Chapter 4 Marriage

1
Chapter 4 Marriage Parenthood

• Lesson 1 The Commitment to Marry

2
Youll Learn To

• Analyze behavior in a dating relationship that
  will enhance the dignity, respect, and
  responsibility relating to marriage.
• Distinguish between a dating relationship and a
  marriage.
• Demonstrate how couples use effective
  communication skills in building and maintaining
  healthy relationships.
• Describe the effects of divorce on adults and
  children.
• Explain why teens should delay marriage until
  they are mature adults.

3
Marriage- A Lifelong Commitment

• Marriage is different from a dating relationship
  in many ways.
• People who enter a marriage make a lifelong
  commitment to someone they love .
• A commitment is a promise or pledge.
• For a marriage to be successful, both partners
  must be ready for new responsibilities and
  challenges.

4
Marriage- A Lifelong Commitment continued

• Marriage allows couples to share their lives
  together in an intimate, mature way.
• It provides companionship in both good and hard
  times.
• Its important to examine reasons for marrying and
  to discuss doubts.
• Successful marriages know one another well and
  discuss goals and expectations for their life
  together.

5
Adjusting to Marriage

• Making a commitment to someone is just the
  beginning.
• In the early stages couples must face the
  adjustments of sharing living quarters, finances,
  and families.
• During this adjustment period, the emotional and
  social maturity of both partners is crucial.

6
Adjusting to Marriage continued

• Mature people understand their own needs as well
  as their spouses and know how to meet those needs
  in healthy ways.
• Conflicts will arise, and they will have to face
  these challenges with good communication and
  compassion.

7
A Successful Marriage-the husband and wife

• agree on important issues in their relationship.
• share common interests and values.
• demonstrate affection and share confidences.
• show a willingness to compromise and put others
  first.
• share similarities in family backgrounds.
• have parents who had a successful marriage.

8
A Successful Marriage-the husband and wife

• do not have major conflicts with their in-laws.
• have several good friends of both genders.
• had a long period of close association prior to
  marriage.
• have stable jobs and career goals.
• agree on how they feel about raising children.
• these factors do not guarantee a successful
  marriage, but partners with many of these
  characteristics have an increased chance of
  sharing a lasting, happy marriage.

9
Marriage and Divorce

• Divorce has risen dramatically over the past
  several years.
• Over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce.
• Children can be devastated when parents divorce.
• Divorce puts a strain on the entire family.

10
Marriage and Divorce continued

• Although divorce is an adult problem, children
  may blame themselves for what went wrong.
• Because divorce affects children so strongly, it
  is essential that parents explore all options,
  including couples counseling, before making the
  decision to end the marriage.
• Above all, both parents should remain responsible
  parents.

11
Joint Custody

• Sometimes divorced couples have joint custody of
  their children, meaning that the children
  alternate living with each parent.
• One parent may have the children during the week
  and the other on weekends, or children may live
  with one parent for six months and the other for
  the rest of the year.
• It is important for both parents to remain
  involved in their childrens lives.

12
Blended Families

• People who divorce will often choose to remarry,
  and it is common for the new spouse to have
  children.
• This creates a blended family, or a family where
  to adults marry and have children from a previous
  marriage living with them.
• The new couple may also have children together.

13
Blended Families continued

• Children may experience stress as they adjust to
  new relationships in the blended family.
• Emotions such as anger, jealousy, resentment, and
  sadness are normal
• To help them adjust, children can talk to their
  parents, relatives, teachers, counselors or other
  trusted adults.

14
Teen MarriageA Risky Situation

• Since a successful marriage requires both people
  to be responsible and mature, the odds are not in
  favor of people who marry in their teens.
• Approximately 60 of teen marriages will end in
  divorce, many within the first few years.

15
Teen MarriageA Risky Situationcontinued

• There are good reasons for teens to delay
  marriage until they are more mature
• Married teens have to focus too soon on anothers
  needs and may not have time or energy to work on
  their own personal growth and development.
• Married teens may have to postpone college or
  beginning a career. When these factors limit
  their earning power, financial difficulties can
  seriously threaten the marriage.
• If the teen couple married because of a
  pregnancy, the emotional and financial stresses
  on the relationship are even more severe.

16
Chapter 4 Lesson 1 Review Questions

1. Define the term commitment. How is commitment to
   a marriage different from a dating relationship?
2. How does a mature couple handle conflicts?
3. What is a blended family?
4. How does making the decision to delay marriage
   until they are more mature help teens to promote
   individual and family health?