The $100 Question: Does a Happy Childhood Guarantee a Happy Adult?

If a happy childhood means having parents/parent who teaches their child how to deal with all manner of life's ups and downs while maintaining a positive attitude as well as their joy. Then yes I think their is great chance they will be a happy adult.

I think that a happy childhood gives a person more opportunity for a happy adulthood, but it isn't a guarantee. Neither is it impossible for someone with a difficult childhood to rise above it and be a happy adult.

It is a good start but ultimately each adult has to find what will make them happy

A good childhood is important, but life happens and none of us are immune to negative circumstances in our lives! Thanks! senekers@comcast.net

I think a happy childhood does make a happy
adult.I think you learn a lot in your early
years

No because a lot of things can happen between being a child and being an adult. Also, an unhappy childhood doesn't guarantee an unhappy adult.

I believe a happy childhood can lead to a happy adulthood, but it is not a guarantee. I also believe if the childhood was happy because the child never had to deal with conflict or adversity, then they may very well be unhappy adults.

If a child has an unhappy childhood, I think they will need to work hard to overcome their past to become a happy adult.

I don't think so because what happens to you during life shapes how happy you are.

But, it does build a good foundation for the future.

I think yes, because chances are you're used to being happy so you want to keep it up.

Happiness is a choice. A good upbringing can pave the way for happiness but bad things happen to good people and its a choice we make on whether to be happy or not.

Happiness is a choice. A good upbringing can pave the way for happiness but bad things happen to good people and its a choice we make on whether to be happy or not.

I think it gives you a good head start to know what happy is. Then you can work on finding it the rest of your life.

It's a good start. A happy childhood teaches you how to be a happy adult.

Just because you were happy as a child doesn't mean life is going to turn out how you want it to.

It totally shapes you into who you will become.

Well, a happy childhood is a good start but it doesn't guarantee it, but it does help given them the higher odds to be a happy adult.

I'm not a very happy adult and I wasn't a happy child so maybe there is truth to that...My children have a mostly happy childhood so that's all I can do for now, I hope it works! I think it's a very good start on a happy and satisfying adulthood...

Not necessarily. There are no guarantees in life. There are plenty of people out there who had a happy childhood and grew up to be miserable, and vice versa. Being happy depends on your current situation and on your ability to work at being, and staying, happy.

I think that it definitely helps to have a happy childhood but it certainly doesn't guarantee a happy adult.

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I don't think that a happy childhood necessarily guarantees a happy adult, but it does give you all the skills you need as an adult to overcome adversity. Sometimes I think that a difficult childhood can make you more sensitive and tolerant toward others and give you more of a purpose to succeed. I think it depends more on the person and how they view their childhood.

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in life. A happy childhood increases the likelihood of happiness, but only in the sense that their predisposition may help them through whatever life throws at them. I think it's also important to teach children how to handle the challenges of life and feel lucky to have whatever they do at the time, so even the worst doesn't seem as bad as it could be.

Take my brother in law, for example. He had a very abusive childhood with negligent parents. He is now a model father, who raises his children with love and compassion. It was his life's goal to treat his kids with the dignity and respect that was denied to him.

On the other hand, my neighbor's daughter has been spoiled and coddled her whole life, and remains unappreciative to this day of all the sacrifices her parents made for her.

A happier childhood gives you a better start in life, but I don't think it guarantees a happier adult. Too many things happen along the way in life and some choose to handle it and stay happy, while some become bitter or depressed.

No, but it can certainly make it more likely.

But a happy childhood gives them an advantage. They learn how to help others and are more able to cope with setbacks. Sometimes things just happen that throws the happy childhood right out the window.

not necessarily

Unfortunately there are few, if any guarantees in life. That being said, I do think that a happy childhood makes it that much easier to have a happy adult life.

I'm sure it helps but there are always things that can happen as an adult to cause someone to be unhappy. No one wants an unhappy childhood but that doesn't mean you can't be happy as an adult either.

It could but things can happen in adulthood to change you from being happy to being sad or depressed. I think the difference is, you can get over the sadness faster if you were a happy child.

In my opinion - Just as there are no ugly kittens, there are no unhappy children. Innocence is what we see on a child's face. The pure joy of optimism to the positive way of viewing everything. I just watched a toddler discover yesterday afternoon how fun it was to wet his hand with water at a public water faucet and to flick it towards his parents. Even though the water never reached them, they reacted as though the were getting wet. Then the little boy imitated the same action towards 2 other young men in their early 20's, who stopped for a drink not knowing about this fun game the boy had created. Thank goodness both times, these men knew to laugh and share in the joy.
Bliss early in life can have lasting effects. I grew up extremely gifted with a way of making anyone near me smile. I wear a smile and laugh my way through all the days of the week. My personal joy has helped me through all the pain and disappointments. My life as a child was filled with too much change. My parents did not remain married. All of my things were given away when we had to move away during the divorce. My mother met men and remarried many times over but never found the same happiness she had once shared with my father. So I was conditioned to relying on myself to find personal happiness. Yes, I believe we are all born with an equal level of happiness. It is through our own choice of acceptance of truth or manipulation of activity that we arrive at anything less than happy.

I believe a happy childhood can give a good foundation for adulthood but not necessarily will it make you a happy adult.

We are all molded by our experiences as well, good and bad, sometimes when you have survived a bad experience, it gives you strength to see things in a different light and possibly enjoy life a little more than someone who might be overwhelmed by the slightest obstacle because they have never had to hurdle lifes challenges....

The happiest of childhoods can be a good start in life, however I was reading a book called 'Mistresses of Mayhem' about women who were serial killers, law breakers etc and in it there were many examples of women who had happy childhoods and one event broke them..

Does not create a happier adult but it's a good start

Not necessarily. It takes a lot more than that when you are dealing with grown up issues. You can have the best childhood and happiest memories, but when you are a child, most of the time you are naive and sheltered from the reality of the world, and adult problems within the world. The best choice is to be happy from within.

I don't think it guarantees anything. I've seen seemingly happy kids have terrible adult lives and vice versa.

There are no guarantees in life, but having a happy childhood are the best memories to have as an adult, especially when you are going through tough times.

case in point, my best friend had a normal happy life as a youngster and can be the most depressing person to be around at times. Some days I call and hang up wondering what the point of getting out of bed is, I'm so low by the time we're through talking. It's sad.

But there's no guarntee that the adult years will be just as good as the childhood years

I think you have a better chance of being a happy adult if you've benefited from a happy childhood. However, if you're lucky enough to gain the good life experiences as you get older and learn how to find happiness, you can do it for yourself too.

A happy childhood does help but when you are on your own anything can happy to make your life not happy.

i would guess that it does, but i really don't have any idea. i think that knowing how to cope and how to be thankful for what you do have makes for a happy adult.

I don't think a happy childhood can guarantee a happy adult but I think it's the best shot one can have!

Sharon Caillet Carstens says A happy childhood is the foundation to your future. When I run into difficult times, and there have been many, I remember my childhood days and what they meant to me. Those memories turn my negative thoughts into positive ones. There is no such thing as a completely happy person all of their life, but when we turn to God's promises and go back to safe, happy days, today's challenges are easier to deal with.

i think that the majority of happy kids will grow into happy adults as long as nothing tragic happens on the way to adulthood

A happy childhood can certainly make one a more optimistic person. However, happiness may mean that a person hasn't endured the trials that an unhappy childhood may bring. Its through life's trials that we become stronger as adults and ultimately, happier.

Unfortunately no. Circumstances such as accidents,violence and life have a way of throwing wrenches into our life. Certainly having a good childhood will help in making good decisions but does not guarantee a happy life.

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I don't necessarily think that a happy childhood makes for a happy adult. I've known many adults with miserable childhoods that went on to be very happy adults.

Parents can do their best to make their children happy adults, but of course it is the individual to move forward with that happiness.

The answer is no, I wished that it did. Just take a look today at most of the people in our prison system, the majority of them had a happy childhood, they chose a different path. Overall, I would say that most people have a happy childhood and something in their life happens. They make the wrong choice and end up being an unhappy adult. On a personal note,I had a very happy childhood,and as most adults, I had some trials along the way,not in the prison system, but thank goodness with the help of my family, I have turned out to be a very happy adult. Let's be honest,I would not be where I am today without my family.

I don't think that it does. Something can happen later in life just like it can early in life.