Momentous events in your life such as having children, or getting married, may make you happier, but only temporarily, say researchers [...] the researchers calculated that the happiness increase delivered by the birth of a child lasted for two years before the volunteers ratings were back to normal. BBC News

Tosh! My children still bring me a great deal of happiness. You just have to watch them having fun.

That’s not children as a transitory, fleeting moment of happiness. That’s the sheer joy of watching your children have a great deal of fun. Yes, I still had fun before I had the kids, but I didn’t have that same kind of fun.

Watching them explore (swashbuckling adventures where they feel like Indiana Jones because they are exploring a castle), watching them learn new stuff, watching them play, watching them have fun. That’s the joy of being a parent. And it lasts a damn sight longer than two years…