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5 Reasons to Get (or Stay) Married This Year |
You probably already know that married people on the whole are healthier, wealthier and have more satisfying sex lives than singletons or divorced people. You also already know that, absent some serious conflict, your kids would probably prefer it if you stuck together. And even if you were to split, whoever you married next would probably have equally annoying habits as your current spouse. So herewith, five reasons to get or stay married you probably haven't heard of.
Finances: Children of Divorce Pay More for College
According to an analysis of the student financial aid statistics released in December in the Journal of Family Issues, parents who are no longer together shoulder a smaller percentage of college costs than those who are. This is only partly a result of the shrinking effect divorce has on wealth; parents who marry someone else and increase their household income still allocate a smaller portion of that income to college costs. A student whose parents are divorced, according to this study, will have to pony up, on average about 58% of all the expenses of going to college. If her parents are remarried, she'll have to scrounge up 47% and if her parents are still together the figure drops to 23%. Plus, if the kid bankrupts herself with student loans, you know where she'll have to live after graduation, right?
Personality: Married Men Behave Better
Turns out that whole wedding-turns-oafish-male-into-Mr.-Responsible idea that powered so many of Judd Apatow's early movies has some science to it. A researcher at Michigan State University took a look at some twin studies and worked out that, among identical twins, the ones who got married were more socialized than the ones who didn't. And it barely needs to be added that unless a man has the raw-nerd brainpower of Bill Gates, sociability is a key to being able to get, keep and be promoted to a good job. (More on Time.com: 5 Ways to Improve Your Diet on the Cheap)
Health: Kids Who Live with Both Parents Are Healthier
New figures, just out in December from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), looked at the comparative health of children in all types of living situations. Those who lived in the same home as their two parents (technically, they didn't have to be married, but they had to be together) had lower rates of a whole litany of ailments, including asthma, vision problems, developmental delays, ADHD and migraines, even when wealth and education were factored in. The only malady the CDC found more prevalent among the children of married parents was allergies.
At the other end of life, a separate study showed that elderly people whose parents were divorced had twice the risk of stroke as people whose parents stayed together. We're talking the loooong tail.
Reputation: Divorce is Big Business for Bloggers
There's a reason the Huffington Post now has a divorce section. Apparently, people really enjoy reading about marital breakdown. And writing about it: for instance, a young law student decided it might be fun to do the play-by-play on the recent legal tussle over the dissolving McCourt marriage here. Bu even if you don't own the Los Angeles Lakers, as the McCourts do, that doesn't mean nobody's going to write about you. There's at least one ex-wife out there working though her issues with her former spouse in blog-land. And have you heard of Facebook? Its 500 million-plus users are all privy to this and this. (More on Time.com: 5 Tips for Kicking Bad Habits)
And, Finally, Celebrity Endorsement
The Dude Advises it. Jeff Bridges, who has been married for 33 years, or 1,650% longer than Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johanssen managed, recently put it this way: "I think one of the things about staying married is just not getting a divorce." And if you can't be persuaded by an Oscar winner, how about a playboy? Hugh Hefner's getting married too.
By BELINDA LUSCOMBE Belinda Luscombe – Thu Jan 6, 12:30 am ET
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| Posted on 09 Jan 2011 |
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