married at 18?

[Julie Andrews]

If your child comes home at the age of 18 and says that they want to get married, would you 'let' him/her?

[Kate]

Why would I stop them? They're adults, they're old enough to make their own decisions.

[dyamond_girl]

OMG!! I think I'd have heart failure LOL That is way too young to get married, especially considering the fact they just finished highschool. Marriage is hard enough at any age. I would definately discourage it. #-o

[Rebecca]

I think 18 is a young age for marriage. I am 19 now, and I have learnt a lot in the past couple of years. I thought I was all "grown up" when I was 16, then I was later surprised how much I learnt from 16 to 17 (during my last year at high school)
The person you love and see as the one at 18 may not be the one you love when you're 25, only because everyone changes. It's nice to choose the person you want to share your life with when you are mature. Especially when you leave high school, you'll experience more to life.

Obviously this is not always true. Some people have successful marriages that started at a young age, but personally I'm not a fan of that.

As for the original ques, well I don't really know if I'd let my kids do that, too early to tell!

[2girlsmom]

I too think it is too young to get married. I waited a little bit, and am for the better because of it. I do not know what I would say, but I am sure I could think of a few.

[CanadaLovesFree]

My 20 year old cousin is getting married in the summer. He'll be 21 then. We're pretty much the same age.... I think it's too young.. why not date for a couple more years?!?! (they are citing religious reasons...)



As for my non-existant kids...well.. they don't exist...

Just wanted to say 18 is young!

[fawnbaby]

I was married at 17 had to kids before I was 20 and divorce at 22 , I was to young and so was he . I later got married again to someone else and been happy for 27 this year. So if one of my boys had come home at that age and ask I would have told them to really think before they leap its easy to get married but hard to end one

[StarDancer]

I too think that 18 is to young for marriage! i'm 18 and i'm not ready to get hicked just yet. I would discourage it!

[frugiedh]

I was engaged at 18 and my parents were SO calm about it. They just said that they wanted me to finish my schooling first. I think they knew that they couldn't control what I did. Now that I have my own kids, this amazes me because if my child came home at 18 and said they were engaged, I'd FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!!
I never did marry this person. We broke up 6 months after. I ended up getting married at 26- much better idea. I think you change and grow the most between 20-25.

[kdoucette]

I would definitely have a discussion about it. Hopefully being calm and non-judgemental. I would suggest living together if they really want to be "together" that way they could test out their relationship. If they did choose to get married I don't think I would be paying for the wedding though.

[Julie Andrews]

kdoucette... you bring up an interesting point... My parents would have freaked out if I wanted to move in with someone, but surely it would have been better than getting married at 18.