What makes your kids happy?
That can be a baffling question, sometimes. There are days when just waking up in the morning seems to thrill my daughter to bits, and others when we could offer her unlimited Elmo and an ice cream buffet while all her friends visit for a playdate and it would not do the trick. As for my son, he's three months old and discovering the fact he has toes makes him squeal with joy.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia actually looked into this, and found that spirituality – as opposed to religion, I might add – accounted for 8 to 17 percent of a child's happiness. Leisure activities, such as sports, and the child's innate temperament also accounted for a great deal.
Money, the parent's marital status, and the child's gender accounted for less than one percent of a child's happiness.
Researchers hoped that by finding out what made children happy, they could help develop coping mechanisms for when they are facing difficult times.
The study was conducted with 315 children ages 9 through 12 in Kelowna, British Columbia. Children were asked to rate the importance of various statements to their happiness. Parents and teachers were also asked about each child's apparent happiness levels.
This is part of a newish branch of psychology called "positive psychology"—or, the study of happiness.
