Does having kids make a marriage happy or hopeless? One study claims to have the answer and the results aren’t exactly encouraging for parents.

According to the study of more than 5,000 people to be published later this week by Open University in the U.K.,childless couples ranked the quality of their relationships higher, felt more valued by their partners, and (shocker) spent more time maintaining their relationships, going on dates, and having intimate conversations — undoubtedly easier to do when you’re not racing through dinner to relieve the sitter or halting that crazy-deep conversation when the baby starts crying. Read More…

This Article published in Yahoo Shine today quotes a study showing that kids make marriage miserable. Well, we have two kids. Bouncing baby boys..they were! Now they are bouncing BIG boys…still bouncing LOL 🙂

There is no doubt that kids can keep you very busy. But that’s where the commitment you made with your partner comes in. You HAVE to WORK at keeping your relationship alive and fresh. It does not happen on its own, and it does not happen easily. You HAVE to do the WORK.

So, I think the study may be flawed. Because they would need to take into account the existing relationships between the parents prior to having kids. If they know what they are getting into and are willing to make the sacrifices parenting involves, I think they might find that though it’s hard, it need not be “miserable”.

Most couples go into parenting thinking it’s all about having cute babies. ILLUSION!!!!

So I say, do the study again with couples who went into parenting with a more mature outlook and let’s see what comes out.

Might open the door to some other valid discussions…