The belief that children and money will bring people happiness is one of life’s abiding illusions, a Sydney conference attended by 2000 seekers of happiness was told yesterday.

The scientific evidence shows people are very bad at predicting what will make them happy, said Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University and the author of the book Stumbling On Happiness. He said people’s happiness goes into steep decline after they have children, and never recovers its old level until the children leave home. As a source of pleasure, playing with one’s offspring rates just above doing housework but below talking with friends, eating, or watching TV, research has shown.

Yet people invest so much time and money in their children, and focus on the fleeting moments of joy they bring, rather than on the long periods of boredom and irritation, that most continue to believe children will bring them happiness, Professor Gilbert said.

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It might come as a surprise if you’re struggling with the mortgage, the smog or the morning commute, but Sydney is apparently associated with the word “happiness”.

A global survey of urban lifestyle trends in 14 cities interviewed 8500 people, 630 who live in Sydney.

Those residents said Sydney was one of the world’s greatest cities, and a “pleasant, clean and charming” place to live.

In fact, the harbour city was ranked among the top three of the world’s “easy to live” cities, praised for low levels of population density and closeness to nature, with residents reporting they are optimistic and not very stressed.

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