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Parenthood Can Help You Live Longer In Older Age, Research Suggests (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Parenthood could boost your chances of living longer in your later years, according researchers who believe the effect could be down to children helping with care and support. While previous research has shown that adults with children live longer than those without, the new study unpicks how the effect plays out in older age. Modig and colleagues used national registry data to follow almost 1.5 million Swedes born between 1911 and 1925 as they aged. The team found that while the risk of death increased with age for all adults, having children was linked to greater longevity. The results are published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. At the age of 60, men who had children had almost two years more on their remaining life expectancy than those without, at 20.2 and 18.4 years respectively. A similar trend was seen for women aged 60, with life expectancies of 23.1 years for those without children and 24.6 years for mothers. By contrast at the age of 80, parents had a life expectancy of 7.7 years for men and 9.5 years for women, compared to 7 years for men without children and 8.9 years for women without children. The findings reveal that the benefits of having children became more pronounced with age -- an effect that was greater for men than women. Furthermore, the team found that having children had a stronger impact on the longevity of men who were not married than those with a spouse.
I'll never have kids, ever. They can fuck off.
At the age of 60, men who had children had almost two years more on their remaining life expectancy than those without, at 20.2 and 18.4 years respectively.
Correlation isn't causation.
Also, many of those who gain 2 years in life expectancy lose many more years of piece and quiet having to raise their brats.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
It just feels that way.
"You ungrateful twerps ain't getting my shit! I'm going live long enough to spend it all!"
You need to be in good health to have children. You need to be in good health to live longer.
It found a correlation, it did not find a causation. It could well be the other way round or there could be a third factor that causes both things.
Seriously, stop reporting such nonsense.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Does the last sentence mean that the children have positive effect on the life expectancy of men and women negative? :) Or does it mean, that a spouse already adds to the men life expectancy, and having children has smaller affect that having children and no spouse?
People are worried about the future and don't want to risk having kids they most likely won't be able to provide for, more people are dying than being born. We have to counter that! Now, we can't pay them more to be financially secure enough to be able to afford having a family, so let's make up some bullshit to make them pump out a few units!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Raising children is stressful, and stress makes people stronger.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
political manipulation to encourage a higher fertility rate to prop up the economy.
Loneliness is a significant health risk which causes a person's death risk to increase.
Having kids gives you someone to care about, and someone who cares about you, and someone you see on a regular basis. That does a lot to decrease your loneliness.
This explains why the effect is stronger for men than women (men tend to have fewer social contacts), and stronger for single than married men.
Run this test again in the US, Russia, India, Colombia, and a bunch of other countries with divergent living parameters and see if you get the same thing. I hear Sweden is a very nice place to live in. Those other places I mention don't even compare, so I'm curious to replicate the study there.
"...researchers who believe the effect could be down to children helping with care and support...
By helping with care and support, are you referring to all the twentysomethings who still live with their parents? Just curious how this study takes into account the fact that the young generation can hardly afford to take care of themselves today, much less care for aging parents.
Also, having kids helps you live longer? Did they take into account the physical, mental, and financial strain that parenthood can bring? I'm willing to bet 99.999% of parents are scratching their heads over this one too.
Are you sure it doesn't just feel longer?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Probably one of the worst reasons for having children. I'd much prefer to live longer when I'm young.
If you live in Ouagadougou in Burkhina Fhaso perhaps, here Gramps and Meemaw are put in a home and visited once a year or not at all.
My great aunt never had kids. Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper. She became the oldest person in the world. She opensources her body and was the reason investigation as to why people age are done in The Netherlands.
Other things have been found out thanks to her as well.
One of the things they do have noticed, the doctor that does the investigation told me, was that it seems (but has not yet proven) a lot of centinarians are very positive minded people. More than average. They tend to be more open and social and less stressed.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
De enige partij die luistert naar het volk!
Stemmen voor Geert!
What I mean is that I'd expect simply being able to have kids is an indicator of physical and mental health. I'd expect those that don't have kids are more likely to have physical and psychological issues linked to poorer health and a reduced life span.
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
"Believe" isn't science. Maybe people with children live longer because unhealthy people have less children. Then "having" the children adds nothing to the average age.
Children often push their doctors and their elderly parents to go for a "everything and the kitchen sink" approach to healthcare, even when the odds of a good prognosis are minimal and the extended life comes at the coast of great pain and degrading condition. I wonder how much discrepency comes from childless people being free to choose "quality of life" instead of quantity
By using the sales buzzword "CAN", you've deflated this claim to nothing. Legally, in the United States, if a drug has NEVER been proven to work, but chemically speaking ought to work, you are permitted to use the word "CAN" when selling it. As for me, I'd be in much better physical shape had I never met my X wife. 2.5 years driving 1,600 - 2,400 miles per month to see my kids and being raked back and forth over the coals by a turd lawyer on a regular basis were necessary to get my children back in school. A quarter million dollars later, I achieved my goal, but it took a terrible toll on my physically.
I'd like to see this data up against data that shows the longevity of people who have some sort of intimate support (spouse, S.O., partner) who provides emotional and physical support throughout their adult lives. I bet there's more of a correlation there then there is in just having children.
We see through your lies !
Everyone thinks they want to raise kiddos, until they actually have to. Then it's not quite all the fun and games those with kids attempt to make it out to be.
They're just trying to trick us into joining the twenty year misery train they have elected to ride. Hahahaa. No
Parents will -never- tell you their true feelings about raising children. Ever. One simply does not ever admit that making the decision to raise a child was the worst decision they ever made.
If you ever start to get that urge, just go out in public once in a while and see the little screaming heathens in action. Restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores, etc. etc. Note the lack of the cheery face on the parent who is stuck with " heathen duty " at that particular moment. It will likely resemble something more along the lines of " Kill me please ".
Now, picture yourself with twenty years of that ahead of you. ( assuming you don't have a special needs child when then becomes a lifetime membership )
That should be more than enough to derail that train in a hurry.
in this study they show the parents whose children do NOT live near them are more likely to live longer, you would think this would stop some of the completely unsupported conjecturing they were spouting, but nooooo....
The reason this is, is because people with children tend to stay active and involved later by virtue of ther kids and grandkids. It's the acitvity and engagement that make the difference. There is nothing magical about starting a family in this regard, it could just as easily be staying active and engaged in a community, a neighborhood, whatever. They could probably do a study on people that are a part of a church community or neighborhood community and come up with the same result. Older age isn't the suspect, it's the isolation and atrophy that can occur during those years. Duh, 21st century science.
Even if you do like kids, bringing them to the world we have today isn't exactly a gift to them...
My take also.
I don't know of any time in history in which people didn't say exactly that same thing. Only which threat is looming changes: It's wrong to bring children into a world in which Nazi armies are taking over the world. It's wrong to bring children into a world in which the Communist monolith is spreading totalitarianism across the world. It's wrong to bring children into a world in which nuclear annihilation could occur at any moment...
... it will surely seem like it.
in fact, looking at the the statistics, it would take a real "special" person to come up with their conclusion. making children makes you live longer? or is it maybe that living longer gives you a higher chance of having children.
For that to be true, those 80 years olds would have to be making babies.
No. It may be true that living longer is a signal of better health, and better health also has the property that one is more likely to have children.
For example, some fraction of people with poor health may be less fertile. Or, people with poor health may be less likely to find mates.
fooled by /. interface!
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
For many people, having kids makes you care a lot more about your life expectancy. You want to be around to meet your grandchildren.
I had my daughter when I was 40 in out of shape. A smoker who never exercised, I hadn't run since I was a teenager (and then because the cops were chasing me). I wanted to be able to run and play with my daughter. I want to be alive for her wedding, and dance with her at her wedding. My life expectancy matters to me much more than it used to. So my priorities have changed and so have my habits (still working on some of them).
One of my best friends was similar - he was a typical beer-belly guy. He had a kid and now runs marathons.
It just seems longer?
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
So if I read this right...
18-25 years of financial drain, emotional stress, and missing free time, MIGHT lead to an end-of-life benefit of ~2 year extension.
No thanks. I'll keep those 18-25 years, my money, and my free time.
Disclaimer: My wife and I didn't have kids, and now its too late - and we don't regret it.
"Parenthood Can Help You Live Longer In Older Age, Research Suggests"
Yeah, but will it make up for the decade or so they took off your life in the first place? ;) lol
Think of having kids as an accelerated stress & wear test- if you survive them then you're probably good to go for at least a few more years after they leave home.
Just replace the carpet, drapes, furniture, appliances, bedding, and a few windows and you'll be back to where you were before you had 'em.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Also, many of those who gain 2 years in life expectancy lose many more years of piece and quiet having to raise their brats.
This. You gain 1.8 years, lose 18.
Or you could gain 18 years + 1.8 years. I was uncertain about having kids, but went with my wife's wishes. Ended up with two Eagle Scouts who paid for their own college education via academic scholarships, one a National Merit Scholar. Their growing up was a delight punctuated only by fights over messy rooms. I now enjoy spoiling my grandchildren.
It's a crap shoot, though. My neighbor's son stole three cars by the time he was 15 and is now a career criminal. I wish I could claim the difference was my superior parenting, but know better. I made my share of mistakes and then some. I just got lucky. YMMV, there are no guarantees.
If I were rich, I'd simply have a girl on call for blow jobs. Sex? She doesn't want me, so why go through the effort and pretense? With oral, a pro still has to make the same effort as a lover to get you off, no room to pretend.
When you're talking about the overall population as a whole, and expanding your study across socioeconomic lines, maybe the factor they're looking for is the calming factor kids have on the average person's personality. (I know any parent will think I'm crazy, but keep listening.) Being a parent is financially, emotionally and physically stressful. I have a 3 and 6 year old, and that phase where the second was a newborn and the first still always needed something was an absolute nightmare in terms of sleep and emotional well-being. I'm only now starting to climb out of the no-sleep, constant-stress fog.
However, one thing I'm not is impulsive. I don't go tell off my boss when I'm having a bad day or rage-quit my job regardless of how nuts someone drives me. I highly doubt I'm going to get the sudden urge to skydive, or bungee jump or drive 110 MPH on the way home from work. Extend this out further, and people with kids might be less likely overall to smoke, take drugs, drink heavily or any other vice that reduces lifespan. Yes, of course there are plenty of parents who still do this stuff (and they're the most noticeable either on the news or reflected in their kids' behavior.) But I think overall, having responsibility for another human calms people down. People might also subconsciously want to stay healthier so they stick around. Childless people, even married childless couples, might not have that same drive below the surface. I've worked with lots of 20-somethings who just throw up their hands and walk out the door when they're mad about work...less doable when you have kids, even if your spouse has a job. There really is a settling-down that takes place -- it's rare that I see someone who has kids _and_ an angry chip on their shoulder; usually they're the divorced ones pissed off about paying child support, etc. If you're happy, it extends to other aspects of your life. If you're pissed off all the time, you just make everyone miserable.
Do I ever wish I didn't have kids? Sure, it's easy to look at no-kid couples and singles who go through life without a care in the world, have millions of dollars in the bank by the time they're 50 and do whatever they want whenever they want. But I've kind of done that -- we had kids later. I wish we had done more, but if we stay healthy enough we can do that later. And if we do a good job, the kids won't come back to live in our basement. I know it's impossible to defend being a parent, but I'm really glad we did it. It was pretty telling when my father in law, who's Mr. Spock as far as emotions go, told me "Congratulations, having kids was the best thing I ever did." after we found out. He's right, and sometimes it's a pain in the butt, but who else am I going to play Lego Worlds with? :-)
... Healthy people are more likely to get pregnant/have kids than those who are less healthy?
Never mind living longer in my old age. I want to live longer NOW! I can already imagine what I would do with an extra few days or weeks per year.
Some people without kids may live longer, but that does not mean they had a better Life.
Perhaps the non-parents had a Real Life, and spent their time doing what they wanted and enjoyed.
And, as a result they died a little earlier and 1000 times more satisfied with life.
I'm a parent. The day you have kids your Life is over. You will have a 'life', but its not the same as the Life you would have with no encumbrances.
Kids will make you age faster. Kids will prevent you from doing what you want, when you want it. They are expensive, and the reality is that no amount of love will REALLY pay back the metric ass-load of money you are putting out.
I notice that a lot of parents sing the 'Parental Reality Tune' when you get a few drinks into them. I suspect most parents say they like being a parent much more than they actually do.
and it's been downhill non stop.
The crackpots have been chipping away at the fixes.
Those same crackpots are stronger than they've been since the 40s...
They've noticed all that education and they don't like it. They're working on eliminating it and replacing it with religion and authoritarianism...
Kids will teach a nerd because what we used to call a nerd is now a neckbeard and they still mercilessly bully the neckbeard.
And the last thing I want to do is let my kids decide. They're kids. They don't know shit from shinola.
If I see any silver lining it's that Columbine scared the bejeebus out of the jocks and gym teachers so they've put the breaks on institutionalize bullying (e.g. when the teachers join in the fun) and that Birth Control is getting cheaper and more effective. The only way to keep people from being abused is to have so few of them you can't. It worked when we killed 22million in WWII.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
You're living for someone other than yourself... wow, what a concept.
not older.
Some of are not able to have children and once you find this out, you are like over a certain age when you are no longer allowed to adopt.
Seriously I'd like to have children but fate and US laws prevent it.