By Katie O’Dell
To my dear surprise it is legal in some states to get married at the age of 14, as long as there is parental and court approval. To me this is completely shocking! I myself have an 11 year old daughter and if she were to come to me at 14 years old and ask to get married I would say “NO” without any hesitation. In my opinion, 14 is not just too young to get married, it is too young to have a boyfriend for that matter. It apparently isn’t just the child’s fault for thinking it is ok, I would strongly suggest that the child’s parents be evaluated. What parent in their right mind would be ok with their 14 year old child getting married? Children at 14 years old are not mature enough to understand a serious relationship, let alone a marriage and what it involves to be in a marriage. A marriage is not just a piece of paper, nor should it be treated as such. A true marriage should involve the maturity and understanding of what the vows mean. To love one and other, care for one and other and help one and other when they need it. I think that in this day in age, people don’t take the vows of marriage seriously. Too many people are getting divorced or getting married for the wrong reasons. If a girl gets pregnant, no matter the age, they should not have to get married or think that they have to get married just because they are pregnant. A lot more states say that a child can be 16 years old, sometimes only with parental approval, to get married. To me, this is still not ok. At 16 kids should be focused on school, getting their driver’s license and maybe a part time job, not marriage or having kids. What makes people think that any age under 21 would be acceptable to get married? People are so young at 14, 16, 18 years old and should still be learning about life and themselves, that in my opinion, marriage should not even be considered. I also don’t see why anyone would let their child get married before they would be old enough to drive, buy tobacco products or be legal to drink alcohol. I think it sends a very twisted message that you can get married but not be old enough to drive, drink or smoke. Fourteen is just way too young to get married, no matter what.
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