You always wonder—are your children happy? Do you do things for them that leave them satisfied and content? Is children’s concept of happiness similar to that of adults? Here are the main answers of 300 children (between 4 and 6 years old) in a French study aimed at knowing how they defined the concept of happiness.
- First, let us assure you that children have a natural tendency to happiness, more so than adults. This innate tendency is linked to their ability to taste the moment, living in the present rather than in the past or future and forgetting more quickly than adults. When a child falls asleep, they wake up having forgotten everything that was upsetting them.
- When young children were asked about the thing that made them happiest in life, their answers revolved around the people they loved and the activities they were interested in doing. The responses were distributed as follows: 43% family, 38% playing, and 31% friends. 66% of them considered family, specifically mothers, the most precious thing in life. The main responses of the children were as follows:
- “When I play soccer with my dad.”
- “When I hug my mama.”
- “Happiness is playing with my friends at the fair.”
- “Happiness is a child who’s not sad and treats kids nicely.”
- “I’m happy when I get lucky and find chocolate in my dresser drawer or a game I lost.”
- “Going on a beach vacation with my parents makes me happy, or flying in an airplane.”
- “A happy child can do everything they like without their parents ever telling them no.”
- “Happiness is getting birthday presents from people I love.”
- “Happiness is a child who doesn’t have any problems with their parents; they’re all nice to each other.”
- “I’m happy when I visit my grandma and stay with her for a few days. My grandma lets me play as much as I want, and chase the kitty and eat ice cream.”
- “The weekend is happiness. I don’t have to go to sleep early or wake up early to go to school.”
- “I feel happy when I’m with my cat; he’s my best friend.”
