{"id":1198,"date":"2016-12-08T22:16:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T06:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthykidshappykids.com\/?p=1198"},"modified":"2018-08-26T21:29:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T04:29:11","slug":"make-kids-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Your Kids Happy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"make-kids-happy\"<\/p>\n

During this holiday season, we as parents are consumed with one thought \u2013 \u201cHow do I make my kids happy?\u201d What gift will be so perfect that it will light up their little faces with sheer happiness and joy?<\/p>\n

And it doesn\u2019t help that books, website, and blogs abound on how to be happy. On how to raise happy kids. Look at these alluring titles:<\/p>\n

\"happy-book-1\" \"happy-book-2\" \"happy-book-3\" \"happy-book-4\"<\/p>\n

A quick search on Amazon.com using the phrase \u201cHow to be Happy\u201d pulled up a mere 243,607 books. Who doesn\u2019t want to be happy? Who doesn\u2019t want their kids to be happy? But HOW<\/em><\/strong>???<\/p>\n

Have you ever given your child what you think is the most awesome gift ever, only to have them look around and ask, \u201cIs that it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you ever been to a party with some of your best friends, drunk the most amazing wine, eaten the most decadent food, laughed all night long sharing hilarious stories about previous or upcoming exploits, only to come home and feel, well, less than \u201chappy?\u201d\u00a0 Have you had vague feelings of dissatisfaction, like something was missing?<\/p>\n

Why does it seem so difficult to just be happy? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"myth-of-happiness\"Sonya Lyubormirsky explores the \u201cmyth\u201d of happiness that we have all bought into \u2013 that our lives should be constantly filled with euphoric, exuberant moments. But once the adrenaline rush of marrying our perfect partner, landing that dream job, or giving birth to that beautiful baby is over \u2013 then what?<\/p>\n

Why aren\u2019t you more<\/em><\/strong> happy?\u00a0 If you can\u2019t find happiness, how can you help your kids find it? The real question is \u2013 what is true happiness, and how do we create it?<\/p>\n

For many of us, our idea of happiness lies in the notion of \u201cHedonic happiness\u201d \u2013 the simple attainment of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. We seek out things and activities that will make us feel happy. This is the \u201crush\u201d, the \u201chigh\u201d, the euphoria that we all feel at times. But should the pursuit of pure pleasure really be our ultimate goal? Should this be the way our kids define their happiness?<\/p>\n

Another concept of happiness has emerged called \u201cEudaimonic happiness.\u201d Eu-dai- what???<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Eudaimonism<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Eudaimonism comes from the Greek word Eudaimonia, which means \u201chappiness\u201d, or more specifically \u201chuman flourishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eudaimonism encompasses the pursuit of meaning in our lives. That there is something more out there than the pursuit of pure pleasure. It involves the continuous pursuit of personal growth and self-realization as a means to well-being. It is in the pursuit of our human potential that we create our own happiness.<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that people who pursue hedonic activities report themselves as \u201chappier\u201d in the short run than those who pursue eudaimonic goals. On the other hand, in the long run, those who lead a more eudaimonic existence by working on developing their full potential and constantly bettering themselves, ended up being more satisfied with their lives.<\/p>\n

Eudaimonism sounds great, doesn\u2019t it? So why wouldn\u2019t we all live a eudaimonic life?\"http:\/\/www.theunitive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/change.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Personal growth is HARD<\/em>. Overcoming challenges and barriers, both external and internal, and making personal life changes are NOT<\/em> always experienced as positive. Sometimes you just have to suck it up, do your best, keep your eyes on the prize, and follow your dreams. When we pursue our goals and find meaning in our lives, we practice transcendence. Transcendence is the dedication and commitment to something or someone other than ourselves. And it is in transcendence that we find true well-being. As parents, we practice transcendence every moment of every day of our lives. But don\u2019t fool yourselves, it\u2019s HARD!<\/em><\/p>\n

But, it\u2019s worth it!<\/span> <\/strong>Our body actually responds differently at a cellular level depending on which kind of happiness we pursue. A study by Fredrickson, et al in 2013<\/a> from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that while we might think we feel<\/em> <\/strong>the same when we pursue hedonic versus eudaimonic happiness, our body experiences these two states very differently.<\/p>\n

When we\u2019re stressed, we have an increase in our \u201cstress-related conserved transcriptional response to adversity\u201d (CTRA). In essence, when we\u2019re stressed, our cells turn on genes that create inflammation and reduce our ability to fight viral infections. Stress = Inflammation<\/strong><\/span>. This might have been fine in caveman days when we needed to keep bacterial infections at bay after getting scratched by a saber-toothed tiger. But, chronic activation of our CRTA from chronic psychological stress has been implicated as an underlying factor in the rapid rise of chronic inflammatory diseases, including heart disease, cancers, autoimmune illness and neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Stress = Inflammation = Chronic Disease<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What these researchers found next was shocking. Those people who pursued hedonic happiness showed the same increase in stress-induced immune responses (CTRA), with more inflammation and decreased immune protection against viruses, as those people who were highly stressed. Hedonism increased inflammation and weakened our immune system in the same way as psychological stress! So simply pursuing hedonic pleasure could actually contribute to chronic inflammation and chronic disease.<\/p>\n

Hedonism = Physiologic Stress = Inflammation = Chronic Disease<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On the other hand, those people who pursued eudaimonic happiness showed decreased physiologic stress responses (CTRA), with decreased inflammation and improved ability to fight viral infections. Eudaimonism actually strengthened their immune systems.<\/p>\n

Eudaimonism = Less Physiologic Stress = Stronger Immune System = Healthier YOU!<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Eudaimonic living is good for our bodies and our minds!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We all need a certain amount of hedonism in our lives. Children by nature are hedonic beings. So go ahead \u2013 get them that awesome gift and watch their faces light up! A Lego Ninjago set for Bodi and Heely roller shoes for Kenzi are waiting in my Amazon cart!<\/p>\n

There is nothing wrong with the pursuit of pleasure. But life is not just about the \u201crush.\u201d Our eudaimonic goal as parents should be to foster a drive for personal growth and sense of purpose in our children. Our job is not to \u201cmake\u201d our kids happy, but to help them learn how to create their own happiness by finding meaning in their lives.<\/p>\n

So as we head full force into this holiday season and think about how to make our kids happy:<\/p>\n

How will you help your children find meaning in their lives and create their own happiness?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During this holiday season, we as parents are consumed with one thought \u2013 \u201cHow do I make my kids happy?\u201d What gift will be so perfect that it will light up their little faces with sheer happiness and joy? And it doesn\u2019t help that books, website, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[26,36,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Make Your Kids Happy - Healthy Kids Happy Kids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Make Your Kids Happy - Healthy Kids Happy Kids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During this holiday season, we as parents are consumed with one thought \u2013 \u201cHow do I make my kids happy?\u201d What gift will be so perfect that it will light up their little faces with sheer happiness and joy? And it doesn\u2019t help that books, website, and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Healthy Kids Happy Kids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-09T06:16:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-27T04:29:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elisa Song, MD\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elisa Song, MD\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/\",\"name\":\"How To Make Your Kids Happy - Healthy Kids Happy Kids\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-09T06:16:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-27T04:29:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#\/schema\/person\/00aa6cbc78a4d96d27e01b5af3c044d9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg\",\"width\":1932,\"height\":1932},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How To Make Your Kids Happy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/\",\"name\":\"Healthy Kids Happy Kids\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#\/schema\/person\/00aa6cbc78a4d96d27e01b5af3c044d9\",\"name\":\"Elisa Song, MD\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4407b00859cf9e8ad32ca53e7652671b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4407b00859cf9e8ad32ca53e7652671b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elisa Song, MD\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/author\/healt472_wp\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How To Make Your Kids Happy - Healthy Kids Happy Kids","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How To Make Your Kids Happy - Healthy Kids Happy Kids","og_description":"During this holiday season, we as parents are consumed with one thought \u2013 \u201cHow do I make my kids happy?\u201d What gift will be so perfect that it will light up their little faces with sheer happiness and joy? And it doesn\u2019t help that books, website, and","og_url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/","og_site_name":"Healthy Kids Happy Kids","article_published_time":"2016-12-09T06:16:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-27T04:29:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1932,"height":1932,"url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elisa Song, MD","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elisa Song, MD","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/","url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/","name":"How To Make Your Kids Happy - Healthy Kids Happy Kids","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg","datePublished":"2016-12-09T06:16:25+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-27T04:29:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#\/schema\/person\/00aa6cbc78a4d96d27e01b5af3c044d9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg","width":1932,"height":1932},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2016\/12\/08\/make-kids-happy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How To Make Your Kids Happy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/","name":"Healthy Kids Happy Kids","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#\/schema\/person\/00aa6cbc78a4d96d27e01b5af3c044d9","name":"Elisa Song, MD","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4407b00859cf9e8ad32ca53e7652671b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4407b00859cf9e8ad32ca53e7652671b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elisa Song, MD"},"url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/author\/healt472_wp\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Make-Kids-Happy.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1198"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2740,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions\/2740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}