Exploring the meaning of happiness of middle childhood children

•The meaning of happiness for children of middle childhood age refers to positive affection, activities, receiving something, attaining achievements, as well as a positive physical condition.•Situations that generate happiness are when children doing activities, when receiving something, when there is an affiliation, when performing religious activities, and when they are on special days and events,•The most important people who make the children happy are their parents and siblings. Recognizing the importance of childhood happiness as a quality-of-life indicator, as well as the scarcity of studies that have been carried out concerning the happiness of children in Indonesian context, this study aims to explore the meaning, situations, and people who generate a feeling of happiness for children in Indonesian context. This research took an inductive, exploratory approach involving 46 middle childhood children as respondents (50% boys, 50% girls, Mage = 7,76). Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using a thematic analysis framework. Findings of this research revealed several themes emerge as meaning as well as sources of happiness: 1) Positive affect; 2) doing enjoyable activities; 3) receiving something; 4) achieving something; 5) relating with others; 6) having a positive physical condition; 7) performing religious activities; and 8) special days or events. Furthermore, both family and non-family members contribute a share in children’s happiness. The results confirm the findings of previous studies conducted in the context of younger children and studies in Western and Asian countries. Additional findings and suggestions for further research are discussed further in a more comprehensive manner.