Joy and happiness are the words Russians most often connect with children. This insight came from a survey conducted by the SuperJob job search service and later reviewed by socialbites.ca, shedding light on how people in Russia perceive the younger generation and the feelings that surround them. The findings offer a glimpse into cultural associations and how everyday life, family, and childhood are imagined in contemporary Russian society. In discussing the results, it becomes clear that the language used by participants reflects warmth, affection, and a broad spectrum of emotional connections tied to children, beyond mere descriptors of age or stage of life.
According to the survey data, 14% of respondents explicitly linked joy with children, while 10% associated happiness with the presence of children in their lives. These figures highlight a dominant emotional frame in which children are seen as a source of positive feelings that resonate across various personal experiences. Additional associations present a gentler, yet equally meaningful, view of childhood. Children were described as the “flowers of life” by 8% of participants, a phrase that conveys beauty, vitality, and the hope that children bring to daily existence. Responsibility, acknowledged by 7%, underscores the sense that raising kids is a meaningful obligation, one that families and communities hold in high regard. Love and noise, each referenced by 5%, point to the dual nature of childhood: affection and bustle, tenderness and activity, all woven together in the daily rhythms of family life. Small but telling shares—4% for the future and family—reflect a belief that children symbolize continuity and the social bonds that carry families forward, while 3% tied childhood to laughter and curiosity, suggesting that the joy of youth is found in their playful moments and the questions they ask about the world.
A nuanced picture emerges when looking at more granular associations. Two percent of participants each felt that children themselves are primarily concerned with school and kindergarten issues, a nod to the practical challenges that accompany early education. The same fraction believes that children are ultimately little people, recognizing their humanity and individuality beyond their roles as learners or dependents. Another 2% view children as their own, hinting at the intimate, personal dimension of parenthood and the bonds that form in family life. For some respondents, kindness, affection, toys, the sense of life continuing, a smile, and the sun each encapsulated a distinct facet of childhood, with 1% naming each attribute. A similar share noted that children are fine and even expressed a wish to have puppies, signaling simple, cheerful desires associated with childhood. A small 3% indicated no meaningful association with the word, highlighting the diversity of perspectives that exist on this topic among the population surveyed.
The gender dynamics in how people express the idea of children as happiness show interesting differences. Women most strongly echoed the sentiment that children represent happiness, with 13% aligning with that view, compared with 7% of men. Conversely, men were more likely to equate children with the flowers of life, a comparison valued by 11% of male respondents, indicating a slightly different emphasis in how gender perspectives shape the meaning attributed to childhood in everyday discourse. These patterns suggest that cultural expectations and personal experiences with parenting and family life influence the emotional language used to describe children, even within the same society and national context.
Formerly in Kyrgyzstan allowed get “match” instead of last name.