Most of the theories purported by the so-called experts in "non-parenting" have holes so big you could drive a truck through them. The most laughable, to me, came from Daniel Gilbert, the psychology chair from Harvard, who believes that the reason people say their relationships with their children are of the greatest importance to their happiness (2007 Pew Research Centre Survey) is "because they're expected to" and "in clinical economic terms: the more people pay for an item, the more highly they tend to value it." This is so absurd it's funny. The reason people say their relationships with their children are of the greatest importance to their happiness, you dope, is because they LOVE them. Most people who have children love them, hugely, passionately with a breathtaking and heart throbbing intensity that cannot be compared to any other love. Yes kids can be annoying, yes they drive you nuts sometimes, but that gut wrenching, all encompassing, unconditional love a parent has for their child bonds you to that little being for life and easily overrides all the negative stuff. Why is that so hard to understand?