New research shows: Having a third child makes parents almost 7 years older

A research team from Columbia Mailman University, the Robert Butler Center for Aging Columbia (USA) and the University of Paris-Dauphine - PSL (France) analyzed databases from the Health, Aging and Retirement Survey in Europe. (SHARE) of thousands of people aged 65 and over across 20 European countries and Israel. These people have at least two biological children.

Having a lot of children is not necessarily a joy

The results showed that people with three or more children had worse health and cognitive performance, brain later in life than those with only 1-2 children.

Dr Eric Bonsang, professor of economics at the University of Paris-Dauphine, a member of the research team, said: "The negative effect of having three or more children on cognitive function is not small, it is which equates to a loss of 6.2 years of life."

In particular, contrary to what many people think that this influence only affects women much, the research results show that both men and women are "aging" faster since having their third child.

The real reason for this "getting older" is still unclear, but researchers say it's the stress and financial burden of having more children that accelerate the aging process.

Having more children can cause parents to incur large financial costs, reduce the family's income and reduce other enjoyment needs in life.

Financial worries force parents to actively work and work. Fatigue, pressure from work, economic burden and having to take care of many children make both parents prone to stress. Over time, both physically and mentally are exhausted, greatly affecting cognition and brain activities.

The stress of having more children contributes to a decrease in parental relaxation time and investment in cognitively stimulating activities.

This is the first study to investigate the causal impact of procreation on cognition at the end of life. To date fertility has not received much attention as a potential predictor of end-of-life perception compared with other factors, such as education or occupation.

Aging and premature cognitive decline affect not only individual lives but also society as a whole. For each individual, ensuring brain health, being socially active is essential to maintaining mental clarity at all stages of life, especially in old age.

For society, ensuring cognitive health is necessary to prolong working life and reduce the cost of health care for the elderly.

Another study by Boston University has also found that optimists live longer, healthier lives than pessimists. The reason is because their lives have few stressful events to deal with.

According to the researchers, given the importance of having a third child on mental health and cognition, parents should consider the accompanying factors before making a decision to have another child.

Countries also need new research directions, which should consider addressing the potential effects of not having children or having many children on perceptions of older people. From there, it is possible to plan population development, balance the birth rate and ensure education, health and social security.