Parents of sons less happy than those with daughters: Study

Parents who have sons feel less happy than those who have daughters aged 17 to 30, according to research about children's gender and their parents' happiness, reported sx.xinhuanet.com on Sunday.

According to the report, the children's gender didn't show significant influence on their parents' happiness before they reached adulthood, but that the happiness of parents with sons reduces remarkably compared with those with daughters when children are aged between 17 and 30, especially between ages 24 to 30.

One main reason comes from the Chinese tradition that the mother of the young woman usually requires her future son-in-law to prepare a house for their marriage, which brings financial pressure to the young man and his family.

Usually, a young man's parents naturally share their son's burden when he needs to buy a house to get married.

The report found that the happiness of parents with sons falls when real estate prices rise.

Also, more and more children choose to live apart from their parents when they reach adulthood, so boys' ability to do physical labor in the household becomes irrelevant to their parents.

Many parents notice that their girls are equally competitive against boys in both academics and career advancement, and that girls in general are more thoughtful and considerate than boys.