According to Dan Gilbert, the author of Stumbling on Happiness, research indicates that it’s not children.  In a recent talk at the APA convention, Dr. Gilbert told the crowd of psychologists and psychiatrists that 20 years of research has shown that people without children are happier than those with children.  And people with young children are the least happy.  Women actually ranked housework and being with their young children at similar levels.  I have children, and I can tell you that it is extremely difficult when they are young.  There are days that I compared raising children to being in a war — you just survive.  But those were the bad days, and there are plenty of good days.  Yes children are a lot of work, but in those moments when my kids hug me and tell me they love me more than anything else, my happiness cup runneth over.