Teen Marriage

This problem might not surprise you at all. We all know that it happens in our society. Sometimes it even happens to people we know. It might be hard to accept why it goes on or why people consider it, but let us all be young adults here and not instantly judge them according to their actions. They might have a good reason why they are doing or considering doing it. In teen marriages, there are certain factors to be considered like, age, mental capacity and faculty of both man and woman, and even parental advice. In the age requirement, here in the Philippines individuals to be wed must be 18 or above. If you are below the age of 18, even if you have your parents consent you cannot be married in a court and most especially in a church. Though the real marrying age here in our country is 21 and above, certain families really do allow their children to get married even at a young age.

Though teen marriage may be, and I’m not saying it is, acceptable in the society do you think it is morally correct? I mean, we can’t judge people with regard to how they act or how they look, who is to say that they can turn out to be good parents after all. But we can’t also overlook the fact that they might screw up. According to Kristen A. from www.parentingteens.com, the major contributors to having young married couples are the following; pregnancy, Teens blinded by what they see as “Love”, teen adjustments, and teens wanting to separate themselves from their families. With this said we can say that before we even start thinking about marriage we have to weigh it all first. Trouble can start form the first bad idea that comes to our minds and since we are in the “growing up” face in our lives where everything we do might affect our future we have to consider all outcomes of whatever we are faced with.

While preparing to create this blog entry I looked at some references to base my ideas on. This is one of the more striking ones I have found. A man named Erin Donovan, Senior Teen Advisor, of WholeFamily.com tells his insight as he asks the question “Why do you want to get Married now” in his article regarding teen marriages. This short snippet will tell you what he had to say:

“There are many reasons that could be pushing a teen couple towards wanting to get married. It varies from couple to couple. Maybe the girl is pregnant and the boy feels it's the only "proper" thing to do.
Maybe you want to get out of your parents' house, and feel that marriage is that opportunity.
Maybe you want to live together and your parents feel it's inappropriate to live together before marriage.
Maybe you are afraid of losing each other and think that marriage will save your relationship.
Or, maybe you just feel that your love is so strong you are ready to take "the big step". “
He also followed it up with a few more questions like, “Where will you do?”, “What about your education?” and “How will you support your family?”. It seems that he is very concerned about this adolescent problem facing our society. I hope that in this blog entry that I have made, it has at least shed some light into this dilemma that we face.
 

Sources:

• http://www.wholefamily.com/aboutteensnow/relationships_peers/crushes_and_dating/teen_marriage1.html

• http://marriage.about.com/od/philippines/a/philippines.htm

• http://www.parentingteens.com/index/Other+Teen+Issues/Teen+Marriage

• http://www.flash-screen.com/free-wallpaper/uploads/200812/thus/1230534197_470x353_young-lovers-wallpaper.jpg