Keys to making moms happy

The key to happiness for working moms is likely feeling competent at their craft.

A new study from Belgium was recently posted in the 'Journal of Happiness.' It shows moms felt more happy when they were competent at motherhood, free to make their own choices, connected to their child and weren't overly self-critical.

Working moms saw a decline in well-being when they experienced more feelings of pressure, inadequacy and social alienation.

How the children behaved didn't really affect how happy the mothers were. However, those moms with more extroverted babies seemed to be a bit more happy.

Researchers analyzed data from 126 mothers after they were done with maternity leave and left their child at day care. This was done because that is known as a typically stressful time in a mothers' life.

One of the authors of the study says, "more positive perceptions of the child's temperament were found to buffer to some extent against the affective difficulties associated with a lack of need satisfaction, high need frustration and maternal self-criticism."

Read the entire study here.