Feeling Pride and Awe in Parenthood: The Unique Emotional Rewards of Parenting on Well-Being

Parenthood is challenging but fulfilling. We examined how parental pride and awe may enhance various aspects of well-being across cross-sectional ( N = 505), longitudinal ( N = 130), and experimental ( N = 261) studies, along with an internal meta-analysis. Thematic analyses suggested similar yet unique frequencies and underpinnings of pride (child growth, talent, resilience, and good behavior) and awe (child love/kindness, growth, talent, and shared moments). Beyond this, we found that pride predicted greater pleasure (i.e., high satisfaction and low negative affect), and awe predicted greater pleasure, purpose (i.e., meaning), and variety (i.e., psychological richness). We found that strengthened relationship quality with a child, self-transcendence (for pride and awe), and slowed time perception (for awe) served as mechanisms for these effects. Furthermore, these rewards were consistent across parent and child characteristics and could not be explained by child temperament or other positive emotions. These findings illuminate how pride and awe can make parenting bright, meaningful, and rich.