A new study has revealed that parents with four or more kids are the happiest.
Dr Bronwyn Harman, of the psychology and social science school at Edith Cowan University, spent five years studying what types of families are most content.
Dr Harman's study suggest that parental happiness directly relates to how much effort has been put into growing the family.
'[The parents] usually say they always wanted a large family, it was planned that way, and it was a lifestyle they'd chosen,' says Dr Harman.
'What is important for kids are things like consistency, boundaries and [to] know that they are loved, no matter what,' Harman says.
The findings are based on resilience, social support, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Having these three things functioning well in your everyday life helps the life satisfaction fall into place.
Though larger families may have more chaos and expenses than a smaller family, Harman's research shows that these issues are balanced by the amount of joy received from having more children.
Her findings show that children who grow up in large families learn independence at a young age and always have someone to play with.
This article originally appeared on New Idea.
