No Fun?

Comment on All Joy and No Fun

"Why parents hate parenting" … By Jennifer Senior, Jul 4, 2010

This is the kind of article that lets everyone win and thus stays "most viewed" for weeks. Those who agree feel good, those who are childless feel smug and those who disagree, i.e. those who enjoy parenting feel even more smug because we’re obviously so much better at it than all those interviewed for the article. So congratulations on pleasing all of your readers!

Note to the author:
It is not only the "enchanting" and "magical" side of family life that makes the hard work of parenting worthwhile. The hard work stretching the limits of the imagination, of patience, of possibility, of time and space is exhilarating, much like climbing a mountain, writing a book, or giving birth. But apart from the hard work, character-building, and the transcendent blessings, there is the everyday fun, simple pleasures at mealtime, storytime, the inside jokes that stay with a family for life …
Those who are missing the fun may simply not have time … if they did, would they not have fun too?

And if I may address the economists quoted:

Dear Daniel Kahneman, Andrew Oswald, and any other Nobel Prize–winning or losing economists,

May I humbly request economists to keep to money and quantifiable resources; let us know when you get that right and we will see whether we have any interest in your evaluation of love and happiness.