Hey Dr Sue — Why Are Fewer People Getting Married And Having Children?

Let’s separate out those two ideas, since you don’t have to be married to have kids.

There’s also a difference between being in a committed relationship and not being married, and not being in a relationship at all. I’m going to focus on why people are choosing to be in a committed relationship but not get married. If you want me to talk about why people are choosing not to be in relationships, feel free to ask a question about that here

I’ll talk about general reasons why we see the shift away from marriage. But keep in mind that every person has their own reason for deciding what type of relationship works for them.

One of the reasons people are choosing to be in committed relationship and not get married, is to maintain a degree of independence. When you get married, that’s a legal contract. And for some people, they want to be able to be in a committed relationship without tying themselves legally to their partner.

Another reason is that people may have witnessed how bitter divorce could be when they were growing up. And they don’t necessarily want to go through that themselves. I’m not saying a break up isn’t miserable. But breaking up with someone and going your separate ways is different when you have to go through a legal process to dissolve…