Age composition of young children and parental well-being in Japan

ABSTRACT Prior research suggests that raising young children is a stressful stage of childcare, but it remains unclear how the age composition of young children is related to parental well-being. This study examines variations in parental well-being between men and women in Japan, with a special focus on the age composition of young children. Using the 2018 National Family Research of Japan data, we estimated ordinary least-squares regression models to investigate differences in well-being among (1) parents only with infants, (2) parents with infants and preschool children, and (3) parents with one child going to school. The roles of support from spouse, own parents, and parents-in-law were also tested. We found that women report significantly lower levels of well-being when they raise preschool-age children compared to those with school-age children. The effects of raising young children remain strong, even after controlling for familial support. Men’s well-being does not vary by the age composition of children. Our results show that the preschool age is the most challenging stage of childcare for Japanese women, but their well-being improves as the child gets older. This finding suggests the importance of providing institutional support to women with young children, such as flexibility concerning parental leave.