Identifying the Lived Experiences of Parents about the Impact of Children on Family Life

Considering the issue of having children is essential, due to its great impact on the family life of people in different periods of parenting. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the changes in family life that are affected by having children.

96 married men and women participants from Tehran, in different age groups (based on the principle of data saturation) and by purposeful sampling method, among people with newborns up to six years, parents with primary school children, parents with adolescents and parents with single and married adult children were selected and interviewed in-depth semi-structured to identify their experiences with childbearing. Also, the interviews were analyzed using the Van Manen method (interpretive phenomenological approach).

Topics include "Children entering life", "Come of age", "Starting school", "Adolescence: a bridge between childhood and adulthood", "Ending adolescence: entering the world of adulthood", and "Children leaving home" Were extracted.

Finally, it can be concluded that the changes that occur in each period of family life, due to the influence of children, range from managing issues related to the children themselves to the effects of their presence on financial issues, marital relationships, social interactions and etc.