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Happiness In America

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Happiness is the only thing in this world that is neither measurable, profitable, nor tradeable. Despite this fact, it is still desperately sought by all. They want to have happiness, and want to know they have a lot of it. However happiness, like air or water, is a hard thing to grasp in one’s hand. It is intangible and nebulous. So how do people know if they have it? That is for them to decide. Generally, happiness has to do with an emotional and mental state of welfare that can be characterized through pleasant and positive emotion such as contentment and joy. Like beauty, happiness is indiscernible. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder similar to how happiness is in the mind of a human. Happiness can only be measured on an individual basis, …show more content…

The parenting happiness gap is an idea that parents are not as happy as adults without children. In America, the happiness gap is one of the largest among first world countries. American parents report being 12% less happier after having kids CITATION. Researchers discovered that the gap could be explained by differences in family-friendly social policies such as subsidized child care and paid vacation and sick leave. Having kids in America is financial and emotional burden. The average middle-class American family will have spent more than $245,340 on each child by the time they are 18. The United States provides minimal assistance to parents, including paid parental leave, mandatory paid sick and vacation days, subsidized child care, and work schedule flexibility (Swanson). Another study shows that having children makes parents less happy with their sex life, causes depression and sleep deprivation, and hastens marital decline. Gross-Loh points to Americans’ anxiety around children’s college and future prospects, and also to our emphasis on keeping children physically safe, and the harsh judgment of parents who are perceived to be doing a poor job of

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