Many parents are appalled when their teenager announces they have found the love of their life and plan to marry right after graduation, and they should be concerned. People look at the world in a very different way as they mature, and adolescents are not quite adults. They have an overly optimistic view of the world when it comes to marriage and family, so they might not be quite as ready as they believe for this step.
While their parents might be upset, the teenagers involved in this type of committed relationship may have actually thought through much of their future. They might not be quite mature enough to see all the pitfalls that will occur in their lives, but they do have the ability to imagine what their future will hold. Some of them are mature enough to realize how hard they will need to work to keep their relationship alive, and they might even understand that they will have to make some serious compromises before they truly become adults.
Their parents will generally try to talk them into a waiting period before they marry, but that will be a difficult battle for all parties involved. Teenagers who believe they have found the right one for them are seldom easy to sway, and they might even push harder for marriage when they realize their families are against it. Their goal is to be able to get married within the legal and religious framework of their society, and they want to share their commitment instead of waiting for it to be official.
The trend today has been for many young couples to live together before marriage, but there are always those who prefer a more traditional approach. Their parents might still have misgivings as they attend the wedding, but all parties might be pleasantly surprised when the marriage works out well.
