Adults have an idea what makes kids happy but kids are saying something different. What really makes kids happy?

If parents of children ages 13 through 24 are asked what would make their child happy, they are likely to say

• Money
• Fancy car
• iPods
• Unlimited MSN
• Sex
• Drugs/alcohol

And, they would be wrong.

The Associated Press and MTV conducted a survey of more than 100 questions asking 1,280 people within the 13 to 24 age group, "What was the #1 reason for happiness?"

Answer: time with family.

The answers fell accordingly:

• Time with family
• Time with friends
• Time with a significant other

Racial, Economic and Gender Differences

• Whites are happier than blacks and Hispanics.
• Middle class feels more stress.
• Females feel more stress than males.

[The Associated Press, MSNBC.com, August 20, 2007]

Money

While almost no one said that money would make them happy, people from higher income families did rate themselves happier. What was the strongest predictor or happiness? Highly educated parents. The "education of the parents" ranked higher than economic status. [The Associated Press, MSNBC.com, August 20, 2007]

Sex, Religion and Family

• Students that are sexually active between ages 13-17 are actually less happy.
• Sexually active students between ages 18 and 24 say that sex does not make them happier.
• Belonging to a religious group makes them happier.
• Half state that believing in a higher power makes them happier.
• School makes them happy.
• The majority states that marriage will be a happy time and they want children.

Heroes

With all the media attention given to misguided movie stars, who are the heroes in this age group? Oprah? Hillary Clinton? Brad Pitt?

• 50 percent said mom and dad. Mom slightly edges out dad.
• 10 percent mentioned God.
• 5 percent mentioned teachers
• Military
• Police
• Firefighters

[The Associated Press, MSNBC.com, August 20, 2007]

Greatest Happiness

When all the statistics are analyzed, it becomes evident that good relationships make students happiest. If the child has a good relationship with parents, other stressors seem less significant.

Greatest Stress and Fear

• 13-17 year olds say school is the biggest stressor
• 18-24 year olds say jobs and financial matters are most stressful
• 29 percent feel safe traveling
• 25 percent feel safe from a terrorist attack

Drugs and Alcohol

The stereotype is that unhappy kids drink—happy kids don’t. The survey found that alcohol users are somewhat less happy than those that do not drink are.

• 40 percent of drinkers reported being happy
• 68 percent of non-drinkers reported being happy
• 49 percent of drug users were happy
• 66 percent of those that did not use drugs were happy

Happy, In General

• 72 percent whites
• 56 percent blacks
• 51 percent Hispanics

The Future

The majority of students participating in the survey see themselves happy in the future. Sixty-two percent predict being happier as adults than they are now. Since the teen-age years are tough, they could be right. [The Associated Press, MSNBC.com, August 20, 2007]

If parents have a good relationship with each other and spend time with their children, this seems to be the most important factor in having happy kids.

Related Articles: Starting School Creates Stress, Cutting

Read previous articles on Educational Issues.

Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.