Having kids don't automatically make you a better person. Anecdotally, most of the people I know are the same after having kids as they were before having kids. The only difference is that they're working an extra job.
The ones who coo and cuddle with their kids are those who would coo and cuddle any child they come into contact with. Those who are patient with their kids were patient before having children.
The chemical high from having a child doesn't necessarily change who you are. If anything, it simply amplifies existing traits by putting you through a high pressure, long-term project.
The biggest (positive) child-related change I've noticed? The sudden and prolonged surge of happiness when those children are out of the house. Everything else tends to be the effects of time blunting the worst of the negatives.
As a point of reference, I have no children of my own, but I had two teenage girls adopt me as their father. I spend several days a week tutoring and helping them. I get the high of watching them grow into themselves without having to live with them.
The ones who coo and cuddle with their kids are those who would coo and cuddle any child they come into contact with. Those who are patient with their kids were patient before having children.
The chemical high from having a child doesn't necessarily change who you are. If anything, it simply amplifies existing traits by putting you through a high pressure, long-term project.
The biggest (positive) child-related change I've noticed? The sudden and prolonged surge of happiness when those children are out of the house. Everything else tends to be the effects of time blunting the worst of the negatives.
As a point of reference, I have no children of my own, but I had two teenage girls adopt me as their father. I spend several days a week tutoring and helping them. I get the high of watching them grow into themselves without having to live with them.