Too Young to Marry?

[Karen]

I recently stumbled across this article, called "14 Celebrity Baby Brides" prompted by Hillary's Duff's recent wedding I guess. But she's 22. I don't consider that being a "baby" or too young to get married, and some of the other celebs were even 25!

The article.

How old do you think is "too young" to get married?

I know it is different for everyone individually, and some people will never be ready for marriage, no matter the age, but do you think 22 or 25 is too young?

And just to be open about this, we got married the summer we turned 22. I certainly felt plenty old enough then, and still think I made a good choice, obviously!

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Yeah, I thought the article was a little silly. Don't most people get married in their early/mid twenties? According to this wikipedia blurb, the average age for women is 25, and for men 26 in the US.

I don't know what age is too young, I think it really depends on the person.

[Sirrahsim]

When my husband and I got married I was only 18. Now 7.5 years later we are still madly in love and wouldn't change a thing. I do, however, think that we were very much the exception to the rule! It is a very dependent on the individual and I think that many people are just not ready to take the plunge so young.

[moosmom]

I think a person should wait till their at least 30 to marry. I married at the age of 20 and, speaking from experience, I learned alot as I got older. The 20's is the time to experience life!!! I never got that opportunity, because in my day, a girl graduated high school, got married and had kids. I didn't experience "life" until after I was divorced. Of course, that was about the time my life went into the toilet. But sometimes ya gotta hit rock bottom to finally realized the grass isn't really greener on the other side.

[pomtzu]

In my opinion, there is no magic number for a marrying age - it depends on the person.

I was married in the early 60's - right out of high school - but that was quite common back then. I was 18 and my now ex, was 23. We were together for about 35 years before we separated, and it was only 3 years ago that we decided to divorce. Would I do it the same way again?? - no. There are things that I would want to do on my own before marriage, and not with a husband, after marriage. Was my life miserable because of this?? Nope - not by a long shot. I had my kids when I was young, and grew up with them, and had fun and was able to keep up with and relate to the younger set. I for one, can't imagine myself starting a family at 40+ like so many women do today. I wouldn't have the patience or the energy.

[Miss Z]

I guess this article is prompted by the trend in women marrying and having children later on in life than previous generations.

I can't see myself getting married until my late twenties at the earliest. I know you can never accurately plan life , but I want to live my life and do my own thing for a while before I make commitments. I think that's a view shared by a lot of women my age.

What I think is more the problem is people rushing into marriage rather than just tying the knot early. You hear so much about people of a variety of ages being together for a matter of weeks before the question is popped, and I always wonder how one can make a decision concerning what should entail, after all, the rest of their life, in such a short space of time.

Some people will make it work and some will encounter problems whatever path they take! The world would be boring if we all made the same decisions.

[lvpets2002]

Well I married my first time at age 18 right out of highschool & for the wrong reasons.. It lasted maybe 2 yrs.. I married the second time at age 25 & again for the wrong reasons & that lasted 17 yrs.. So who is to say who is too young or too old to marry.. I do think once your into your early 20s that should be old enough.. Now I do not aggree with teenage marriages.. However I have seen those last for many of years too..

[Cataholic]

LOL, I am sure some think I have no business replying to this. That's okay, at least they are thinking.

I think people should wait as long an they can, certainly till after thrus education is finished, and a career path found or started. I think living on your own, responsible for yourself exclusively is a good idea.

I see no reason, personally, to get married.

As for Poms crack about us oldies having kids, I see far more benefit to having a child "late" in life than early. Heck, by the time I lose my ability to drive safely, I will have my own chauffeur!

[Taz_Zoee]

I do not think age matters. I know two couple who married young and they are still happily together after 22 and 19 years together.
The couple that has been together for 22 years got married when they were both 20 years old.
The couple that will celebrate their 19th anniversary in November were married when she was 19 and he was 22.

My grandma married my grandpa when she was just 16. She lied about her age and apparently back in 1941 you did not have to prove your age. They were married until he died in 1996.

My boyfriend got married when he was 30 and it lasted less than 2 years. So age has nothing to do with it, IMO.

I am 37, have never been married and honestly do not ever see myself getting married. Oh well, I'm happy!

ETA: I just looked at the article and it looks like the youngest person was 21 (I didn't look through all of them, too slow to load). Didn't Macaulay Culkin get married when he was like 17 or 18? That was a HUGE deal too when that happened back in 1998.

[lvpets2002]

I will admitt I am done with the Marriage thing.. Two down the road was enough for me.. I am very content with taking care of myself & my babies.. My babies & other things keep me busy enough.. Pluss there is Lots More Crazy People Out There In The World that I do not have to meet & know..

[k9krazee]

I am a bit suprised that there are a lot of people that I graduated high school with that are married already, and I'm (almost) 22.

What bothers me is when people are rushing in to marriage because they like the idea of it (or that's my assumption of why they're rushing). If you are together, and plan on staying together, why do you need to rush into getting married? My 18 year old cousin just got married to a girl he knew for less than 6 months. And this was after the his ex broke up with him after he proposed. How can you want to marry two different people in the course of 6 months? Marriage is a huge decision! I have two 15 year old cousins that are "engaged" and they've each been dating their boyfriends for less than 4 months. Rich's 19 year old cousin got married last year and is due for her first baby soon.

It's crazy. People constantly ask Rich and I when we'll get married, but I feel like 22 is too young. I would at least like us both to finish school (he's done, I have one more year) and get a job in our field. Plus, I have NO idea how these young'ins afford a wedding (if they have one). I'm thinking about all of my student loans and when I start paying them off it's going to be $300 a month...I have no idea how we would be able to EACH pay $300/month on the loans, pay rent (or down payment + mortgage), bills, cars, etc and afford a wedding.

I think that's why the divorce rate is so high. There are stories of people marrying young and staying together forever, but I don't think that that's the norm. I think too many people are rushing in to it for wrong reasons. I had another cousin get married at 18 so they could get on welfare. Or my brother got married because (well, he won't admit this was the reason) his gf got kicked off of her parent's insurance, she's extremely diabetic, and he was joining the Air Force and she would get benefits too.

But hey, it's not my life To each their own.

[k9krazee]

My sister is 17 and has been dating this boy for a year. He wants to get married as soon as she finished high school (so 1 more year), and his MOM is even telling her how happy she'd be if she was her daughter-in-law. I don't think that parent's should encourage their 17-18 year old children to get married. I keep encouraging her to at least finish college first!

[RICHARD]

"We'll get married when you buy us the ring and pay for the wedding, no wait,
We'll pass on the wedding, Pay our loans for a year to get a head start on life......"


Look, Don't go crazy and think you need to married. Check out those people that spend 10 gajillion dollars on a wedding? I look at the prices and convert them into "material" things.

A 50,000 dollar wedding?


I could live off that for five years. EASY.

You are being smart by THINKING about marriage.

On second thought?


Don't listen to anyone and run your own life. It's way too short to
wake up one day and say, "Why did I ever listen to THAT crap!"


Rock on!

[pomtzu]

As for Poms crack about us oldies having kids, I see far more benefit to having a child "late" in life than early. Heck, by the time I lose my ability to drive safely, I will have my own chauffeur!

LOL. But I'll have my kid or grandkids to choose from in that department.

A lot of interesting posts in this thread too. Even tho I married young, I didn't rush into it a matter of a few months, and I didn't "have" to get married, in spite of what a few of the nosy aunts thought. I was married over 2 years when son #1 came along. That sure put an end to their gossip!!

[Roxyluvsme13]

Honestly, I think it all depends on the person. I know a girl from my high school who got married even before we graduated, which I found really bizarre. Then I also know a bunch of people who are "engaged" or whatever and I think most of them are jumping into it way too soon.

Personally, I don't want to get married till I'm at least mid-twenties or later. Maybe even after I'm out of Vet School or what not.

I don't think ages mentioned in the article are too young per say, but I really think people should think it through a lot harder before they jump the gun and get married.