Hey, Sorry About That, You Guys...
A new study reveals that...big surprise...raising children makes you depressed. Also broke and 87% more likely to injure your foot stepping on a discarded Transformer while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Not only do parents have significantly higher levels of depression than adults who do not have children, the problem gets worse when the kids move out.
"Parents have more to worry about than other people do—that's the bottom line," said Florida State University professor Robin Simon. "And that worry does not diminish over time. Parents worry about their kids' emotional, social, physical and economic well-being. We worry about how they're getting along in the world."
I mean, yeah, duh. You don't need to be a highly esteemed FSU associate professor to know that parenting is hard, whereas living by yourself in a shitty apartment with two other guys is...well, not as easy as you might think, really. I don't even know how I make a go of it, sometimes. But it's a lot easier without some snotty little child running around expecting to be clothed and fed and driven around to various sports-themed afternoon activities.
The depressing results seem to be across the board in a study of 13,000 people. No type of parent reported less depression than non-parents, Simon said.
Some parents are more depressed than others, however. Parents of adult children, whether they live at home or not, and parents who do not have custody of their minor children have more symptoms of depression than those with young children all in the nest, regardless of whether they are biological children, step children or adopted.
Now, that's a strange statistic. I'm not sure this is true of my own parents. They seem, to me, overall jollier now than when I moved out 10-some-odd years ago. (With a year-long interval of living with them again squeezed in there.) My father in particular has a bit more bounce in his step now that I and my younger brother no longer occupy his actual house. And don't even ask about the several-year stint when my mother's parents lived with us.
2 comments:
Oh please do elaborate on the atmosphere in your home when your maternal grandparents were temporarily staying there. I feel certain that it is something that your readers would love to have you share with them. I can hardly wait to peruse that bit of journalistic endeavor.
Let me just say, Anon, that regardless of what my mother may insist...my Dad is definitely happier now than when her parents were around.
We had some fun, I suppose, but it was horribly cramped. I had to stay in the same bed with my younger brother for years (we were pretty young, but still...creepy, right?)
Post a Comment