We love our children. We'd do almost anything to support their happiness, enjoy their smile. In fact, many of us have been so busy doing everything we can to give them what we believe they need, we might have overlooked the input kids are giving these days. And, yet, the issue of happiness is in the news.

Over the past month, you've probably come across quite the conversation about happiness studies. We've read, and heard, about longitudinal research on women's happiness, and an apparent decline in their experience of it over the past years. A few weeks ago, Russell Bishop, of the Huffington Post added to the dialogue with his piece on male happiness, to which many readers responded.

Maybe because I've loved being a 'roving reporter' over the years, I set out three weeks ago to discover whatever I could about this subject, as it applies to our youth. My protocol was simple. After asking any guardians in view, I approached kids at various locations (school yards, playgrounds, grocery stores, movie theaters, etc), and asked them if they would help me. I