Family key to women's happiness | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

LIKE MANY woman, Suzanne Carson's biggest source of happiness is her family.

But statistics show traditional families are on the decline, with more women choosing not to have children.

A recent happiness survey asked 2000 Kiwis aged 15 and over to rate factors that contributed to their personal happiness.

Eighty-two per cent of women said they gained the most happiness from their family, while for men, freedom came out on top.

Ms Carson, 59, who is mum to daughters Crystal, 28, and Courtney, 17, said that family made her happier than anything else.

"I think there are huge rewards - seeing them develop and being happy within themselves.

"Life's about individuals and satisfying your own dreams, but not at the exclusion of your family," the Somerfield woman said.

Another study has found the traditional family unit is disintegrating, with childless couples now the most common kind of New Zealand household.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand show that couples without children at home overtook couples with children in 2008 - the first time since World War 2.

The changes are mainly driven by the ageing population caused by plunging birth and death rates over the past 50 years.

Ms Carson said it was sad that fewer people were having families, but she respected people who decided not to have children.

"Some people get more satisfaction out of having an enormous career or travel, but I think it's a sad result because of the rewards of having a family and sharing in the family experience."

There are also growing numbers of young adults who have not yet had children - and increasingly never will.

Census figures show that 15 per cent of women born in 1965 had not had children by the time they were 40.

Family First spokesman Bob McCoskrie said the projections were a warning shot for the country.

"We should be doing everything we can to promote stable two-parent homes for the sake of the kids, and for the sake of the adults having the support they need to bring up the kids."

The happiness survey, commissioned by Coca-Cola, also found that being intimate did not rank highly with either males or females, with both choosing rest, 31 per cent, over intimacy, 1 per cent, as the happiest moment of the day.