Teen Marriage

Teen marriage was not a big issue in the old times. Life expectancy was shorter then and most of our economy was depended on agriculture and farming. People were less educated and large number of children was considered a boon as it meant more hands to work and greater prosperity. But times have changed now. Boys and girls both are opting for higher education and a good financial position before they marry. They have become more conscious about their health, birth control and know more about sex and how to avoid unplanned pregnancy. Trying to achieve ambitions before taking on the responsibility of marriage results in delay of marriage and child bearing.

Thus, support systems for these very young couples have diminished and even become non-existent and they have become an exception in the society. Teenage marriage has become a challenge in the modern age. The first reason that comes to our minds about a teenage marriage is an unplanned pregnancy, and rightly so. Most of the adolescents who decide to have an early marriage do so because they are faced with an unplanned pregnancy and they feel that they need to bear the responsibility of the child, even though they are not settled in their own lives. While abortions and adoptions are an option, they think that they have done something wrong and it is their duty to bear the consequences too. It is a very wrong approach to marriage, to start with.

Most teens are still not educated or mature enough or have enough financial responsibilities to shoulder a family or parenthood. In such cases, adoption is an opportunity where the teens may place their child in loving hands and give them a secure life while they can work to become more stable themselves. They may also consider open adoption, so that they can meet their child when they are ready and see how the child is doing in his or her life. Some of the challenges that teenage couples may have to face include not having the privilege to sign for even the most basic of services such as renting or car purchasing.

Though, in some countries they may attain the �adult� status by marriage if not by age, in most places it is not so. The other challenges may include that married teenagers may not get admissions to some public school systems easily and they can miss the educational opportunities. They may not be able to buy insurance for themselves, especially if they do not have parent�s financial support. Many insurance policies do not allow married teens with separate households to be covered by their parents� insurance, regardless of their ages.

There may be financial aid programs available for married teens at some places where they do not have to reveal parental sources of income and can attain educational assistance. Then, there are normal problems associated with �growing up� that can get much more complicated and difficult with family responsibilities to bear and the couple may miss the critical time for learning and development. Thus, it is better to avoid teenage marriages and wait until the couple attains the status of �adult� before starting a family life.