18 year old married couple

I was engaged young and broke off the engagement because I realized neither of us knew enough about what we wanted from life. I swore I did but then as things came up, we differed way too much. I wanted to move away, I wanted to travel, I wasn't nearly as tied to our hometown or family.

Also I didn't realize how differently our outlooks for career were! But I had no idea how much I didn't know.

I'm glad I took the time around that age to be able to make certain very independent decisions about my life as well. I'd advise it for anyone. It allowed me to take opportunities without considering someone else at a time when those opportunities we're extremely important.

At 29 I'm much more confident about what our life will look like and what we both want!

I got married at 18.. thought I was ready... Thought I knew what I needed.. had kids.. it lasted a few years. Ended up divorced. I guess it depends on who...

View Quoted Comment My thoughts exactly!

Most people will tell you to wait and see how you change, mature, etc. I think if you have been with your SO for a good amount of time and have already weathered changes and challenges together then it is okay. We could go back and forth on "what's the rush" and "why wait", but ultimately it is up to you to decide if you are ready for the commitment that marriage takes. For what it's worth, I know multiple couples that married young (not at 18, but early 20s) and are still going strong.

If my daughter told me she wanted to get married at 18 I would be beside myself.

I would love and support her, but I would be very, very concerned.

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Sorry, but what challenges could a couple this young have faced together?

The things that teach you about a person are how they handle loss and grief, how you budget your money and pay bills, how you care for one another when someone is very sick- either mentally or physically, how you deal with big life changes like moving to a new city together, or starting a new career, or going back to school, or compromising on every thing from what to eat for dinner to where to put the new couch you just bought to how often to have sex.

The sheer lack of life experience that 99.9% of 18 year olds have in adult relationships is the main reason why they are largely not equipped to be and stay married.

Have some 18 year olds gotten married and stayed that way for life? Sure, but it's the exception, and not the rule.

Yes, teenagers are way too young and immature to get married. Children should never be getting married. *cringe*

IMO, anything under 25-26 is way too young.

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Neither do I! You're still a child, as far as I'm concerned! I don't even know why we allow 18-year-olds to vote.

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Well, granted, they are old enough to serve and defend the United States of America so I think they should, on some level, be considered adults.

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And that age minimum would be 21, too, if it were up to me.

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Agree!!!!!!!

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And why is 21 the magic number? Because they can legally drink then?

View Quoted Comment Agreed!!!!

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No, not because they can drink, but because presumably, a 21-year-old has gone to college or started working, and has a couple years of real world experience under their belt by that time. An 18-year-old is just coming out of the protective bubble of mommy and daddy's house, and pretty much knows nothing about the real world, IMO.

View Quoted Comment At 21, you’ve been out of high school more than 3 days. You’ve had the opportunity to go to college or work a full time job (or both). You’ve possibly experienced living life outside of your parents house. You’ve also learned more.

Think about it from this perspective. If you turn 18 prior to your senior year of high school, you can sign and attend basic training the summer before senior year (at least in the Army you can). Does it really make sense that kids, yes kids, who haven’t even received a diploma yet, are completing basic training?

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Nope, not at all. ...so, why not 20 then? or 22?

Maybe by your exposure and experience, but there are millions of 18-year-old's that are already in the workforce, maybe starting a trade school, maybe skipping school altogether, and are very mature and beyond their years. What you're referring to is a specific life path that many people today may or not follow.

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So again, why is 3 the magic number? How are we the judge of how many years it takes for someone to mature? Strange theory.

View Quoted Comment Okay so then let’s say 25, which is when the human brain actually reaches maturity.

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Not to mention the amount of stress that is added to someone in the military. My first husband was in the Marines and we got married when I was 18 and he was 20, what he went through during those years of service was detrimental to him and was an added reason to why we did not work out in the end. 18 year olds are children that think they're adults but they're not.

I think 18 is too young to get married and not just because of maturity. As you get older you start to look for different things in a partner. What you would want in a partner at 18 may not be what you would want at 30.