All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting

Shirley Temple

Was it the famous American comic W.C. Fields (1880-1946) who snarled that anyone who hates children and dogs can't be all bad? Fields made his reputation as a curmudgeon. Now we have a piece by Jennifer Senior, from New York magazine, "All Joy and No Fun," that raises this issue from a different perspective: Questioning why children seem to bring such unhappiness to their parents.

A key quote: "Mothers are less happy than fathers, single parents are less happy still."

STTA (Something to Think About)

• Is it really possible that our children make us miserable? If not, then what is Senior leaving out of her story?