--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Having worked so hard to have children…" description: "\"“Having worked so hard to have children, parents may feel it's only natural to expect happiness from the experience. And they'll find happiness of cour..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/jennifer-senior-12574_children_having-worked-so-hard-to-have-children-p_969676.jpg" --- # Having worked so hard to have children, parents may feel… ![“Having worked so hard to have children, parents may feel it's only natural to expect happiness from the experience. And they'll find happiness of course, but not necessarily continuously, and not always in the forms they might expect.” quote by Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/jennifer-senior-12574_children_having-worked-so-hard-to-have-children-p_969676.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/jennifer-senior-12574_children_having-worked-so-hard-to-have-children-p_969676.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/jennifer-senior-12574_children_having-worked-so-hard-to-have-children-p_969676.jpg) > ““Having worked so hard to have children, parents may feel it's only natural to expect happiness from the experience. And they'll find happiness of course, but not necessarily continuously, and not always in the forms they might expect.”” [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parents often expect constant happiness from children, but joy is intermittent and varied. **In simple terms:** Parenting joy isn’t constant. Key Takeaway Accept the ups and downs of parenting joy Themes parenting expectations joy Mood empathetic balanced Type reflective advisory When to use this quote - new parents - seasoned parents - family counseling Key Concepts developmental psychology family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can parents reframe expectations? - What forms of joy can you recognize? A Different Perspective Expecting constant joy can lead to disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) ## Related quotes > [Some children do what they’re told to do; some children do what they’re told not to do; all children do what they’re parents have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/some-children-do-what-they-re-told-to-do-some-children-do-what-they/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The only people who seem to have nothing to do with the education of the children are the parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-only-people-who-seem-to-have-nothing-to-do-with-the-education-of/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-de-fontanelle/a-great-obstacle-to-happiness-is-to-expect-too-much-happiness/) Bernard de Fontanelle > [“In his own life, then, a man is not to expect happiness, only to profit by it gladly when it shall arise; he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-his-own-life-then-a-man-is-not-to-expect-happiness-only-to-profit/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [No one can escape death and unhappiness. If people expect only happiness in life, they will be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/no-one-can-escape-death-and-unhappiness-if-people-expect-only/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [It is in the expectations of happiness that much of happiness itself is found. 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