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Getting married at at 18 could prevent a whole lotta pre-marital intimacy too! (I'm not saying it would eliminate it, but you get the picture.)
Restore the mainstream marriage age to say 18, and ppl would have a lot more incentive to wait until they're married, to be intimate It's fundamentally unfair to have to wait until one is 28, to have intimacy, if one believes in pre-marital abstinence. But again, these marriage age restrictions (28 vs. 18) are foisted on us by society... a couple that actually *wants* to get married at 18, is realistically not gonna have a lot of leverage or support to do so, in today's culture
As other posters have said, this will only put added pressure on somone to get married and fast. What if they get married so early just so they can finally experience sex? As justjulia said, this would make the divorce rate climb.
I wonder what would happen to the divorce rate then? At 18 very few people are who they will be when they get older. At 18 you have very little life, or even self experience. To make a decision then on who should be your partner for LIFE seems to be unreasonable.
That is 18 "today" though. In the past, ppl used to be much more mature at 18 years and even earlier, than most 18 year olds are in today's society.
I am an 18 year old and I think it's fine to get married at 18 as long as you're truly ready for the commitment and responsibilities that come from marriage. But most 18 year olds are NOT emotionally ready for those things and that's why so many divorce.
I do know a couple that married at 18, before the husband passed away (which was recently, God Bless him) they were married for 66 years. They became best friends when they were in the 3rd grade, married at 18 and were always together ever since then.
I know of another couple who'll be married 52 years this year. She was 16 and he was 18 when they got married.
And I know people who have married later and divorced. My parents were both 30 when they married and they ended up divorcing 5 years later. My cousin married at 33 and divorced only 4 years later. My aunt married at 35 and divorced 3 years later (she just got married again last year and got divorced 3 months later. )
Couples who marry young, particularly when they do not go on to college, are at high risk for divorce. Whatever the reasons for this increased likelihood, the fact remains that we can only move forward, not backward. There was no point in history where everything was perfect.
Fascinating...yes I am familar with this statistic, as well You have an excellent point.
I wonder though, if the same holds true for couples who married at say age 18, when this practice was much more commonplace (meaning, in the past).
As other posters have said, this will only put added pressure on somone to get married and fast. What if they get married so early just so they can finally experience sex? As justjulia said, this would make the divorce rate climb.
Interesting...you may have a point there, admittedly...
I wonder though, if the same holds true for couples who married at say age 18, when this practice was much more commonplace (meaning, in the past).
Probably not, since "in the past" people were generally expected to remain married because of religious or societal pressure whether they were happy and fulfilled or not.
Fascinating...yes I am familar with this statistic, as well You have an excellent point.
I wonder though, if the same holds true for couples who married at say age 18, when this practice was much more commonplace (meaning, in the past).
Well, 50 or 60 years ago, most women did get married in their teens. Statistics from the late 1950s show that over 50% of all first time brides were 19 and younger, with 18 being the most common age to get married. Most men were married by 22. The 1950s, had on record, the earliest average marrying ages.
But back then, college didn't hold the significance that it does today, a man could earn just a high school diploma, and have a decent job and be able to have a home and support his wife and family. The economy was booming, jobs were plentiful, and incomes were rapidly rising. The cost of living was cheaper as well, and as I said, a man could support his wife and family on only one income as a middle class family and still have money left over.
Because of the healthy economic situation, there was no need to go to college and since women married young and were housewives, they knew they would be supported by their husbands. So, there really wasn't any reason for them to continue their schooling. Once people graduated high school at 17 and 18, they had nothing else to do but just get married and start their own family.
All of this of course would encourage early marriage and parenthood. Without all the financial stress, there would be less conflict in marriages, thus leading to lower divorce rates.
Well, 50 or 60 years ago, most women did get married in their teens. Statistics from the late 1950s show that over 50% of all first time brides were 19 and younger, with 18 being the most common age to get married. Most men were married by 22.
And keep in mind that many of these couples got married because of pregnancy. I've seen statistics (I don't know if they're online anywhere) that prior to widespread birth control, 10-20% of brides were pregnant at their weddings.
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(I'm not saying it would eliminate it, but you get the picture.)
It's fundamentally unfair to have to wait until one is 28, to have intimacy, if one believes in pre-marital abstinence. But again, these marriage age restrictions (28 vs. 18) are foisted on us by society... a couple that actually *wants* to get married at 18, is realistically not gonna have a lot of leverage or support to do so, in today's culture 
You have an excellent point.
