to name just a few.

What I find interesting in the struggle for happiness is the paradox present in the instructions to reach it. One has a  thought all through life to be good and hard working so he can get the things he wants and needs later on in life but then as you start to struggle for the money you realize that your life is turning into a money grabbing game. So, the source of happiness and stability becomes the source of all your anxiety and aggression. Naturally, we can see how some people thought that all material things stand on the path to our happiness.

But what about the immaterial, what if you are in love with someone you are not supposed to love? The above instruction would tell you to surrender your heart’s desire and you will be free from constraints. Is this happiness? Or is it the struggle to do and achieve the impossible the real source of happiness?

Source of Happiness:

People often forget that they are animals and like all of them they have a logic to their nature and their own specific needs. Like all the other animal’s people are caught in the struggle for existence and sometimes surviving the day can be a real ordeal if you get caught in the wrong circumstances. Men has made himself safe from most of the things that could have harmed him in nature but in doing so he forgot what he has made.

Think about the present from a historical perspective. Even a hundred years ago most people lost up to 80% of all their children to diseases, clean water was a rarity for most of our existence, and people actually had to labor to make food and to have enough to feed their family all through the year. The fact is we have a lot to be grateful for in the present age and the fact that some of us are unhappy because we do not have all our heart’s desires is just a symptom of collective infancy. Having all of your loved ones around you, with a roof to shelter under and with lots of delicious food is the only source of happiness man needs everything else should just be a bonus.

Happiness cannot be found by rejecting everything that is material or by earning more money then you can spend. The trick is to find balance by looking at yourself and the lives of people around you and by understanding that there is a lot to be grateful for, the trick is to stop searching for a path and to understand that we are already walking on one. As long as we are making any type of list of the prerequisite for our life of happiness, we will end up unsatisfied because life does not grant wishes we are the ones that make them come true. Often the biggest change in our lives comes from a simple change of perspective rather than from anything we can own.

Happiness is the state of emotional wellbeing and being contented. Happiness is expressed through joyful moments and smiles. It is a desirable feeling that everybody want to have at all times. Being happy is influenced by situations, achievements and other circumstances. Happiness is an inner quality that reflects on the state of mind. A peaceful state of mind is considered to be happiness. The emotional state of happiness is mixture of feelings of joy, satisfaction, gratitude, euphoria and victory.

How happiness is achieved:

Happiness is achieved psychologically through having a peaceful state of mind. By a free state of mind, I mean that there should be no stressful factors to think about. Happiness is also achieved through accomplishment of goals that are set by individuals. There is always happiness that accompanies success and they present feelings of triumph and contentment.

To enable personal happiness in life, it is important that a person puts himself first and have good self-perception. Putting what makes you happy first, instead of putting other people or other things first is a true quest towards happiness. In life, people tend to disappoint and putting them as a priority always reduces happiness for individuals. There is also the concept of practicing self-love and self-acceptance. Loving oneself is the key to happiness because it will mean that it will not be hard to put yourself first when making decisions.

It is important for an individual to control the thoughts that goes on in their heads. A peaceful state of mind is achieved when thoughts are at peace. It is recommended that things that cause a stressful state of mind should be avoided.

Happiness is a personal decision that is influenced by choices made. There is a common phrase on happiness; “happiness is a choice” which is very true because people choose if they want to be happy or not. Happiness is caused by circumstances and people have the liberty to choose those circumstance and get away from those that make them unhappy.

Happiness is also achieved through the kind of support system that an individual has. Having a family or friends that are supportive will enable the achievement of happiness. Communicating and interacting with the outside world is important.

Factors Affecting Happiness:

Sleep patterns influence the state of mind thus influence happiness. Having enough sleep always leads to happy mornings and a good state of mind for rest of the day. Sleep that is adequate also affects the appearance of a person. There is satisfaction that comes with having enough sleep. Enough rest increases performance and productivity of an individual and thus more successes and achievements are realized and happiness is experienced.

Another factor affecting happiness is the support network of an individual. A strong support network of family and friends results in more happiness. Establishing good relationships with neighbors, friends and family through regular interactions brings more happiness to an individual. With support network, the incidences of stressful moments will be reduced because your family and friends will always be of help.

Sexual satisfaction has been established to affect happiness. It is not just about getting the right partner anymore. It is about having a partner that will satisfy you sexually. There is a relationship between sex and happiness because of the hormones secreted during sexual intercourse. The hormone is called oxytocin and responsible for the happiness due to sexual satisfaction. Satisfaction also strengthens the relationships between the partners and that creates happiness.

Wealth also plays a significant role in happiness. There is a common phrase that is against money and happiness: “money cannot buy happiness” is this true? Personally, I believe that being financially stable contributes to happiness because you will always have peace of mind and many achievements. Peace of mind is possible for wealthy people because they do not have stressors here and then compared to poor people. Also, when a person is wealthy, they can afford to engage in luxurious activities that relaxes the mind and create happiness. For a person to be wealthy, they will have had many achievements in life. These achievement make them happy.

A good state of health is an important factor that influences the happiness of individuals. A healthy person will be happy because there are no worries of diseases or pain that they are experiencing. When a person is healthy, their state of mind is at peace because they are not afraid of death or any other health concerns. Not only the health of individuals is important, but also the health of the support system of the person. Friends and family’s state of health will always have an impact on what we feel as individuals because we care about them and we get worried whenever they are having bad health.

Communication and interactions are important in relation to an individual’s happiness. Having a support system is not enough because people need to communicate and interact freely. Whenever there are interactions like a social gathering where people talk and eat together, more happiness is experienced. This concept is witnessed in parties because people are always laughing and smiling in parties whenever they are with friends.

Communication is key to happiness because it helps in problem solving and relieving stressors in life. Sharing experiences with a support system creates a state of wellbeing after the solution is sought. Sometime when I am sad, I take my phone and call a friend or a family member and by the time the phone call is over, I always feel better and relieved of my worries.

Happiness is an important emotion that influences how we live and feel on a daily basis. Happiness is achieved in simple ways. People have the liberty to choose happiness because we are not bound by any circumstances for life. Factors that influence happiness are those that contribute to emotional wellbeing. Physical wellbeing also affects happiness. Every individual finds happiness in their own because they know what makes them happy and what doesn’t.

Emotions , Happiness , Psychology

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Children’s and Adolescents’ Happiness and Family Functioning: A Systematic Literature Review

Associated data.

Articles and data will be made available to the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Background: the present research represents the first systematic review of the literature on the relation between happiness (i.e., subjective well-being, life satisfaction, positive affect) and family functioning in families with children aged 6–18 years. Method: relevant articles were systematically searched in three scientific databases (i.e., PsycInfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science) in June 2022. The databases were searched for original articles published after 1968 with the keywords “happiness” and “family functioning.” Results: of the 2683 records recovered, 124 original articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. The articles were divided according to four emergent themes: (1) family dimensions and happiness; (2) global family functioning (i.e., family functioning, and family relationships), environmental variables, and happiness; (3) parental differences; (4) longitudinal studies. Conclusions: the results of the review provide evidence for a positive relation between happiness and family functioning, across different cultures and age groups: Family dimensions (e.g., cohesion, communication) were found to strongly predict children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Future studies should investigate the differences between fathers and mothers using multi-informant and mixed methods procedures and a longitudinal research approach. The implications of the findings for children’s positive development are discussed.

1. Introduction

Research on children’s and adolescents’ happiness has increased in recent years [ 1 ] due to the association between happiness and improved physical and mental health [ 2 , 3 ]. For the present systematic review, happiness was conceptualized as a relatively stable, positive, and affective trait [ 4 , 5 ], with an emphasis on subjective well-being and general life satisfaction [ 2 , 6 , 7 ]. Previous studies [ 8 , 9 ] have suggested that family emotional bonds and positive relationships are primary sources of children’s happiness. Indeed, dimensions of family functioning have been shown to significantly predict children’s happiness, beyond the influence of peer and school settings [ 10 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no systematic review of the relation between children’s happiness and family functioning. Thus, the present systematic literature review aimed to understand the associations between children’s and adolescents’ happiness and dimensions of family functioning.

Happiness is comprised of an affective and a cognitive component [ 6 , 11 ]: (a) the affective component involves high levels of pleasant emotions (e.g., joy, interest, excitement, confidence, readiness) and low levels of negative emotions (e.g., anger, fear, sadness, guilt, contempt, disgust) [ 12 ]; (b) the cognitive component represents a global assessment of quality of life, indicating the degree to which one’s essential needs, goals, and desires are satisfied [ 13 ]. These judgments are usually understood to describe overall life satisfaction, or satisfaction within a specific domain (e.g., work, family life, social life, school).

1.1. Family Functioning and Happiness

Previous studies have suggested that healthy family functioning is associated with children’s and adolescents’ happiness [ 14 ]. Since the 1980s, the Circumplex model [ 15 ] and the McMaster Model of Family Functioning (MMFF) [ 16 ] have promoted a new vision of the family as an open system in interaction with the environment. However, there is no single definition of family functioning in the literature. Regardless of the differing compositions of modern families, family functioning refers to effective emotional bonding between family members, the use of family rules, family communication, and the management of external events [ 17 ]. Thus, family functioning describes the dynamic interactions within a family unit and how a family fulfills its functions [ 18 ], referring to the ways in which family members interact and work together to achieve common goals and outcomes [ 19 , 20 ]. Various factors may influence family functioning, including family structure, socioeconomic status, life events, family relationships, and the evolutive stages of the family [ 19 , 21 , 22 ]. Although family functioning is a complex phenomenon that can be assessed in various ways [ 23 ], it generally refers to the quality of family life at a systemic level, emphasizing wellness, competence, strengths, and weaknesses [ 24 ].

Previous studies have reported that positive family functioning is associated with children’s and adolescents’ happiness [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. In particular, research has found that family connectedness promotes well-being and parental support directly contributes to children’s happiness [ 28 ]. Furthermore, the quality of family relationships has been shown to be more important to students’ happiness than the peer group, school, or community [ 29 ].

Family cohesion and adaptability have been found to be linearly correlated with family functioning (i.e., family communication and satisfaction) [ 15 ]. Effective communication is a central feature of high family functioning [ 30 ], and research has shown that when parent–adolescent communication is good, the family is closer, more loving, and more flexible in solving problems [ 31 ]. Indeed, when defining their perceptions of well-being, adolescents frequently refer to good relationships and pleasant moments spent with family members [ 32 ].

As conflict tends to generate negative emotions, high-conflict families have been found to be associated with lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction [ 33 ]. On the other hand, family satisfaction, defined as the extent to which individuals feel satisfied with the level of perceived support from family members [ 34 ], has been shown to be associated with increased happiness and overall life satisfaction in children and adolescents [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Other studies have confirmed that a dysfunctional family relationship (e.g., low-income, family coherence, family conflict) is a risk factor for children’s and adolescents’ happiness [ 32 , 39 ].

1.2. The Present Study

Decades of research have highlighted the importance of studying children’s development within their immediate life contexts (i.e., home, school, and community) [ 40 ]. During childhood and adolescence, these contexts represent microsystems where young people spend large parts of their daily lives [ 2 , 41 ]. However, few studies have comprehensively examined the personal and familial factors associated with happiness as a function of developmental age. Family functioning, parent–child relationship quality, and family satisfaction have been identified as significant predictors of children’s happiness [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Moreover, studies have shown that happy people tend to have stronger social relationships than less happy people [ 45 ]. Research has also reported that the family plays an essential role in shaping the positive development of children and adolescents [ 46 ]. Finally, longitudinal studies have found that adolescents’ family experiences predict multiple facets of adult functioning, including physical and mental health, well-being, and academic achievement [ 47 ].

To the best of our knowledge, the present study represents the first systematic review of the literature on the relation between happiness (i.e., subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and positive affect) and family functioning during the developmental ages of 6–18 years. The importance of exploring this specific development phase derives from scientific evidence that happiness declines with increasing age [ 2 , 27 , 48 ]. Again, studies have highlighted the importance of addressing multicontextual influences on happiness, with the relevant literature strongly supporting the ecological theory, emphasizing the effects of salient life contexts [ 49 ]. In this sense, a systematic review of the literature could improve our understanding of the associations between children’s and adolescents’ happiness and dimensions of family functioning.

2.1. Search Strategy

The present systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [ 50 ]. Relevant articles, indexed in three scientific databases (i.e., PsycInfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science), were searched. Further studies were identified through by-hand searches of the reference lists of the included articles. The investigation was conducted in June 2022, and the search included all original research articles published post-1968.

The exact search term combinations were: ([“happi *” OR “happy” OR “positive affect *” OR “positive emotions” OR “subjective well-being” OR “subjective wellbeing” OR “well-being” OR “wellbeing” OR “life satisfaction” OR “satisfaction with life”] AND [“family funct *” OR “family conflict” OR “family cohesion” OR “family communication” OR “family flexibility” OR “family problem-solving” OR “family problem solving” OR “family satisfaction” OR “family relation*”] AND [“toddler *” OR “infant *” OR “child *” “pre-schooler *” OR “preschooler *” OR “pre-adoles *” OR “preadoles *” OR “adolesc *” OR “student *” OR “pupil *”]).

2.2. Study Screening Selection

Two reviewers independently selected abstracts, excluding articles that did not meet the selection criteria. Age and language filters were applied to the various databases to limit the search to studies reported in only English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and German. Since the review focused on childhood and adolescence, studies involving participants over 18 years old were excluded. Specifically, only original research articles published in scientific journals were included in the review. Furthermore, only scientific studies using mixed or quantitative methodology were selected, while no studies involving clinical samples were included. Pure qualitative studies, books, and book chapters were excluded. No reviews examining the association between children’s and adolescents’ happiness and family functioning were found.

Moreover, to be considered for inclusion, studies had to assess both happiness and family functioning. Studies with a single measure evaluating the two variables as subdimensions (i.e., general life satisfaction and family satisfaction) were excluded. Only studies reporting associations between happiness and family functioning, or the effects of family functioning on children’s happiness, were included. When the results appeared vague, the researchers contacted the authors ( n = 50) to clarify their methodology and results ( n = 8 responded). In the absence of a response, the relevant studies were excluded. Figure 1 displays the PRISMA flowchart of the systematic review process.

PRISMA flowchart of the study selection.

2.3. Data Extraction

The following information was independently extracted using a structured template by two reviewers: author(s), year of publication, country, study design, participant age and gender, sample size, measures of happiness and family functioning, and main findings. Coding disagreements were resolved through discussion between the first two reviewers. The Cohen’s kappa coefficient, calculated to assess inter-rater reliability, was 0.94, reflecting very high agreement. The third author resolved any discrepancies.

3.1. Study Characteristics

A total of 2683 scientific articles were identified (777 from PsycInfo, 662 from Pubmed, and 1244 from Web of Science), and 56 other records were added through other sources. After 970 duplicates were removed, a further 833 articles were excluded based on a review of their titles and abstracts. The remaining 936 studies were considered potentially eligible for inclusion. The full-text articles were obtained and assessed for eligibility, resulting in a final selection of 124 studies. Although the search included works published between 1968 and 2022, the present review was restricted to the years 1991–2022, because no articles published prior to 1991 met the inclusion criteria.

Regarding the study characteristics, sample sizes ranged from 74–25,906. Participant ages were also heterogeneous, though predominantly falling within the pre-adolescent and adolescent age range. With respect to school level, 18 studies examined elementary school students (i.e., aged 6–11 years) and 111 studies explored middle and high school students (i.e., aged 12–18 years). The studies were conducted in different continents: 30% in Asia (i.e., 27 in China, 1 in India, 2 in Indonesia, 3 in Israel, 3 in Korea, and 1 in Palestine), 22% in Europe (i.e., 4 in Croatia, 3 in Finland, 1 in France, 1 in Germany, 1 in Holland, 1 in Ireland, 3 in Italy, 1 in The Netherlands, 2 in Portugal, 8 in Spain, and 3 in the United Kingdom), 18% in the United States, 13% in South America (i.e., 3 in Brazil, 11 in Chile, 1 in Mexico, and 1 in Peru), and 2% in Australia. In addition, 13 articles (i.e., 11%) were cross-cultural, while 5 (i.e., 4%) were conducted in transcontinental states (i.e., 1 in Russia, 4 in Turkey). Table 1 , Table 2 , Table 3 and Table 4 present detailed characteristics of each of the reviewed articles, including the study design, participants, and tools.

The articles were categorized according to four emergent themes (and subthemes): (1) family dimensions and happiness; (2) global family functioning (i.e., family functioning and family relationships), environmental variables, and happiness; (3) parental differences; (4) longitudinal studies. The studies are presented in Table 1 , Table 2 , Table 3 and Table 4 (according to theme), and the significant findings within these four themes are synthesized in Section 3.2 , Section 3.3 , Section 3.4 and Section 3.5 .

3.1.1. Happiness Measures

The investigated studies used various measures to assess affective, cognitive, or global components of happiness. The affective component of happiness was evaluated using the Happiness Face Scale [ 26 ], Piers-Harris Children’s Concept Scale 2 (PHS) [ 51 ], Subjective Happiness Scale [ 52 ], Chinese Happiness Inventory (CHI) [ 53 ], Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) [ 54 ], Happiness Overall Life (HOL) [ 55 ], Happiness Taking into Account Overall Life (HTOL) [ 56 , 57 ], Russell’s Core Affect [ 58 ], Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) [ 59 ], Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children [ 60 ], Scale of Positive and Negative Affects for Adolescents (PNAA) [ 61 ], Affect Balance Scale (ABS) [ 62 ], Profile of Mood States-Adolescents (POMS-A) [ 63 ], positive affect subscales of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) [ 64 ], Personal Wellbeing Index—School Children (PWI-SC) [ 65 ], and Patients’ Well-Being Questionnaire for adolescents (PWBQ) [ 66 ].

The cognitive component of happiness was assessed using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) [ 67 ], Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) [ 34 ], Cantril Ladder [ 68 ], Quality of Life Questionnaire (modified version) [ 69 ], Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale [ 70 ], Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) [ 71 ], Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS) [ 57 ], Life 3 Scale [ 72 ], General Questionnaire for Adolescents [ 73 ], and Rating of Global Life Satisfaction (RGLS) [ 71 ]. Finally, the global measures of happiness were investigated using the World Health Organization—Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5 WBI) [ 74 ]), Berne Questionnaire of Subjective Well-Being/Youth form (BSW/Y) [ 75 ], Multidimensional Scale for the Measurement of Subjective Well-being of Anguas-Plata and Reyes-Lagunes (EMMBSAR) [ 76 ], and Emotional Well-Being Scale (EWS) [ 77 ].

3.1.2. Family Functioning Measures

Family functioning and relationships were evaluated using nine measures, including self-report questionnaires (12 articles) and interview assessments ( n = 1). Of the self-report measures of family functioning, the most frequently used were the Family Assessment Instrument (FAI) [ 78 ] ( n = 7), Family Assessment Device (FAD) [ 23 ] ( n = 6), Self-Report Family Instrument (SFI) [ 79 ] ( n = 6), Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC) [ 80 ] ( n = 2), Family Relationships Scale [ 81 ] ( n = 2), and Family Relationship subscale of the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB) [ 82 ] ( n = 2).

Less frequently used measures ( n = 1) included the Brief Family Function Questionnaire (BFFQ) [ 83 ], Family APGAR Index [ 84 ], Family Dynamics Measure (FDM II) [ 85 ], Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS) [ 86 ], Father/Mother Involvement Scale [ 87 ], and Relationship with Father/Mother Questionnaire (RFMQ) [ 88 ]. The only qualitative measure of family functioning was the Adolescent Interview Schedule [ 89 ], which measures the perceived family environment and the parent–adolescent relationship. Finally, some studies used specially-designed measures to investigate the quality of family relationships (e.g., [ 90 , 91 ]).

The investigated studies assessed specific family dimensions: (a) family cohesion and adaptability, (b) family communication and satisfaction, and (c) family conflict. Family cohesion and adaptability were evaluated using the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES II, [ 92 ]; FACES III, [ 93 ]; FACES IV; [ 94 , 95 ]), Colorado Self-Report of Family Functioning Inventory (CSRFFI) [ 96 ], Family Environment Scale (FES) [ 96 ], and Brief Family Relationship Scale [ 97 ]. Only one study measuring family cohesion used a graphical method, applying the Pictorial Representation Index [ 98 ].

Family communication and satisfaction were assessed using the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale [ 31 ], Attitudes and Behaviors Survey (A&B) [ 99 ], Family Satisfaction subscale of the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Adolescents (MLSSA) [ 100 ], Family Satisfaction subscale of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) [ 70 ], Family Satisfaction subscale of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) [ 71 ], Satisfaction with Family Life Scale (SWFLS; Based on SWLS [ 67 ]), Satisfaction with Family Relationships (adaptation of a scale proposed by Cantril Ladder [ 68 ]), Satisfaction with Family subscale of the General Domain Satisfaction Index [ 101 ], Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL) [ 102 ], Family Life Satisfaction Scale (FLSS) [ 103 ], Satisfaction with Different Life Domains [ 104 ], General Family Satisfaction subscale of the Quality of Family Interaction Scale [ 105 ], and the Adolescent Interview Schedule (with the latter representing the only qualitative measure) [ 89 ].

Finally, family conflict was investigated using the Father-Adolescent Conflict Scale (FACS), Mother-Adolescent Conflict Scale (MACS) [ 106 ], Family Conflicts Scale [ 107 ], Aversive Parent-Child Interactions subscale of the Youth Everyday Social Interactions and Mood measure [ 108 ], Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI) [ 109 ], and Family Conflict subscale of the Brief Family Relationship Scale [ 97 ]. Only one study measured daily family conflict by adapting items from the Family Environment Scale [ 96 ].

3.2. Family Dimensions Predicting Happiness

Regarding the first theme ( n = 91), family dimensions (i.e., cohesion and communication) were found to strongly predict children’s and adolescents’ levels of happiness. Three interconnected subdimensions characterized this theme: family cohesion and adaptability, family satisfaction and communication, and family conflict ( Table 1 ).

3.2.1. Family Cohesion and Adaptability

In the selected studies ( n = 21), family cohesion—reflecting the strength of the family bond—was positively correlated with both the affective (i.e., positive affect and emotions) and the cognitive components (i.e., life satisfaction) of children’s and adolescents’ happiness [ 77 , 110 , 111 , 112 ]. Adolescents from families with higher cohesion reported a more positive mood and a higher level of happiness [ 111 , 113 ]. The affective component of happiness was positively correlated with family cohesion and closeness [ 25 , 114 ]. Feeling close to family members, doing things with family members, and sharing interests and hobbies with family members were also associated with happiness, especially in boys [ 25 ].

Children’s and adolescents’ happiness was positively correlated with family cohesion and intimacy [ 7 , 28 , 44 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 ]. Therefore, children who perceived a less cohesive atmosphere at home reported lower life satisfaction and higher negative affect [ 121 ], which precipitated negative thoughts towards people and events (i.e., hostility). Therefore, increased life satisfaction and low negative affect might help children to cope with adverse events [ 111 ]. In addition, Song et al. (2018) [ 44 ] found that self-esteem mediated the relationship between family cohesion and life satisfaction.

Happiness had a significantly positive correlation with family adaptability [ 20 ]—defined as the quality and expression of leadership and organization, role relationships, and rules and negotiations within the family [ 95 ]—from the perspectives of both children and parents [ 27 ]. Again, adolescents’ perceptions of family flexibility were positively associated with their happiness [ 122 , 123 ]. Although most studies reported that cohesion and flexibility were correlated with higher levels of happiness in children, Verrastro et al. (2020) [ 27 ] found that family variables were not significantly predictive of children’s happiness.

3.2.2. Family Conflict

The examined studies highlighted that parent–child conflict ( n = 17) strongly negatively predicted children’s and adolescents’ positive affect [ 77 , 124 , 125 ] and perceived happiness [ 126 ]. Adolescents felt less happy and satisfied on days of intense conflict with parents [ 113 ], and adequate parental warmth moderated and decreased the negative effect on children’s happiness and well-being [ 124 ]. Furthermore, parent–adolescent conflict was associated with low life satisfaction of children and adolescents [ 33 , 46 , 89 , 114 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 ], from the perspectives of both parents and children [ 131 ]. Even in late adolescence, happiness negatively correlated with family conflict before college [ 132 ].

Family conflict directly affected emotional happiness (i.e., life satisfaction and positive emotions) [ 77 , 127 , 133 ] during late adolescence. Indeed, one study found that satisfaction with life buffered the harmful effects of family conflict among undergraduate students [ 132 ]. However, other studies did not reveal a statistically-significant correlation between children’s happiness and parent–child conflict [ 33 , 134 ].

Adolescent gender moderated between- and within-family (i.e., daily cohesion and conflict) effects on mood, and the interaction between daily conflict and adolescent gender was significantly correlated with positive mood. One study found that, relative to girls, boys reported significantly lower levels of happiness in the context of family conflict [ 113 ]. However, another study found no gender differences among adolescents in the association between parent–adolescent conflict and adolescent psychological well-being [ 129 ].

3.2.3. Family Communication and Satisfaction

In the selected studies ( n = 13), mother–adolescent and father–adolescent communication were positively associated with both the affective component (i.e., positive affect) and the cognitive component (i.e., life satisfaction) of adolescents’ happiness [ 30 , 135 ]. Children’s happiness and positive affect positively correlated with family communication [ 25 ], from both the children’s and parents’ perspectives [ 27 ]. Therefore, having family members who expressed their opinions and talked about their feelings was associated with positive affect [ 25 ].

Children’s and adolescents’ life satisfaction [ 20 , 136 , 137 ] and emotional well-being (i.e., happiness, positive affect, and life satisfaction) [ 30 ] correlated positively with family communication. Specifically, adolescents’ life satisfaction was positively associated with communicative openness with their father and mother [ 138 ] and negatively with offensive and avoidant communication with their parents [ 114 , 139 , 140 ]. Some research reported that positive (i.e., accessible, comprehensive, and satisfying) family communication significantly predicted life satisfaction [ 138 , 141 ]. Verrastro et al. (2020) [ 27 ] found an interaction between children’s gender and family communication, suggesting that, among female participants, having a family that practiced good communication was more strongly associated with higher levels of happiness.

Moreover, studies found positive correlations between family satisfaction ( n = 47) and happiness [ 142 , 143 , 144 ], identifying satisfaction with family life as the strongest predictor of overall life satisfaction, from childhood to adolescence [ 3 , 29 , 35 , 42 , 145 , 146 ]. In particular, family satisfaction correlated positively with both the affective component (i.e., positive affect and positive emotions) and the cognitive component (i.e., life satisfaction) of happiness [ 36 , 37 , 71 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 ]. Furthermore, family life satisfaction was positively associated with children’s positive affect [ 148 , 151 , 152 , 153 ] and happiness [ 38 , 126 ], from the perspectives of both children [ 1 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 ] and parents [ 27 , 73 , 168 , 169 ]. However, one study reported a non-significant positive correlation between happiness and family satisfaction [ 38 ].

The relation between family satisfaction and life satisfaction may be bidirectional. Indeed, one study showed that positive affect predicted high school students’ satisfaction with family life [ 151 ]. On the other hand, other studies identified family satisfaction as a significant predictor of life satisfaction [ 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 ]. For instance, some authors [ 36 , 149 ] found that high satisfaction with family life was related to a greater frequency and intensity of affective experiences of love, affection, joy, and happiness [ 174 ].

Sample Characteristics and Methods of Assessment of the Reviewed Studies Investigating Family Dimensions and Happiness ( n = 91).

Note. Happiness method: G = graphical assessment; S = self-report questionnaire. Happiness measure: ABS = Affect Balance Scale; PWBQ = Patients’ Well-Being Questionnaire for adolescents; BMSLSS = Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; CL = Cantril Ladder; EMMBSAR = Multidimensional Scale for the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being of Anguas-Plata and Reyes-Lagune; EWBS = Emotional Well-being Scale; GSL = Global Satisfaction with Life; GQA = General Questionnaire for Adolescents; HFS = Happiness Face Scale; HLTW = Happiness in the Last Two Weeks; HOL = Happiness Overall Life; HTOL = Happiness Taking into Account Overall Life; LS = Life Satisfaction; LSD = Life Satisfaction Domain; L3S = Life 3 Scale; OLS = Overall Life Satisfaction; MLSS = Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect Scale; PAS = Positive Affect Scale; PHS = Piers-Harris Children’s Concept Scale 2; PHAS = Perceived Happiness Status; PNA = Positive and Negative Affect; PNAA = Scale of Positive and Negative Affects for Adolescents; POMS = Profile of Mood States; QLQ = Quality of Life Questionnaire; RCA = Russell’s Core Affect; RGLS = Rating of Global Life Satisfaction; SLSS = Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; SWB = Subjective Well-Being; SWLS = Satisfaction with Life Scale; WHO-5 WBI = World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index. Family Method: I = interview assessments; P/S = parent and self-report; S = self-report. Family measures: A&B = Attitudes and Behaviors survey; AIS = Adolescent Interview Schedule; BFRS = Brief Family Relationship Scale; BMSLSS = Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; CSRFFI = Colorado Self-Report of Family Functioning Inventory; FACES = Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales; FC = Family Conflict; FCC = Family Conflict Climate; FCS = Family Conflict Scale; FCLQ = Family Closeness Questions; FCQ = Family Communication Questions; FCSFR = Family Communication Subscale of Family Relationships; FES = Family Environment Scale; FLSS = Family Life Satisfaction Scale; F/MACS = Father/Mother–Adolescent Conflict Scale; FSD = Family Satisfaction Domain; FSS = Family Satisfaction Scale; GDSI = General Domain Satisfaction Index; ISCWeB = International Survey of Children’s Well-Being; LDS = Life Domains Satisfaction; MLSSA = Family Satisfaction subscale of the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Adolescents; MSLSS = Multidimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale; NRI = Network of Relationship Inventory; PACS = Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale; PCI = Parent-Child Intimacy; PRI = Pictorial Representation Index; QFIS = Quality of Family Interaction Scale; QFR = Quality of Family Relationships; SDDC = Satisfaction with Different Developmental Contexts; SDLD = Satisfaction with Different Life Domains; SWF = Satisfaction with Family; SWFaL = Satisfaction with Family Life; SWFLS = Satisfaction with Family Life Scale; SWFR = Satisfaction with Family Relationships; YESIMM = Aversive Parent–Child Interactions subscale of the Youth Everyday Social Interactions and Mood Measure. Research design: C = cross-sectional study; D = derived from a longitudinal study (one wave of a longitudinal study); F = 1-year follow-up study; L = longitudinal study; V = validation study of measure. Pub = published; * = Additional data retrieved from authors. ns = not specified.

3.3. Global Family Functioning, Environmental Variables, and Happiness

The impact of global family functioning and family environmental variables (i.e., family relationships and family dynamics) on happiness was supported by a large number of studies ( n = 39). Most articles ( Table 2 ) specifically discussed the impact of dysfunctional family functioning on happiness, from both the parents’ and children’s perspectives. Many studies showed that adequate and adaptive family functioning correlated positively with higher levels of happiness [ 18 , 24 , 134 , 136 , 174 , 179 , 180 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 ], considering both affective and cognitive components [ 22 , 43 , 185 ]. Furthermore, some studies showed that family environment and happiness correlated with adolescents’ gender and age [ 46 , 181 , 186 ]. Only one study found no significant relation between family functioning and adolescents’ happiness [ 187 ].

Children’s and adolescents’ global happiness correlated positively with family relationships [ 12 , 90 , 91 , 188 , 189 , 190 , 191 , 192 , 193 , 194 , 195 , 196 , 197 ]. Positive relationships within the family strongly predicted increased subjective happiness [ 172 , 198 , 199 ] and low depressive symptoms. Children who reported more daily activities with family members reported higher levels of happiness, regardless of the type of activity (e.g., talking, playing, learning together). Studies also indicated that adolescents’ perceptions of high mutuality and stability and a lack of severe problems in the family predicted their global satisfaction [ 1 , 200 ]. Studies further suggested that perceived good relationships in the family helped adolescents to develop feelings of freedom, love, and happiness [ 172 , 194 , 198 , 199 ].

Sociodemographic Variables: Age, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status

Sociodemographic variables (e.g., age, gender, socioeconomic status) represent a subtheme of environmental factors associated with happiness ( n = 21). The well-being of children and adolescents primarily depended on the closeness of their relationships with family members and, particularly, their parents. Children reported more satisfaction with their family relationships [ 198 ] relative to adolescents [ 43 , 146 ]. However, one study found no age or gender differences in the interaction between life satisfaction and family functioning [ 191 ]. Young people who perceived a higher quality parent–child relationship had greater and more stable life satisfaction from middle (i.e., aged 14–16 years) to late adolescence (i.e., aged 17–18 years) [ 197 ].

The negative correlation between family functioning and life satisfaction was affected by gender differences. Girls perceived less familial dysfunction relative to boys [ 46 ]. One study found that family satisfaction was the only significant predictor of girls’ life satisfaction [ 37 ]. Another study showed that boys with high overall satisfaction reported high stability and reciprocity and fewer problems in the family [ 200 ]. However, other studies found no gender differences in the association between these variables [ 136 , 179 , 201 ]. Only one study found no correlation between family functioning and the life satisfaction of adolescent boys from low-income families [ 202 ].

Shek (1998) [ 89 ] showed that adolescents’ life satisfaction correlated with the perceived family atmosphere (i.e., family happiness and family interactions), parent–adolescent relationship, and adolescent–parent communication at both data collection points (i.e., one year apart), regardless of gender. Thus, for both boys and girls, greater life satisfaction was associated with a higher level of perceived happiness in the family and more frequent positive conversations within the family. Some studies revealed that adolescents with a more positive family environment displayed greater happiness and life satisfaction [ 89 , 195 , 196 ]. Other studies revealed that the link between family functioning and life satisfaction was significantly stronger among adolescent girls, compared to adolescent boys [ 24 , 180 ].

Concerning socioeconomic status, Shek (2002) [ 177 ] showed that family functioning was more strongly related to adolescent adaptation among economically disadvantaged adolescents relative to non-economically disadvantaged adolescents. This suggests that family functioning may be associated with better adaptation in high-risk adolescents [ 22 , 161 ]. One study found that satisfaction with family functioning predicted the happiness of rural-urban migrant children—a subgroup with worse self-rated family financial situations [ 203 ].

Sample Characteristics and Methods of Assessment of the Reviewed Studies Investigating Global Family Functioning, Environment Variables, and Happiness ( n = 39).

Note. Happiness method: S = self-report questionnaire. Happiness measure: BSW/Y = Berne Questionnaire of Subjective Well-Being/Youth form; CHI = Chinese Happiness Inventory; HS = Happiness Scale; LSI = Life Satisfaction Indicator; LSS = Life Satisfaction Scale; MSLSS = Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; OHI = Oxford Happiness Inventory; OLS = Overall Life Satisfaction; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect Scale; SHS = Subjective Happiness Scale; SLSS = Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; SWBS = Subjective Well-Being Scale; SWLS = Satisfaction with Life Scale. Family Method: I = interview assessments; P/S = parent and self-report; S = self-report. Family measure: AIS = Adolescent Interview Schedule; BASC = Behavior Assessment System for Children-Self-Report-Adolescent Form; BFFQ = Brief Family Function Questionnaire; FAD = Family Assessment Device; FAI = Family Assessment Instrument; FAPGARI = Family APGAR Index; FDM II = Family Dynamics Measure; F/MIS = Father/Mother Involvement Scale; FOS = Family-of-Origin Scale; FRS = Family Relationship Scale; FRQ = Family Relationship Quality; ISCWeB = International Survey of Children’s Well-Being; MSLSS = Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; PCRQ = Parent-Child Relationship Quality; PIS = Parent Involvement Scale; PPAR = Perceived Parent–Adolescent Relationship; RFMQ = Relationship with Father/Mother Questionnaire; SFI = Self-Report Family Instrument. Research design: C = cross-sectional; D = derived from a longitudinal study (one wave of a longitudinal study); L = longitudinal; N = cross-national. Publication status: Pub = published; Un = not published; * = additional data retrieved from authors. ns = not specified.

3.4. Parental Differences

Parent gender was a central factor in studies investigating the association between happiness and family functioning in children and adolescents ( n = 17) ( Table 3 ). One study revealed that perceived family competence was associated with family members’ perceptions of parental dyadic qualities and individual functioning [ 131 ]. In particular, regardless of the informant (i.e., father, mother, and child), child satisfaction correlated negatively with family dysfunction [ 181 ]. No differences emerged between parents and children regarding the impact of family conflict [ 129 ] and family satisfaction on children’s happiness [ 169 ]. Finally, one study indicated no significant differences between parents and children in the association between children’s happiness and family functioning (i.e., cohesion, adaptability, communication, and family satisfaction) [ 27 ].

While the investigated studies highlighted differences between mothers and fathers, the results were contradictory and heterogeneous. Some studies reported that maternal understanding was closely related to adolescent life satisfaction [ 145 ] and overall adolescent satisfaction [ 200 ]. Adolescents with a positive relationship with their mother showed greater happiness than those with a poor mother–child relationship; however, this association was not significant for the father–child relationship [ 43 ].

Other research found that the father–child relationship was more closely correlated with indicators of adolescents’ happiness than the mother–child relationship [ 12 , 73 , 129 ]. Furthermore, the perceived father–adolescent relationship (but not the mother–adolescent relationship) correlated positively with children’s happiness [ 177 ]. For instance, Zhao et al. (2015) showed that children’s life satisfaction correlated positively with father–child cohesion, but not mother–child cohesion [ 178 ]. Although the involvement of both the father and the mother contributed significantly and independently to children’s happiness, the involvement of the father had a more substantial effect than the involvement of the mother [ 201 ].

Children’s and adolescents’ life satisfaction was positively correlated with parent–child relationship qualities [ 91 ]. The father–adolescent relationship correlated positively with positive affect and life satisfaction, while the mother–adolescent relationship correlated positively with life satisfaction and only weakly with positive affect [ 12 ]. However, one study showed that only the perceived father–adolescent relationship correlated positively with children’s life satisfaction [ 177 ].

Age and gender differences emerged in mother–child and father–child communication. Adolescents were significantly more satisfied with their communication with their mother than their communication with their father [ 30 ]. One study showed that girls reported greater openness with their mother and boys with their father [ 140 ]. Boys reported fewer problems and more open communication with their father, relative to girls [ 138 ], while no gender differences emerged in their communication with their mother [ 30 ]. Regarding age differences, early adolescents (i.e., aged 12–13 years) reported more positive open communication with their mother and their father relative to mid-adolescents (i.e., aged 14–16 years). In addition, communication problems with both parents increased with age. Overall, adolescents were generally satisfied with their communication with their parents (particularly their mother), and early adolescents were more positive about their communication with their parents compared to mid-adolescents [ 30 ].

Sample Characteristics and Methods of Assessment of the Reviewed Studies Investigating the Parental Differences ( n = 17).

Note. Happiness method: G = graphical assessment; S = self-report questionnaire. Happiness measure: ABS = Affect Balance Scale; BSW/Y = Berne Questionnaire of Subjective Well-Being/Youth form; CL = Cantril Ladder; GQA = General Questionnaire for Adolescents; HFS = Happiness Face Scale; HS = Happiness Scale; LSS = Life Satisfaction Scale; OLS = Overall Life Satisfaction; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect Scale; PHS = Piers-Harris Children’s Concept Scale 2; SLSS = Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; SWLS = Satisfaction with Life Scale. Family Method: P/S = parent and self-report; S = self-report. Family measures: F/MACS = Father/Mother–Adolescent Conflict Scale; FAI = Family Assessment Instrument; FDM II = Family Dynamics Measure; F/MIS = Father/Mother Involvement Scale; FRQ = Family Relationship Quality; PACS = Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale; PPAR = Perceived Parent–Adolescent Relationship; QFIS = Quality of Family Interaction Scale; RFMQ = Relationship with Father/Mother Questionnaire; SFI = Self-Report Family Instrument; SWFaL = Satisfaction with Family Life; SWFR = Satisfaction with Family Relationships. Source of information (info). Research design: C = cross-sectional; D = derived from a longitudinal study (one wave of a longitudinal study); L = longitudinal; N = cross-national. Publication status: Pub = published. ns = not specified.

3.5. Longitudinal Studies and Predictions of Happiness over Time

Finally, the last theme ( n = 13) highlighted the relevance of assessing the relation between happiness and family functioning longitudinally ( Table 4 ). Some of the studies showed that children’s and adolescents’ life satisfaction correlated with family functioning and parental relationships over time [ 22 , 24 , 43 , 89 , 180 , 181 , 199 ]. In particular, one longitudinal study suggested that the relation between adolescents’ perceived family functioning and their psychological happiness was bidirectional [ 24 ].

Generally, the results showed that adolescent psychological happiness at Time 1 was related to perceived family functioning at Time 2. Therefore, children’s life satisfaction predicted children’s family functioning over time [ 181 ]. Moreover, the longitudinal linkage between family functioning and adolescent adjustment was stronger for adolescent girls than for adolescent boys [ 24 ]. At the same time, some studies revealed that adolescents with more poorly perceived family functioning at Time 1 (i.e., negative family environment) had poorer life satisfaction at Time 2 [ 22 , 89 , 180 ]. Notably, a negative family atmosphere, more significant family dysfunction, and more parent–adolescent conflict predicted a negative trend in adolescents’ happiness over time [ 89 ]. Overall, youth with a more positive family environment in middle adolescence (i.e., aged 14–16 years) reported higher levels of happiness during late adolescence (i.e., aged 17–18 years) [ 197 ].

Regarding the different dimensions of family functioning, studies found that family cohesion, but not perceived family adaptability, significantly predicted changes in adolescents’ happiness over time [ 110 ]. Family cohesion and open communication with parents at Time 1 positively correlated with happiness at Time 2 [ 175 , 176 ]. Furthermore, increased family cohesion was associated with increased life satisfaction and positive affection [ 110 ], which may have promoted happiness over time [ 175 ]. Studies also showed that parent–adolescent conflict predicted changes in adolescents’ psychological happiness over time. Thus, more significant parent–adolescent conflict at Time 1 tended to be associated with lower adolescent life satisfaction at Time 2 [ 89 , 129 , 181 ]. One study showed that children’s life satisfaction and family cohesion remained significantly related, despite gradually deteriorating during early and middle adolescence (i.e., aged 13–15 years). Youth from more cohesive families often had higher life satisfaction when they entered middle school [ 117 ], while pre-adolescents who reported higher life satisfaction at the beginning of middle school (i.e., aged 11 years) tended to experience a slower decline in family cohesion during adolescence.

Sample Characteristics and Methods of Assessment of the Longitudinal Studies ( n = 13).

Note. Happiness method: S = self-report questionnaire. Happiness measures: LS = Life Satisfaction; OLS = Overall Life Satisfaction; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect Scale; SLSS = Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale; SWLS = Satisfaction with Life Scale. Family Method: I = interview assessments; P/S = parent and self-report; S = self-report. Family measures: AIS = Adolescent Interview Schedule; BASC = Behavior Assessment System for Children-Self-Report-Adolescent Form; FACES = Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales; F/MACS = Father/Mother–Adolescent Conflict Scale; FAI = Family Assessment Instrument; PACS = Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale; PCRQ = Parent-Child Relationship Quality; SFI = Self-Report Family Instrument. Source of information (info). Research design: L = longitudinal. Publication status: Pub = published. ns = not specified.

4. Discussion

A total of 124 studies were systematically reviewed to identify relevant dimensions of family functioning associated with children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Four themes emerged from a review of these studies: (1) family dimensions and happiness; (2) global family functioning (i.e., family functioning and family relationships), environmental variables and happiness; (3) parental differences; (4) longitudinal studies.

Regarding the first theme, 91 studies examined the relationship between family dimensions (i.e., family cohesion and adaptability, family satisfaction and communication, and family conflict) and children’s and adolescents’ happiness. The results highlighted that family cohesion significantly predicted changes in happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect over time [ 77 , 113 , 117 , 175 ]. In other words, increased family cohesion and adaptability were associated with higher levels of happiness in children and adolescents [ 20 , 110 , 122 ]. Thus, positive family dimensions may contribute directly to children’s and adolescents’ sense of happiness, contentment, and general life satisfaction [ 111 , 121 ].

Furthermore, in both boys and girls, positive communication with the mother and the father and high family satisfaction were directly associated with increased happiness [ 25 , 138 , 170 , 174 ]. The possibility to express oneself freely at home (i.e., to speak openly about any subject) was associated with greater life satisfaction for adolescents [ 114 ]. Adolescents who communicated effectively with their families probably felt that they could share their points of view and feelings openly and sincerely with their parents, and they may have interpreted this communication as a sign of parental support, trust, and closeness [ 30 , 140 ]. This may be especially true for girls, for whom the influence of family communication on happiness was slightly greater [ 27 , 171 ], possibly due to gender differences in cultural norms and socialization. Different parental socialization styles based on child gender [ 204 ] may also explain why communication tends to be more open between mothers and daughters and between fathers and sons [ 140 ].

On the other hand, communication problems and higher levels of family conflict were associated with lower happiness for children and adolescents [ 126 , 128 , 139 ]. When communication was open and trouble-free, children and adolescents were more likely to report satisfaction with their families, positive affect, and low levels of conflict, relative to children and adolescents who reported less communication with parents [ 30 ]. This finding suggests that family relationships which are perceived to be good may help children and adolescents develop feelings of freedom, love, and happiness [ 172 ], underlining that family dimensions play an essential role in influencing children’s and adolescents’ happiness [ 46 ].

As regards the second theme, 39 studies examined the association between global family functioning (i.e., family functioning and family relationships), family environment variables, and children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Specifically, a more positive perception of family functioning was related to better emotional well-being in children and adolescents [ 184 , 185 , 191 , 203 ]. Furthermore, regardless of the cultural background, children’s family relationships influenced their levels of happiness [ 1 , 196 ] more significantly than any other variable. Bad parent–child relationships were usually accompanied by lower levels of family satisfaction and happiness [ 145 ]. Thus, feeling happy at home may contribute to both boys’ and girls’ happiness [ 174 ].

The reported studies provided support for the association between global family functioning and happiness during adolescence, even though adolescents consolidate new social relationships with friends and partners during this developmental period [ 36 ]. The family is the context in which the first emotional relationships develop, and where children learn to respect and establish positive relationships of love and respect for others [ 194 ]. Parents in a well-functioning family can provide emotional support to children, allowing them to express their emotions. A warm and open family communicates happiness to children [ 185 ], giving them a sense of security, emotional connection, and trust [ 178 ].

A subtheme of environmental factors associated with happiness concerned differences in sociodemographic variables. Some family factors predicted individual differences in happiness and life satisfaction during adolescence. In particular, more positive family environments were associated with greater happiness [ 191 , 197 ]. Furthermore, the findings supported both stability and change in perceived levels, and the relevance of certain life satisfaction domains, among children and adolescents. Young people who perceived a higher quality parent–child relationship had elevated and stable life satisfaction from middle adolescence (i.e., aged 14–16 years) to late adolescence (i.e., aged 17–18 years) [ 197 ].

Other studies found that young people’s life satisfaction was negatively correlated with age in all global and life (i.e., family satisfaction) domains [ 48 , 146 ]. The decrease in happiness levels during this period suggests that pre-adolescence may be a stressful phase of development, during which cognitive, physical, and emotional changes strongly influence young people’s overall sense of happiness [ 27 ]; family members may play an essential role in accompanying them through these changes. In particular, the decline in both family cohesion and happiness during early and middle adolescence (i.e., aged 12–16 years) may be explained by both the multiple challenges that adolescents face and the more significant conflict that they tend to experience with parents, which tend to result in less participation in family activities; this may reduce adolescents’ perceived family cohesion and life satisfaction [ 117 ].

Regarding the third theme identified, 17 studies explored parental gender differences in the association between happiness and family functioning. The selected studies produced contradictory results: a single study reported that a positive mother–child relationship, but not a father–child relationship, was associated with greater happiness in children [ 43 ]. However, six studies found significant correlations with the father–child relationship and not the mother–child relationship [ 12 , 73 , 129 , 177 , 178 , 201 ]. These results suggest that relationships with both mothers and fathers are relevant to children’s and adolescents’ happiness.

However, the reviewed studies found that the father–child relationship was more closely related to indicators of happiness in adolescents than the mother–child relationship [ 12 , 73 , 129 ]. Indeed, the father–child relationship, father–child cohesion, and father–child conflict predicted children’s life satisfaction, while no equivalent associations were found for the mother [ 129 , 177 , 178 ]. These results suggest that the effect of father–child proximity on children’s and adolescents’ development is not related to mother–child proximity [ 178 ].

However, these studies, which suggest that fathers have the most significant impact on children’s and adolescents’ well-being, contradict the literature showing that mothers tend to be more significant in determining child developmental outcomes. While fathers tend to spend less time with children relative to mothers [ 205 ], they may be more committed and dedicated to children when they do spend time together, focusing on the specific situation at hand. Children may perceive their father’s behavior as an essential aspect of their relationship that increases their happiness over the long term [ 73 ]. Future studies should investigate the differences between mothers and fathers and the different perspectives between parents and children, to better understand these aspects.

Finally, the last theme that emerged (13 studies) highlighted the importance of evaluating the relation between happiness and family functioning over time, from a predictive perspective. Several studies showed that, regardless of the informant (i.e., father, mother, or child) and the sequence of data collection (i.e., simultaneously vs. longitudinally), children’s happiness was correlated with family functioning [ 89 , 181 ]. The results of both the simultaneous and longitudinal studies consistently showed that the cognitive component of happiness (i.e., life satisfaction) was significantly associated with family functioning and family relationships [ 22 , 43 , 199 ]. In addition, the longitudinal studies suggested that the relation between perceived family functioning and adolescents’ happiness may be bidirectional [ 24 ]; therefore, it is not possible to confirm a univocal causal link between these factors.

Regarding subdimensions of family functioning, studies found that family cohesion [ 110 , 175 ], family communication [ 176 ], and parent–adolescent conflict [ 89 , 129 ] significantly predicted changes in adolescent happiness over time: more significant parent–adolescent conflict at Time 1 tended to be associated with a decline in adolescent life satisfaction at Time 2 [ 89 ], and greater family cohesion and open communication with parents tended to be associated with increased life satisfaction over time [ 117 , 176 ]. Also, concerning family conflict, the data showed that the relation between parent–adolescent conflict and adolescent emotional well-being could be bidirectional [ 89 ]. Future studies should further investigate the causal links between individual and family variables.

In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that family dimensions may influence the affective and cognitive components of children’s and adolescents’ happiness [ 30 , 46 , 77 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 124 , 125 , 135 ]. In particular, the reviewed findings demonstrate the significance of family bonds and support for adolescents, indicating that, when family members provide help, affection, and understanding, children and adolescents experience multiple benefits that undoubtedly affect their development of positive psychological experiences [ 145 , 200 ].

Limitations and Strengths of the Studies, and Future Research Directions

Despite increasing research interest in the relation between happiness and family functioning (as evidenced by the growing number of publications in recent years), the investigated studies suffered from some methodological limitations. First, the use of self-report measures may have exposed the research to social desirability bias. Future studies should employ a multi-informant and multi-method methodology combining qualitative measures (i.e., structured or semi-structured interviews and observational measures) or multi-informant questionnaires (i.e., parent and teacher reports) with self-reports. Second, the use of cross-sectional designs did not enable causal links to be drawn between variables. Thus, future studies should implement longitudinal procedures to better understand the factors that contribute to the happiness of children and adolescents. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the samples (with respect to, e.g., geographical scope, size, and age range) limit the generalizability of the results.

The lack of a coherent theoretical model to define the construct of happiness represents a significant gap in the literature. This may explain the variety in both measurement tools and operationalizations of the construct in the investigated studies. Compounding this, some of the investigated studies did not clearly define happiness, positive affect, or life satisfaction. Therefore, future research should explicitly make the psychological construct operational. Additionally, future research should explore the association between attachment styles and children’s and adolescents’ happiness during development.

A further limitation of the present research is the possibility that methodological biases may have affected the study selection, due to the arbitrariness of the constructs and the interpretation of the reviewers. However, two independent evaluators excluded all articles that deviated from a precise definition of happiness or that analyzed family factors other than family functioning. Thus, attempts were made to target the constructs of interest.

A future research direction might be to examine overall effect sizes, which were not addressed in the present study. Moreover, as the present work focused on the relation between happiness and family functioning in non-clinical samples, an equivalent analysis in clinical samples may provide important new insights. Finally, the present review suggests the relevance of the father–child relationship, father–child cohesion, and father–child conflict in predicting children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Future research should further investigate the differences between fathers and mothers, using multi-informant and mixed-methods procedures and a longitudinal approach.

However, the present work also has significant strengths, including compliance with a rigorous systematic review protocol with clearly-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Indeed, a careful research strategy carried out by two independent evaluators was employed to acquire all relevant articles. Another strength is the high reviewer reliability during the screening process, reflecting a transparent selection methodology. Uniquely, the review represents the first study to synthesize the literature on happiness in the family context during development, filling a significant gap in the literature pertaining to the possible impact of family functioning on children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Finally, the review identified heterogeneous measurements of happiness and family functioning during development, suggesting that future studies should develop a more standardized approach to obtain more consistent results.

5. Conclusions

The present review included studies that investigated the relationship between family functioning and happiness. The reviewed studies found a positive relation between happiness and family functioning in different cultures and age groups. Thus, family factors seem to play an essential role in increasing or diminishing the happiness of children and adolescents. However, many aspects remained largely unexplored, and more research is needed to determine how family variables (and particularly family functioning) affect children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Finally, more longitudinal studies are required to test causal relationships. Increased evidence of the potential direction of causality of these variables would extend our knowledge of happiness, as it is currently unclear whether family variables affect levels of happiness, positive affect, and life satisfaction, and whether these relationships are bidirectional.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.B., F.I. and J.P. methodology, R.B., F.I. and J.P; validation, R.B., F.I. and J.P., formal analysis, R.B., F.I. and J.P; investigation, F.I.; resources, R.B., F.I. and J.P.; data curation, R.B., F.I. and J.P.; writing—original draft preparation, F.I.; writing—review and editing, R.B., F.I. and J.P.; supervision, R.B. and J.P.; project administration, R.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Note: References [ 1 , 3 , 7 , 12 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 71 , 73 , 77 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 101 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 , 175 , 176 , 177 , 178 , 179 , 180 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 , 185 , 186 , 187 , 188 , 189 , 190 , 191 , 192 , 193 , 194 , 195 , 196 , 197 , 198 , 199 , 200 , 201 , 202 , 203 ] are the studies included in the systematic review.

Essay on Happiness for Children and Students

Happiness is a treasure that everyone seeks in life. It’s the warm feeling that fills our hearts when we laugh, smile, and feel content. In this essay, we will explore the concept of happiness, why it is important, how to achieve it, and why it matters in our lives.

Defining Happiness

Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion. It is often described as a state of well-being and contentment, where positive emotions like joy, love, and satisfaction prevail. Happiness is not a permanent state but a collection of moments that make life enjoyable.

The Importance of Happiness

Happiness is essential for our overall well-being. Studies have shown that happy people tend to live longer, have better physical health, and are more resilient in the face of challenges. Moreover, they have stronger social connections and are more successful in various aspects of life.

For example, a research study published in the journal “Psychological Science” found that happier individuals tend to have better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of heart disease. This highlights the tangible benefits of happiness for our physical health.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The pursuit of happiness is a lifelong journey. It involves finding joy in everyday moments, building positive relationships, and cultivating a positive mindset. It’s not about constantly chasing after something better but rather appreciating what we have and who we are.

Renowned psychologist Martin Seligman, known for his work in positive psychology, emphasizes that happiness is not just about the absence of negative emotions but the presence of positive ones. It’s about developing strengths, resilience, and a sense of purpose in life.

The Role of Gratitude

Gratitude is a powerful tool in the pursuit of happiness. When we take time to appreciate the people and things in our lives, we experience a deep sense of contentment. Gratitude shifts our focus from what we lack to what we have.

Studies have shown that practicing gratitude can lead to increased happiness and life satisfaction. For example, a study published in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology” found that individuals who kept gratitude journals reported greater life satisfaction and increased happiness.

Positive Relationships

Positive relationships are a cornerstone of happiness. Connecting with others, sharing experiences, and feeling loved and supported contribute significantly to our overall well-being. Healthy relationships provide emotional stability and a sense of belonging.

Psychologist Ed Diener, a pioneer in the field of subjective well-being, emphasizes the importance of social connections for happiness. He suggests that happy people tend to have strong and meaningful relationships with friends and family.

Pursuing Passions and Goals

Another key to happiness is pursuing our passions and setting meaningful goals. When we engage in activities we love and work toward achieving our dreams, we experience a sense of fulfillment and purpose. These pursuits bring a sense of accomplishment and joy to our lives.

For instance, the famous author J.K. Rowling once said, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” This quote reminds us of the importance of turning our dreams into reality and finding happiness in our journey towards achieving them.

Conclusion of Essay on Happiness

In conclusion, happiness is a vital aspect of our lives that contributes to our physical health, emotional well-being, and overall satisfaction. It is a journey that involves appreciating what we have, cultivating positive relationships, practicing gratitude, and pursuing our passions and goals.

Happiness is not a distant destination but a daily choice. By embracing happiness as a way of life, we can lead more fulfilling and joyful lives. So, let us cherish the moments of laughter, the warmth of love, and the contentment of gratitude as we continue our pursuit of happiness.

Also Check: List of 500+ Topics for Writing Essay

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Hidden Brain

Does having children make you happier.

Steve Inskeep

Shankar Vedantam

Academics have long believed that parenting is a driver of unhappiness, based in part on a 2004 study by Nobel prize-winning economist Danny Kahneman. But a new study disagrees with that theory.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

A block party during Carnival in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; 11 February 2024. Photo by Washington Alves/Reuters

Learning to be happier

In order to help improve my students’ mental health, i offered a course on the science of happiness. it worked – but why.

by Bruce Hood   + BIO

In 2018, a tragic period enveloped the University of Bristol, when several students killed themselves related to work stress. Suicide is usually the ultimate culmination of a crisis in mental health, but these students weren’t alone in feeling extreme pressure: across the campus there was a pervasive sense that the general student body was not coping with the demands of higher education. My own tutee students, whom I met on a regular basis, were reporting poor mental health or asking for extensions because they were unable to meet deadlines that were stressing them out. They were overly obsessed with marks and other performance outcomes, and this impacted not only on them, but also on the teaching and support staff who were increasingly dealing with alleviating student anxiety. Students wanted more support that most felt was lacking and, in an effort to deal with the issue, the university had invested heavily, making more provision for mental health services. The problem with this strategy, however, is that by the time someone seeks out professional services, they are already at a crisis point. I felt compelled to do something.

At the time, Bristol University was described in the British press as a ‘toxic’ environment, but this was an unfair label as every higher education institution was, and still is, experiencing a similar mental health crisis. Even in the Ivy League universities in the United States, there was a problem, as I discovered when I became aware of a course on positive psychology that had become the most popular at Yale in the spring of 2018. On reading about the course, I was somewhat sceptical that simple interventions could make much difference until I learned that Yale’s ‘Psychology and the Good Life’ course was being delivered by a colleague of mine, Laurie Santos, who I knew would not associate herself with anything flaky.

That autumn term of 2018, I decided to try delivering a free lunchtime series of lectures, ‘The Science of Happiness’, based on the Yale course. Even though this pilot was not credit-bearing, more than 500 students gave up their Wednesday lunchtimes to attend. That was unusual as, in my experience, students rarely give up time or expend effort to undertake activities unless they are awarded credit or incentives. There would be 10 lectures, and everyone was requested to fill in self-report questionnaires assessing various mental health dimensions both before and after the course, to determine whether there had been any impact and, if so, how much.

The Science of Happiness had clearly piqued interest as indicated by the audience size, but I was still nervous. This was not my area of academic expertise and there was heightened sensitivity following the media attention over recent tragic events on campus. What were the students’ expectations? Talking about mental health seemed hazardous. Would I trigger adverse reactions simply by discussing these issues?

D espite my initial reservations, the final feedback after the course ended was overwhelmingly positive. That was gratifying but, as a scientist, I like hard evidence. What would the questionnaires tell us? The analysis of the before and after scores revealed that there had been a 10-15 per cent positive increase in mental wellbeing across the different measures of wellbeing, anxiety and loneliness. That may not sound much but it was the average, and a significant impact in the field of interventions. Who wouldn’t want to be 15 per cent happier, healthier or wealthier? I was no longer a sceptic; I was a convert. I would stop focusing on developmental psychology, my own area of research, and concentrate on making students happier. Even a 15 per cent improvement might lead to a degree of prevention that was better than dealing with a student who was already struggling.

The following year, we launched a credit-bearing course for first-year students who had room in their curriculum schedule to take an open unit, which has now been running for five years. These psychoeducational courses are not new and predate my efforts by at least a decade. But what makes the Bristol psychoeducational course unique (and I believe this is still the case) is that we persuaded the university to allow a credit-bearing course that had no graded examinations but was accredited based on engagement alone. Not only was I convinced by compelling arguments for why graded assessment is the wrong way to educate, but it would have been hypocritical of me to lecture about the failings of an education system based solely on assessment, and then give students an exam to determine if they had engaged. Rather, engagement required regular weekly attendance, meeting in peer-mentored small groups, but also undertaking positive psychology exercises and journaling about their experiences so that we could track progress. Again, to test the impact of the course, students were asked to fill in the various psychometric questionnaires to give us an insight to impact.

Meditation stops you thinking negative thoughts. Not exactly a scientific explanation

We now have five years’ worth of data and have published peer-reviewed scientific papers on evaluation of the course. As with the initial pilot, the consistent finding is that there is, on average, a 10-15 per cent significant increase in positive mental wellbeing over the duration of the course. The course improves mental wellbeing but there are limitations. Our most recent analysis over the longer term shows that the positive benefits we generate during the course, and the two months after, are lost within a year, returning to previous baseline scores, unless the students maintain some of the recommended activities. However, in those students who kept practising at least one of the positive psychology interventions (PPIs) such as journaling, meditation, exercise, expressing gratitude or any of the other evidence-based activities, they maintained their benefits up to two years later.

Why do interventions work and why do they stop working? As to the first question, there are countless self-help books promoting PPIs, but the level of explanation is either missing or tends to be circular. Acts of kindness work because they make you feel better. Meditation calms the mind and stops you thinking negative thoughts. Not exactly a scientific explanation or revelation. Even though I had largely put my experimental work with children on hold because of the demands of teaching such a large course, I was still intellectually intrigued by the same basic theoretical question that has always motivated my research. What is the mechanism underlying positive psychology?

T here are several plausible hypotheses out there from established academics in the field that explain some of the activities, but they lack a unifying thread that I thought must be operating across the board. I started considering the wide and diverse range of PPIs to see if there was any discernible pattern that might suggest underlying mechanisms. Two years ago, I had an insight and I think the answer can be found in the way we focus on our self.

In my role as a developmental psychologist, I see change and continuity everywhere in relation to human thought and behaviour. For some time, I have been fascinated by the concept of the self and how it emerges but must change over the course of a lifetime. I believe earlier childhood notions lay the foundation for later cognition which is why development is so critical to understanding adults. My most recent work concentrated on how ownership and possessions play major roles in our concept of self, and I was particularly interested in acts of sharing among children. Specifically, we had completed a set of studies demonstrating that, when children are instructed to talk about themselves, they thought about their own possessions differently and became less willing to share with others. Emphasising their self had made these children more selfish. This got me thinking about the role of self-focus in happiness.

The most pernicious aspect of self-focus is the tendency to keep comparing ourselves to others

Infants start off with an egocentric view of the world – a term and concept introduced by the psychologist Jean Piaget. Egocentric individuals tend to perceive the world from their own perspective, and many studies have shown that young children are egocentric in the way they see the world, act, talk, think and behave with others. Normal development requires adopting a more allocentric – or other-based perspective in order to be accepted. The sense of self changes from early ebullient egocentrism to an increasing awareness of one’s relative position in the social order. Children may become more other-focused but that also includes unfavourable comparisons. They increasingly become self-aware and concerned about what others think about them – a concern that transitions into a preoccupation when they enter adolescence that never really goes away. As for adults, like many features of the human mind, earlier ways of thinking are never entirely abandoned. This is why our self-focus can become a ‘curse’, as the psychologist Mark Leary describes , feeding the inner critic who is constantly negatively evaluating our position in life.

One reason that self-focus can become a curse is that we are ignorant of the biases our brains operate with that lead us to make wrong decisions and comparisons. When it comes to happy choices, we want something because we think it will make us happy, but our predictions are inaccurate. We think events will be more impactful than they turn out to be, and we fail to appreciate how fast we get used to things, both good and bad. This is called a failure of affective forecasting which is why the psychologist Dan Gilbert explains that our tendency to ‘stumble on happiness’ is because our emotional predictions are so way off. We don’t take into consideration how future circumstances will differ because we focus on just one element and we also forget how quickly we adapt to even the most pleasurable experiences. But the most pernicious aspect of self-focus is the tendency to keep comparing ourselves to others who seem to be leading happier lives. Social media is full of images of delicious plates of food, celebrity friends, exotic holidays, luxurious products, amazing parties and just about anything that qualifies as worthy of posting to bolster one’s status. Is it any wonder that the individuals who are the most prone to social comparison are the ones who feel the worst after viewing social media? As Gore Vidal once quipped: ‘Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.’

If egocentric self-focus is problematic then maybe positive psychology works by altering our perspective to one that is more allocentric or ‘other-focused’? To do so is challenging because it is not easy to step out of ourselves under normal circumstances. Our stream of conscious awareness is from the first-person, or egocentric, perspective and, indeed, it is nigh-on-impossible to imagine an alternative version because our sensory systems, thought processes and representation of our selves are coded as such to enable us to interact within the world as coherent entities.

M any PPIs such as sharing, acts of kindness, gratitude letters or volunteering are clearly directed towards enriching the lives of others, but how can we explain the benefits of solitary practices where the self seems to be the focus of attention? The explanation lies with the self-representation circuitry in the brain known as the default mode network (DMN). One of the surprising discoveries from the early days of brain imaging is that, when we are not task-focused, rather than becoming inactive, the brain’s DMN goes into overdrive. Mind-wandering is commonly reported during bouts of DMN activity and, although that may be associated with positive daydreaming, we are also ruminating about unresolved problems that continue to concern us. According to one influential study that contacted people at random points of the day to ask them about what they were doing, what they were thinking and how they were feeling, people were more likely to be unhappy when their minds were wandering, which was about half of the waking day. Probably because they were focusing on their own predicaments.

If you focus on your problems, this can become difficult to control. There’s no point trying to stop yourself ruminating because the very act of trying not to think about a problem increases the likelihood that this becomes the very thought that occupies your mind. This was first described in an 1863 essay by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, when he observed the effect of trying not to think; he wrote: ‘Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute.’ My late colleague Dan Wegner would go on to study this phenomenon called ironic thought suppression , which he explained resulted from two mechanisms: the tendency to increase the strength of the representation of a thought by the act of trying to suppress it, and a corresponding increased vigilance to monitor when the thought comes to the fore in consciousness. Ironic thought suppression is one reason why it can be so difficult to fall asleep. This is why one of our recommended activities on our Science of Happiness course is to journal on a regular basis because this helps to process information in a much more controlled and objective way, rather than succumbing to the torment of automatic thinking.

Could the long-term benefits be something to do with altering the ego?

Other recommended activities that calibrate the level of self-focus also attenuate DMN activity. For example, mindfulness meditation advocates not trying to suppress spontaneous thoughts but rather deliberately turning attention to bodily sensations or external sounds. In this way, the spotlight of attention is directed away from the internal dialogue one is having with oneself. It is during such states that brain imaging studies reveal that various solitary interventions we recommend on the course – such as meditation or taking a walk in the country – are associated with lowered DMN activity and, correspondingly, less negative rumination. This is why achieving absorption or full immersion during optimal states of flow draws conscious awareness and attention out of egocentric preoccupation. To achieve states of flow, we recommend that students engage in activities that require a challenge that exceeds their skill level to an extent that they rise to the task, but do not feel overwhelmed by it. When individuals achieve flow states, their sense of self, and indeed time itself, appears to evaporate.

There are other more controversial ways to alter the egocentric self into one that is more allocentric. Currently, there is a growth in the use of psychedelics as a treatment for intractable depression and, so far, the initial findings from this emerging field are highly encouraging. One clinical study has shown that psychedelic-assisted therapy produced significant improvement in nearly three-quarters of patients who previously did not respond to conventional antidepressants. The primary mechanism of action of psychedelics is upon serotonin (5-HT 2A ) receptors within the DMN which, in turn, produce profound alterations of consciousness, including modulations in the sense of self, sensory perception and emotion. Could the long-term benefits be something to do with altering the ego? One of the most common reports from those who have undergone psychedelic-assisted therapy, aside from euphoria and vivid hallucinations, is a lasting, profound sense of connection to other people, the environment, nature and the cosmos. Across a variety of psychedelics, the sense of self becomes more interconnected, which is why a recent review concluded that there was consistent acute disruption in the resting state of the DMN.

I f chemically induced states of altered consciousness through psychedelics (which is currently still illegal in most places) is not your thing, then there are other ways to redress the balance between egocentrism and allocentrism. Engaging in group activities that generate synchronicity – such as rituals, dancing or singing in choirs – alter the sense of self and increase connection with others. But if group activities or psychedelic trips don’t work for you, then take a rocket trip. One of the most moving emotional and lasting experiences, known as ‘ the overview effect ’, occurs to those lucky individuals given the opportunity to view our planet from outer space. As the astronaut Edgar Mitchell described it, it creates an ‘explosion of awareness’ and an ‘overwhelming sense of oneness and connectedness … accompanied by an ecstasy … an epiphany.’

Back down on Earth, we can be happier when we simply acknowledge that we are all mortal, interconnected individuals who suffer personal losses and tragedies. No one’s life is perfect, and indeed you need to experience unhappiness in order recognise when things are going well. As the Stoic philosopher Epictetus put it: ‘Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.’ In other words, it’s not what happens to you, but how you respond, that matters, and that’s where positive psychology can make a difference – but only if you keep reminding yourself to get out of your own head.

Happiness hack

How to shift your egocentric self to one that is more allocentric using language

Consider a problem that is currently bothering you. A real problem – not a hypothetical one or a world problem beyond your control. Find something that makes you unhappy and then say to yourself: ‘I am worried about [whatever it is] because [whatever the reason may be] and this makes me upset.’ Now repeat the exercise but this time don’t use egocentric or first-person terms such as ‘I’ or ‘me’. Rather use your name and non-first-person language such as: ‘Bruce is worried about his [whatever it is] problem and this makes him upset.’

Speaking in non-first-person language should automatically transpose you out of the egocentric perspective to one that is other or allocentric, making the problem seem less.

Political philosophy

C L R James and America

The brilliant Trinidadian thinker is remembered as an admirer of the US but he also warned of its dark political future

Harvey Neptune

Neuroscience

The melting brain

It’s not just the planet and not just our health – the impact of a warming climate extends deep into our cortical fissures

Clayton Page Aldern

Thinkers and theories

Rawls the redeemer

For John Rawls, liberalism was more than a political project: it is the best way to fashion a life that is worthy of happiness

Alexandre Lefebvre

Anthropology

Your body is an archive

If human knowledge can disappear so easily, why have so many cultural practices survived without written records?

Helena Miton

Seeing plants anew

The stunningly complex behaviour of plants has led to a new way of thinking about our world: plant philosophy

Stella Sandford

Sex and sexuality

Sexual sensation

What makes touch on some parts of the body erotic but not others? Cutting-edge biologists are arriving at new answers

David J Linden

Childhood Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on childhood.

Childhood is the most fun and memorable time in anyone’s life. It’s the first stage of life which we enjoy in whatever way we like. Besides, this is the time that shapes up the future. The parents love and care for their children and the children to the same too. Moreover, it’s the golden period of life in which we can teach children everything.

Memories of Childhood

The memories of childhood ultimately become the life long memory which always brings a smile on our faces. Only the grownups know the real value of childhood because the children do not understand these things.

Moreover, Children’s have no worries, no stress, and they are free from the filth of worldly life. Also, when an individual collects memories of his/her childhood they give a delighted feeling.

Besides, bad memories haunt the person his entire life. Apart from this, as we grow we feel more attachment to our childhood and we want to get back those days but we can’t. That’s why many people say ‘time is neither a friend nor a foe’. Because the time which is gone can’t come back and neither do our childhood. It is a time which many poets and writer praises in their creations.

Importance of Childhood

For children, it has no importance but if you ask an adult it is very important. Moreover, it a time when the moral and social character of the children develop. In this stage of life, we can easily remodel the mindset of someone.

Also, it is very important to understand that the mindset of children can be easily altered in this time. So, we have to keep a close eye on our children.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

What Should You Do in Childhood?

In childhood, one should need to enjoy his/her life without any worry. It is a time in which one should have to take care of his diet, his health, and immunity. Besides, the children should be taught to be neat and clean, to eat, read, sleep, play, and to do exercise regularly and these things should be in the habits of the child.

Moreover, we should try to influence children to start productive habits such as reading, writing that should help them in later life. But the books they read and what they write should be carefully checked by the parents.

Care for Everyone

Children are like buds, they care for everyone equally without any discrimination. Also, they are of helpful nature and help everyone around them.

Moreover, they teach everyone the lesson of humanity that they have forgotten in this hectic lifestyle of this world. Besides, these children are the future of the country and if they do not grow properly then in future how can they help in the growth of the nation .

In conclusion, we can say that childhood is the time that makes our adulthood special. Also, children’s are like pottery vessels whom you can shape in any way you like. Besides, this their innocence and helpful nature gives everyone the message of humanity.

Most importantly, they learn by either making mistakes or seeing their elders.

FAQs about Childhood

Q.1 Why childhood is the best period of life? A.1 It is the best time of life because the memories that we make in our childhood always brings a smile on our face. Also, it is the time when the character of the child is shaped. Besides, it also is the best time to understand life and gain knowledge.

Q.2 What is the most important characteristics of a child? A.2 According to me, the most important characteristics of a child is his innocence and helpful nature.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Happiness in Children

Introduction, characteristics of happiness in children.

• Quantitative Analyses
• Qualitative Analyses
• Mixed Methods
• Spirituality and Religiosity
• Socioeconomic Status and Poverty
• School Conditions and Living Environment
• Child Predictors of Adult Happiness
• Student-Teacher Rapport
• Peer Relations
• Parent Relations
• Cross-Cultural Studies of Happiness in Children Living Outside of North America and Europe
• Gratitude and Kindness
• Active Leisure and Physical Activity
• Mindfulness

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Happiness in Children by Kaitlyn Dickie , Mark D. Holder , John-Tyler Binfet LAST REVIEWED: 26 July 2017 LAST MODIFIED: 26 July 2017 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199791231-0188

This article was developed to facilitate access to research on happiness and subjective well-being (SWB) in children aged 5 to 12 years old. Articles are thematically organized into seven distinct sections: (1) characteristics of happiness, including temperament, character strengths (e.g., hope, love, optimism, and zest), friendships (e.g., who children identify as their best friend and whether or not the friendship is reciprocated), and popularity and attractiveness (e.g., how children perceive themselves and how they are perceived by other children); (2) measures of subjective well-being, including uni-dimensional and multidimensional scales and self-report measures, reviews of measurement instruments, development of measurement scales, and comparative analyses of measurement scales; (3) correlates of happiness, including spirituality and religiosity (e.g., praying, believing in a higher power, and attending a religious institution), socioeconomic status and poverty, and school conditions and living environment (e.g., student-teacher rapport, learning conditions, supportive friendships at school, and home environment); (4) early childhood predictors of well-being in adulthood such as social connectedness (how close children feel to their friends, family, and community, and how children’s social connections and relationships will influence their well-being later on), academic achievement (e.g., how satisfied children are with their academic achievement and how their academic performance in childhood will affect their well-being as an adult), and living in remote locations (e.g., how the location of their childhood homes can impact their well-being later in life); (5) children’s social relations (e.g., student-teacher relations, peer-relations, and parent-relations) with emphasis on how much support children receive from their varied social relationships; (6) happiness in children around the world, including measurement scales’ applicability across races, how children in underdeveloped countries differentially value specific life domains (e.g., family, self, environment, social, and friends), and whether having children participate centrally in research (i.e., viewing the child as an expert rather than simply a unit of analysis) increases our understanding of children’s well-being in different cultural contexts; and (7) positive psychology interventions developed to enhance happiness and SWB in children including those that focus on gratitude (e.g., gratitude lists and gratitude letters), kindness (e.g., planned acts of helping or sharing), leisure activities (both active and passive), physical activity (e.g., counting steps and participating in recreational or extracurricular activities), and mindfulness (e.g., mindful yoga practice and Tai-Chi). It is hoped that this article will facilitate access to empirical work for researchers and practitioners seeking to better understand the complexities of childhood happiness.

This section is composed of eight studies that focus on characteristics that describe children with high levels of happiness, subjective well-being, and life satisfaction. Holder and Coleman 2007 ; Holder and Klassen 2009 ; Huebner 1991 ; Park and Peterson 2006 ; and Tian, et al. 2015 focus on aspects of temperament and personality (e.g., character strengths, prosocial behavior, extraversion, and self-esteem) in relation to children’s happiness. Froh, et al. 2009 and Irma 2014 examine the effects of social relationships on happiness and subjective well-being. Lastly, Dinisman and Ben-Arieh 2015 assess sociodemographic variables (e.g., country of residence, self-reported socioeconomic items, and demographic characteristics) and subjective well-being in children.

Dinisman, T., and A. Ben-Arieh. “The Characteristics of Children’s Subjective Well-Being.” Social Indicators Resolution 126 (2015): 555–569.

DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-0921-x

Relations between sociodemographic variables (gender, age, self-reported socioeconomic items [e.g., access to a home computer], and country of residence [i.e., native-born or non-native born]) and children’s subjective well-being (SWB) were assessed. Three scales (overall life satisfaction, overall satisfaction in specific domains, and overall subjective well-being) were used. Country of residence accounted for the largest amount of variance in the children’s SWB of any single variable (6–13 percent), and together the sociodemographic variables accounted for 11–20 percent of the variance.

Froh, J. J., C. Yurkewicz, and T. B. Kashdan. “Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Early Adolescence: Examining Gender Differences.” Journal of Adolescence 32 (2009): 633–650.

DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.06.006

The benefits of experiencing and expressing gratitude were examined in relation to subjective well-being, social relationships, prosocial behavior, physical symptoms, gender, and family support. Though gender failed to significantly moderate the relation between gratitude, subjective well-being, and physical symptoms, it was found to moderate the effects of gratitude on family support. Results indicated that gratitude had significant effects on physical symptoms (β = −0.162) and relational fulfillment (β = 0.332).

Holder, M. D., and B. Coleman. “The Contribution of Temperament, Popularity, and Physical Appearance to Children’s Happiness.” Journal of Happiness Studies 9 (2007): 279–302.

DOI: 10.1007/s10902-007-9052-7

Personality, popularity, and appearance were examined in relation to children’s happiness assessed with self-report and other-report (i.e., the children’s parents and teachers). Temperament traits related to extraversion correlated negatively with happiness whereas traits related to extraversion were correlated positively. Additionally, children’s status relative to their peers and their physical attractiveness were correlated with their well-being, but demographic variables were not associated with children’s happiness.

Holder, M. D., and A. Klassen. “Temperament and Happiness in Children.” Journal of Happiness Studies 11 (2009): 419–439.

DOI: 10.1007/s10902-009-9149-2

Relations between children’s temperaments are reported to be the strongest predictors of their happiness; the temperament trait akin to extraversion (i.e., sociability) is positively correlated with happiness, and the temperament trait akin to neuroticism (i.e., emotionality) is negatively correlated with happiness. In general, children who were more social and active were happier and children who were more shy, emotional, and anxious were less happy.

Huebner, E. S. “Correlates of Life Satisfaction in Children.” School Psychology Quarterly 6 (1991): 103–111.

DOI: 10.1037/h0088805

Children’s global life satisfaction was found to be positively correlated with self-esteem, extraversion, internal locus of control, and school achievements, and negatively correlated with anxiety, neuroticism, and external locus of control. Demographics and objective circumstance (e.g., parents’ occupational status, socioeconomic status) were not found to affect children’s well-being; self-perception, however, was a determining variable for global satisfaction.

Irma, E. “In Pursuit of Happiness: How Some Young South African Children Construct Happiness.” Journal of Psychology in Africa 18 (2014): 81–87.

DOI: 10.1080/14330237.2008.10820174

This qualitative design used semi-structured interviews to assess children’s conceptualizations of happiness. Three key themes were identified and included: relationships (e.g., friends and family), recreation (e.g., sports, vacations), and attainment of material possessions (e.g., gifts and money). Surprisingly, though none of the questionnaires referred to significant others, children predominantly conceptualized happiness as a reflection of relationships.

Park, N., and C. Peterson. “Characters Strengths and Happiness among Young Children: Content Analysis of Parental Descriptions.” Journal of Happiness Studies 7 (2006): 323–341.

DOI: 10.1007/s10902-005-3648-6

The relation between the character strengths identified in the Values in Action Questionnaire and happiness in children was discussed. The researchers hypothesized that strengths requiring psychosocial development (i.e., zest, gratitude, hope, and love) would be associated with happiness in children just as they are in adults. Results indicated that love (r = 0.31), hope (r = 0.12), and zest (r = 0.31) were significantly correlated with happiness. Gratitude was found to be uncommon among children in this study.

Tian, L., M. Du, and S. E. Huebner. “The Effect of Gratitude on Elementary School Students’ Subjective Well-Being in Schools: The Mediating Role of Prosocial Behaviour.” Social Indicators Research 122 (2015): 887–904.

DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0712-9

The meditating role of prosocial behavior (PB) on the relation between gratitude and subjective well-being (SWB) (school satisfaction [SS], positive affect [PA], and negative affect [NA]) in children was examined. SWB predicted gratitude and SS. PB partially mediated the relation between gratitude and SS and gratitude and PA, but did not mediate the relation between gratitude and NA. Gender mediated the relation between gratitude and SS, and PA mediated the relation between gratitude and SWB overall.

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The Relationship Between Gratitude and Happiness in Young Children

• Research Paper
• Published: 11 November 2019
• Volume 21 , pages 2773–2787, ( 2020 )

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• Simone P. Nguyen 1 &
• Cameron L. Gordon 2  

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Over the past decades, much progress has been made in understanding the relationship between gratitude and well-being in adults, school-aged children, and adolescents (see Emmons and Mishra, in: Sheldon, Kashdan, Steger (eds) Designing positive psychology: taking stock and moving forward, Oxford University Press, New York, pp 248–262, 2011; Watkins in Gratitude and the good life: toward a psychology of appreciation, Springer, New York, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7253-3 ). However, relatively little is known about this relationship in young children (see Park and Peterson in J Happiness Stud 7(3):323–341, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-3648-6 ). The aim of the present study was to fill this gap by investigating the relationship between gratitude and happiness in young children. The general propensity for gratitude, domain-specific gratitude, and trait happiness were measured in a group of children ( N  = 80, M age  = 5.04 years). The results revealed that children’s domain-specific gratitude predicted children’s happiness above and beyond a general propensity for gratitude. These findings establish the presence of a relationship between gratitude and happiness in children by age 5 years, and reveal the type of gratitude, namely domain-specific, that is associated with happiness among young children.

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Acknowledgements

We are deeply grateful to the children who participated in this study and to the parents and schools for their support. We would also like to thank our research assistants, Scott Ferris, Taylor Gwyn, Ashley Morton, Lauren Schmidt, and Ashley Parham for their hard work.

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Nguyen, S.P., Gordon, C.L. The Relationship Between Gratitude and Happiness in Young Children. J Happiness Stud 21 , 2773–2787 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00188-6

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Essay on Happiness in simple English for Student and Children

Happiness is an emotion which we feel when we are full of joy. It is when a person is able to satisfy herself. Quality of satisfaction with life is the quality of happiness. It makes us positive. All of us try to get happiness all the time.

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Without happiness, there is no beauty. In our life, we should learn to focus on the positive side. Happiness comes from such a state of mind.

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Britain’s children facing ‘happiness recession’ compared to European counterparts, Children’s Society warns

‘alarm bells are ringing’: children’s society warns of ‘deeply worrying picture’ on wellbeing of british teenagers, article bookmarked.

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The UK’s children are facing a “ happiness recession” compared to their European counterparts, a leading charity has warned, after its analysis found lower life satisfaction among young people in Britain.

Warning that “alarm bells are ringing”, the Children’s Society urged the new government to address the large gulf in life satisfaction facing children from different socioeconomic backgrounds in the UK, and between those in Britain and the rest of Europe.

In its latest Good Childhood Report, the charity collated data from various pieces of research in recent years which it said presents a “deeply worrying picture” on the wellbeing of teenagers in the UK.

That includes the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment survey for 2022, which showed that on average a quarter of 15-year-olds in the UK had low life satisfaction – ranking bottom of 27 countries and well above the European average of 17 per cent.

That rose to more than 30 per cent of 15-year-old girls in the UK reported low life satisfaction, compared with an average of 21 per cent in other European countries.

Those findings suggest that improving children’s wellbeing should be an even bigger priority here than elsewhere across Europe, the charity said.

Within the UK, the charity pointed to research suggesting a “large gap” in life satisfaction between the 25 per cent most advantaged and most disadvantaged 15-year-olds, which it said showed that “socio-economic inequalities also continue to be an important worry in this country”.

The Children’s Society’s annual household survey found those aged 10 to 17 living in households in financial strain were more likely to have low life satisfaction than their peers.

Meanwhile, the UK Household Longitudinal Study found the average wellbeing of children aged 10 to 15 was lower in the year to 2022 than when the survey began a decade prior.

Mark Russell, chief executive at The Children’s Society, said: “Alarm bells are ringing: UK teenagers are facing a happiness recession, with 15-year-olds recording the lowest life satisfaction on average across 27 European nations. Particularly affected are girls and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Equally alarming is the high level of food poverty found among these young people. The UK ranks fourth highest for food poverty among 15-year-olds across 21 European countries, underscoring the severe impacts of societal inequalities on their wellbeing.

“Today, we’re not merely highlighting problems; we’re advocating for solutions. We have devised concrete steps to address these national challenges. It’s time for change, and we’re committed to leading the way.”

The charity has called for urgent attention on the issues from government, publishing a proposed “roadmap” to prioritise children’s wellbeing.

A government spokesperson said: “We understand the pressures teenagers are facing, and that is why we are taking action to deliver our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child.

“We will develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, led by a taskforce co-chaired by the Education Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary, looking at how to increase household income, bring down essential costs, and tackle the negative experience of living in poverty.

“This comes alongside plans to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school.”

In one of its first key tests since entering power, Sir Keir Starmer’s government has faced calls to scrap Tory chancellor George Osborne’s two-child benefit cap , which would bring 300,000 children people out of poverty and 700,000 more out of deep poverty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group.

But senior government figures have insisted that cutting the cap is unaffordable , and that ministers are instead committed to publishing a child poverty strategy .

Additional reporting by PA

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STERNPHOTOGRAPHIE: A CONSTELLATION OF WALTER BENJAMIN’S MOSCOW DIARY.

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[*Note: As my dissertation title (<The Origin of Korean Trauerspiel>) amply suggests, this course was not only a way to acknowledge my debt to him, but also an attempt to forge my own pathway out of Benjaminian labyrinth. Namley, if I get to teach another class on him, I will perhaps revamp it anew from start to end. Till then, this will suffice to show one of my trajectories] “[T]he unique phenomenon of a distance, however close it may be.” This (in)famous definition of the notion of 'aura', perhaps, couldn't be more applicable to Walter Benjamin himself. Perpetually referenced, and still easily cited, arguably more than any figures in any field, he often seems inaccessible to the point where it is difficult, if not impossible to answer the question, 'Who is Benjamin?' This difficulty, however, may have less to do with his proximity to the impenetrable 'Castle' than to do with our waiting for him way too long as if 'Before the Law.' By carefully re(re)ading innumerable 'constellations' he crafts with Kafka, Brecht, Kracauer, Schmitt, and Baudelaire, or, on a different register, cinema, art history, politics, theology and history, we will strive to give names to those portals and pathways, some of which he could not manage to give proper names, whenever necessary. At the end of this journey, Benjamin as a constellation may shine in close proximity or in proportion to the darkness of these desolate times.

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With his powerful thought image of the constellation, Walter Benjamin provides a method for the core practices of the Humanities: reading, writing, and thinking. This collection of provocative essays demonstrates how thinking in constellations with Walter Benjamin leads us towards a new understanding of the critical task of the Humanities today: it goes beyond disciplinary boundaries and challenges assumptions of linearity, coherence, and progression inherent in our scholarly praxis. The volume brings some of the most articulate young voices in international Benjamin scholarship together, and takes an interdisciplinary approach, covering wide-ranging fields of knowledge – quantum physics, postcolonial studies, natural philosophy, psychoanalysis, film theory, literature, and the arts. Benjamin’s texts are re-considered in light of thinkers and poets, such as Theodor W. Adorno, Sigmund Freud, Gottfried E. Leibniz, W. G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, or Carlos Martínez Rivas. The critical potential of constellations in Benjamin’s work and beyond will be of the highest interest for researchers and students in all areas of the Humanities.

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In seeking to combine the concept of the 'Feminine' and ' Aesthetics,' the approach here is to carry out an initial examination of Walter Benjamin's aesthetic theory, then delve into his texts on Eros, leading to his personal correspondence. These combined references will indicate his change of mind, moving from the feminine, as unique, towards its 'constellation formation'. Montage is the medium of leading with quotation as a mosaic incorporating the image of constellation. The use of montage has parallels in certain avant-garde art movements, its purpose being to disrupt a purely linear approach, in order to cope with the reality of the fragmentation of experience. Although we have little evidence of Benjamin's theory being connected to Gender Studies, we can take his theory on Eros as an example of how this philosopher foresaw some of the contemporary questions concerning women, amalgamating these with his Aesthetics theory.

hossein moradi

Walter Benjamin proposes that a work of art does not belong to a specific time; rather it is transient. A work of art has a &#39;temporal effect&#39; which is considered as the &#39;context&#39; of the work in which it has been written. The &#39;context&#39; cannot be reconstructed to be the same as what once existed;it is constructed.Translator&#39;s job is to recreate the life of the original work from one language to another.Every work enters into relation with its translation and is constructed anew. The priority of translation over work of art for Benjamin is due to the fact that the ‘linguistic creation’ in translation is the only thing that can represent the truth content of the work or its afterlife.This paper tries to apply Benjamin’s theory of translation to Maurice Blanchot&#39;s “Madness of the Day”.

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When Your Child Is an Animal

The charged cultural conversation about pets and children — see “Chimp Crazy,” “childless cat ladies” and more — reveals the hidden contradictions of family life.

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By Amanda Hess

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“Monkey love is totally different than the way that you have love for your child,” Tonia Haddix, an exotic animal broker, says at the beginning of “Chimp Crazy,” the documentary HBO series investigating the world of chimpanzee ownership. “If it’s your natural born child, it’s just natural because you actually gave birth to that kid. But when you adopt a monkey, the bond is much, much deeper.”

“Chimp Crazy” arrives in a summer of cultural and political obsession about the place of animals in our family lives. When JD Vance became the Republican vice-presidential nominee, his 2021 comment about “childless cat ladies” resurfaced, positioning them as adversaries of the traditional family. New York magazine published a special issue questioning the ethics of pet ownership, featuring a polarizing essay from an anonymous mother who neglected her cat once her human baby arrived. In the background of these stories, you can hear the echoes of an internet-wide argument that pits companion animals against human children, pet and tot forced into a psychic battle for adult recognition.

These dynamics feel supercharged since 2020, the year when American family life — that insular institution that is expected to provide for all human care needs — became positively airtight. The coronavirus pandemic exaggerated a wider trend toward domestic isolation : pet owners spending more time with their animals, parents more time with their children, everyone less time with one another — except perhaps online, where our domestic scenes collide in a theater of grievance and stress.

When a cat, a dog or certainly a chimp scampers through a family story, it knocks it off-kilter, revealing its hypocrisies and its harms. In “Chimp Crazy,” Haddix emerges as the avatar for all the contradictions of the domestic ideal of private home care: She loves her chimp “babies” with such obsession that she traps them (and herself) in a miserable diorama of family life.

Haddix, a 50-something woman who describes herself as the “Dolly Parton of Chimps,” believes that God chose her to be a caretaker. She was a registered nurse before she became a live-in volunteer at a ramshackle chimp breeding facility in Missouri, where she speaks of a male chimp named Tonka as if she is his mother. Haddix also has two human children; she just loves them less, and says so on television.

As she appoints herself the parent to an imprisoned wild animal, she asserts an idealized form of mothering — one she describes as selfless, unending and pure. “Chimp Crazy” is the story of just how ruinous this idea of love can be, for the woman and the ape.

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