Putting your child first can make you happier, a study has found.

‘Tiger mums’ who put their children first are the happiest, researchers claim. Their findings challenge the myth that parents who are highly involved in their children’s lives must be sacrificing their own wellbeing

Study leader Claire Ashton-James, from VU University in Amsterdam, said there is little research to support the assumption that investing time in your children comes at some personal cost.

Her findings, however, seemed to back up the notion that investing financial and emotional resources in others leads to greater happiness than investing in yourself. Dr Ashton-James said: ‘In short, when it comes to parental well-being, you reap what you sow.’

The researchers found that child-centric parents were significantly more likely to report higher levels of happiness and a greater sense of purpose derived from having children.

The report, published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, concluded: ‘We found a significant positive relationship between child-centrism and the subjective happiness and meaning of life that participants reported deriving from parenting.