Given the sad state or marriages and the number of marriages that are ending in divorce, should marriage preparation classes be compulsory for all couples? Instead of waiting till couples are experiencing problems in their marriages and then trying to fix them, should we try and nip it in the bud before they marry?
Sometimes it seems that people need to think seriously about what they’re doing and what marriage entails, rather than just being swept along by a wave of emotion. Love is not enough in marriage. Love alone, will not get you through the tough times, the economic hardship, and the struggles that life throws up.
Both Mick’s and my children attended marriage preparation classes. These are run by a qualified professional. Did they find it helpful? Yes, they did. We also attended marriage preparation classes before we married, though I suspect back then marriage preparation classes were quite different to those today. At those our daughter and her husband went to, they raised all sorts of questions and issues that never came up in the marriage preparation classes we did.
As well as obvious questions about work situations, how many children and when they might like to have them, where they would live, their beliefs and values, they were asked to think about and discuss their responses to family issues. For example, one person might consider they are just close to and get along well with their parents. If their intended marriage partner was asked the same question they might consider it an unhelpful closeness. They might think that a little more distance was needed. What one would see as helpful advice or practical help, the other might see as interference.
Once they were aware that this could be a potential problem, the couple would then be able to discuss the situation and talk about their feelings and what to do to resolve it. This is only one example of the sort of issues that can come up in marriage preparation class.
Isn’t it better to think about issues and talk things out beforehand? So should marriage preparation classes be compulsory? What do you think?
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