Does age really matter?

Question

Does age really matter when it comes to falling in love? Can you really be too young to fall in love? My teacher is a junior high sweetheart. Her and her hubby got together when they were 13 & 14. Now she is in her 50's & they are STILL happily married! Meanwhile, a 30 year old could get married to somebody else the same age as well & they could get a divorce within 5 years. So...does age REALLY matter? This question has been bugging me & other young people for years!

Answer 1

I don't think there is anything as too young to fall in love. Maybe to know what sacrifices are actually involved in being with someone but not too young to do it. But that isn't the same as getting married either and there is something in my mind as too young to be married. Times are much different now and the demands people make on their partners and what they are willing to give up to make their partners happy is much different than when my grandparents or parents got married.

Answer 2

My husband and I met at 12, started dating at 17, got married at 21 and have been married now for 11 years. I don't think we were too young at 17 to know we were in love.
That said, however, there are a few things you should consider. Despite the fact that we dated for 4 years, we didn't sleep together until we were married. We got to know each other fully without that complication. Besides, we both loved and respected eachother too much. I wanted my husband to be a virgin for whomever he married. I hoped it would be me but at 17 you have to be realistic about the fact that things could change. He's darned fine, so trust me that was difficult.
Secondly, I bet you'll find that those that met young and have been married a long time have a faith in common. This is not, of course, going to be true for all couples, but I'm quite certain it will be for most. If you are very grounded in a faith and a set of values and date others with the same faith and values you connect on a deeper level and avoid many of the things that cause divorces later on.
Third, if you get married with the idea that it is for life and divorce is not an option, you're much more likely to stay together and be very happy doing so.
Fourth, many people that meet young and fall in love date for a long time before they get married and really know the person well, so they've had plenty of time to figure out if they are truly compatible for life. You'll find that there are many young people that dated someone for a long time only to break up when they went to college or started working, etc. They matured apart instead of maturing together.
Anyway... Those are my thoughts on the whole thing.
By the way, my brother is just like your teacher. He and his wife started dating in junior high and have been married now for 26 years!

Answer 3

I married my wife at age 19 while she was 16 in 1991. We just recently went through our divorce. We had some wonderful times together but ultimately she was never happy about never having a single life. If I had it to do all over again It would have been better to have waited. There is no hurry to rush into marriage. I believe that a lot of couples rush into it for the security of making it harder for the other to leave. This will eventually cause problem if the other doesn't feel comfortable. With the older couple you mentioned, relationships are viewed different by that generation. Currently, more and more children are raised by single and divorced parents. This sets up the "If we run in to trouble in the relationship we can just divorce." Instead of working through hard times. I guess I'm saying "just enjoy time together without worrying about marriage."

Answer 4

First...love is love and it can happen to people of any age. With that said, however, the reason that people say children are too young to fall in love is because a child doesn't have a funny developed sense of reality, the world and what love truly is. I think that your 50 year old teacher is a good example of how things used to be different 30 or 40 years ago...times were different, children were taught different things...heck, in the medievil times, people got married when they were 12 and 13 years old. Times have changed...things are different now.

So...I think that "young people" need to focus less on "love" and more on the opportunities that they have in this life with school, careers, and growing up, and leave the "falling in love" for when you're in your 20's.

Answer 5

Yes, age matters in more than one way. Shouldn't get married too young. The age difference between the couple should not be too great. Courtship is the key, take the time to really get to know the person. Ask questions, find out their values, their interests and plans for the future. Tell them yours, see if you might be a match. Take a long time in deciding, when you first meet someone you are meeting their Representative, takes a long time for the real person to come out.

Answer 6

Age does not matter as long as the two people involved are mature enough to handle a serious relationship. It also depends on if they are over the age of consent (which varies from country to country). There is also the question of health when it comes to a younger man/woman being involved with a much older person. I had a girlfriend whose mom was 48 and dad was 63 -- he had a lot of health problems that her mother did not.

Answer 7

I'm only answering this because your my baby girl(lol) anyway i would say age shouldn't matter when your heart tells you your in love that's that, also people should have a test before they get married because they think "I'll try this for a while and if i don't like it I'll just get a divorce" way to liberal for me. make sure you know what you saying when you say" I DO"!
good luck.

Answer 8

there is 2 types of age in my eyes
your real age and the age of your maturity
my parents have almost 15 years of age difference and they have been married for 39 years

Answer 9

Age deffinately doesn't matter. It's just that people now a days are so caught up in taboos and what not and they don't see what really needs to be seen: how people really, really feel about each other. That, my friend, is the most important thing!

Answer 10

Age is a factor only insofaras it is an indicator of supposed maturity, and maturity tempers selfishness as it correlates to judgment. Judgment reinforces responsibility and commitment -- and that's what keeps marriages together.

Good luck.