With a woman to look at culture from a Christian worldview, I'm John Stone Street with the point.

Well, if all we had to go on was Salon's later The Atlantic magazine, we'd be forced to conclude

that becoming a parent is a life sentence to loneliness.

Their studies do demonstrate a loss in certain forms of happiness for parents.

According to Brad Wilcox, at the Institute for Family Studies,

back conclusion no longer fits the data.

Nearly 60% of childless men and women say they are lonely some,

most are all of the time, while only 45% of those with children say the same thing.

Likewise, 82% of parents say they're very happy or pretty happy,

that's compared to just 68% of the childless.

Some of the shift likely has to do with how much the pandemic disrupted our social lives,

which families were partially insulated against.

And other factors likely America's improved work-life balance.

More important here, however, is just how we define happiness.

Kids can create a mess like nothing else, but they're also a source of joy and meaning.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Thank you.