Piotrowski has now conducted two studies with a total of 2,500 Polish parents.

The parents in one group were between 18 and 40 years old, selected from a representative sample of the population.

The parents in the second study were between 18 and 30 years old. Many of them had had children very early.

Everyone was asked if they still would have chosen to have children if they could have gone back in time.

The analyses show that 13.6 per cent of the parents in the first group regretted that they had had children. Fully 10.7 per cent of the youngest parents regretted their decision.