Actually, Kids Make You Happy

180 alert!

Less than a year ago, parents were buried under an avalanche of studies that concluded kids don’t make you happy. In fact, these studies showed that people raising kids reported lower levels of happiness — life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and mental well-being — than their childless counterparts.

Oh, and that lower level of happiness? Never. Goes. Away.

Okay, but now out of the U.K., the Journal of Happiness Studies reports that not only do kids not lower their parents’ level of happiness, they actually raise it — a little bit with the first kid. Even more with the second. And (I’m looking at you, Baby Earl!) significantly more with the third!

There’s a catch, though. Continue reading »

They Say: Nice Girls, Neat Boys Get Better Grades

Along with flashcards, private tutors and piping in Mozart, you’ll want to include neatly pressed slacks and personality coaching in your child’s long-term educational strategies.

A new study has found a significant link between beauty and grades, something everyone but the beautiful have long suspected. Continue reading »

America’s Top Public High Shools

My daughter is far from being ready for high school, but when I saw Newsweek’s America’s Top Public High School list I immediately scoured the list of 1,300 schools to see which of our local schools made it.

The schools are from all over the country and the scoring is based on test scores (AP, Intl. Baccalaureate, Cambridge). Who made it to the top of the list ? Continue reading »