Having children would make one joyous is what some people believe. I am myself of the belief that having children is not necessary for a happy life, as there are other factors which influence happiness such as work-life balance and satisfaction with one’s life’s tragectory.
On one hand, some people crave for children as a means to continue their family’s destiny, which inturn gives them a sense of accomplishment and that translates to happiness. Parenting will keep these adults occupied for the rest of their lives, keeping them engaged which gives them a sense of purpose. For example, people who care a lot about what their parents think of them would want to have children who end up having a successful career, all for the purpose of getting their parents’ validation, which makes them happy.
On the other hand, having a great work-life balance and being able to pursue one’s interests also contribute a lot to happiness. Not having children would give people time to explore themselves and their interests more, which would inturn make them more satisfied with the lives that they are living. For instance, the country of Finland has a low birthrate, yet still is the happiest country in the world. That is mainly because the country’s culture and government lay a lot of emphasis on work-life balance and quality of life, hence taking preventive measures to avoid burnout and emotional turmoil. India, despite having good birthrates, is one of the sadder countries in the world due to toxic work culture. I believe that one should not impose the burden of making oneself happy onto their children. This will affect the child’s emotional wellbeing and might still fail to make oneself happy.
In conclusion, some people end up having children to give themselves a sense of accomplishment in life and validation from parents which translates to happiness for them. To the contrary, I believe having children is not necessary to find happiness as work-life balance and quality of life also play a crucial role in emotional wellbeing.