I was 24 when I got married on February 19,1978.
My Fiance was 23.
This coming February we will be married 34 years.
We've grown together,not only in age but in our love.
Marriage is something that changes daily,hourly.
It is not always all happyness and light.
Sometimes there are rocky storm laden seas to cross.
But some how we've always come out of them.
We're going to be married for a long time.
How do I know this you ask?
simple,both of us were brought up not to run straight to a divorce lawyer.
No, if we have a rough patch we talk things out and see if we can't work
things out~or he'll leave to go see his parents and I'll get a brief vacation
from all of the stress~but by the time the week's out we'll both be in a
better frame of mind and we'll be happy again.
No one can be happy 24-7-365 and tell me that they don't fight.
That's a crock of BS. They're lieing to you if someone says that.
They may have a "public face" but you never really know what goes on behind closed doors?

I think 18 is young and you should see a little of the world before you tie the knot with anyone.

I grew up in a small town and I think the social pressure surrounding marriage is a lot heavier in small communities which makes marrying young happen, even if it is not real love, but more of convenience and what you are comfortable with. 

I do think it is better to wait until your a little older and have had a few more life experiences other than just high school related, life is not high school football and cheerleading. When your younger you are so protected by parents it seems like getting and staying married is easy, because you have the monetary, social and many other types of support you get from your parents that may not be there once married.

The world is a big place and until you explore it, I don't think you really have a good understanding of what types of people are even available to get married to. You don't want to marry a farmer if you are really interested in marring a scientist, but if you never leave your home town and never have the chance to meet any scientist, it looks like you are marring the smartest farmer in your town. Just my take.

for most of human history a girl of 18 who was unmarried was already at risk of being called and old maid. mary, the mother of jesus, was about 14 when she married joseph. most women already had families started by 18. but then again, a girl was bred and trained to fill this role and running a household was something she already had some experience with in helping raise her mother and siblings. most people didn't live as long with food and clean water not being as plentiful as it is for most westerners now.

i have both a paternal and maternal aunt who married at 18 back in the 1950s and 1960s. those were different times and there was a lot of support. i had an older boyfriend who wanted to marry me when i was 18 but i put it off and eventually broke up after a 3 and a half year relationship. i married someone else when i was 24. could i have made it work with the man when i was 18? maybe. i really changed a lot in my early 20s. my interests changed. i had some idea of who i wanted to be and what kind of work i wanted to do. my new relationship was more in tune with the person i was becoming than the man i had broken up with. i never lived alone, always with a boyfriend, parent or room mate until my husband and i separated after a 18 year relationship and 15 years of marriage. i stayed at the house during the day with the kids and went to my own apartment when he got home from work. i learned so much about myself in that time alone.

i guess we're always changing and growing. there are never any guarantees, even when one loves another person very much. there's not a lot of support for 18 years olds marrying nowadays. some people do okay without support and others don't. i wish you the wisdom to know what's best for you and your loved one.

At 18, you're not old enough to vote, you can't order a beer at Applebees, and they won't even let you rent a car... yet, it's perfectly okay to bind yourself to another human being and start a family?

I'm sure there are exceptions to every rule, but I've never met an 18 year old who was mature enough to make such a mammoth decision. There's still so much to learn and so much to do. There's plenty of time. Why rush it?

Aug 18, 2011 -- 3:43PM, JanaDale wrote:

Is 18 too young to get married? Should a person wait until they are out of school, or until they reach a certain age? This article points out pros and cons for getting married at a young age.

www.yourtango.com/20086571/the-pros-and-...


What do you think? As a Beliefnet editor, I'd like to turn your answers into a gallery, so please post only what you'd like to be published!

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts!

Without specific details I don't think there is an answer.  Who is getting married?  What is each person’s state of mind?  What are their religious beliefs?  Do they have similar beliefs in how things should be managed?  How compatible are they with their future spouse?  What do they expect out of marriage?  What is customary in their social/economic community?  What plans do they have after marriage?  How responsible are they?  What is their financial situation?  Do they want to go to college?  How well do they handle conflict with regard to each other?  How well do they handle criticism?  Do they agree about having children?  Can each person be trusted to be faithful?  Do they understand the meaning of a commitment?  Do they have a sense of humor (a MUST for a happy marriage!)?  What do they feel about division of labor?  How are they planning on handling the finances?  Do they understand that marriage isn’t a destination, but the beginning of a lifelong learning process?

There are just too many variables to say what is right for everyone or even most.  People tend to mimic what they see others doing that seems to be working.  If there was a formula that worked, most of the people would be doing it.  But because you are dealing with two different individuals, raised in different households (usually), with different experiences who are entering into a constantly-evolving situation, IMO no one can say which is best for everyone.

I'm not sure I helped any.