“The ideal age to get married, with the least likelihood of divorce in the first five years, is 28 to 32,” says Carrie Krawiec, a marriage and family therapist at Birmingham Maple Clinic in Troy, Michigan. “Called the 'Goldilocks theory,' the idea is that people at this age are not too old and not too young.”
There is no best age to get married that applies to everyone. You're never too old for it, and while it's very possible to get married before you're ready, it's often not necessarily because you're too young to marry.
"If you're a woman, until you reach 24 or 25, your risk of divorce is much, much higher than if you wait to get marriage until 24 or older," says Coontz. "In fact, every year that you delay marriage, right up into your early 30's, decreases your risk of divorce.
If you choose to get married in your 20s, Dr. Thomas says a benefit is you likely aren't cynical about love because you haven't had as many heartbreaks as folks who find their partner later in life. You probably will also have more trust and faith in marriage, since well, you have no reason to believe otherwise.
“It's best to wait until at least 3-6 months to see if the feelings you have are for real or just a fading spark of lust. You need to have emotional and rational feelings towards one another.” However, award-winning relationship expert Sarah Louise Ryan said that it's never too soon.
The bottom line is that women's bodies are ideally suited to having babies when they are in their mid-20s. They can stretch that some into their early 30s, especially for second and third pregnancies. Past age 35, however, conceiving babies enters a danger zone, for men as well as women.
In fact, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) released a statement in 2009, urging would-be mothers to have children between the ages of 20 and 35 to minimise the medical risks. It seems that there is a fine line between too early and too late.
Key points. Divorce is 50% less likely for someone who is 25 years old when they wed, compared to 20. A study reveals that getting married after one's mid-30s is actually riskier than getting married in one's late 20s. The best age at which to get married appears to be between 28 and 32, according to research.
Ages 28-32 could be the best time to get married.
But there isn't a linear trend that shows divorce rates increase or decrease as you get older. Still, people who marry in their late twenties or early thirties are statistically less likely to divorce.
Despite the growing trends mentioned above, two children still seems to the ideal number. An actual study revealed one to two children is the ideal number for “happiness”, but with two you don't have to deal with the aforementioned only child issues.
Falling fertility: A woman's ability to get pregnant begins to decrease slightly at age 27, and then decreases significantly after the age of 37. The average healthy couple under the age of 30 has about 95% of conceiving within a year. Once you're over 30, the chance of getting pregnant decreases by about 3% each year.
Having Babies After 35 Is Safe
And while it's true that conceiving after 35 comes with an increased risk of complications—like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, chromosomal abnormalities, and even miscarriage or stillbirth—many people go on to deliver healthy babies.
And then there's your health. 20-somethings have a lower chance of miscarrying and of conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure. But when it comes to your health later in life, waiting until your 30s to give birth is better.
The age varies from man to man, but there are patterns that are easily identified: Most men who graduate from high school start thinking of marriage as a real possibility when they are 23 or 24. Most men who graduate from college don't start considering marriage as a real possibility until age 26.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
The age where a man is most fertile is between 22 and 25 years. It is suggested to have children before the age of 35. After this age, the male fertility begins to worsen. After 35, the sperm might result in pregnancies where mutations can occur.
After age 35, there's a higher risk of pregnancy-related complications that might lead to a C-section delivery. The risk of chromosomal conditions is higher. Babies born to older mothers have a higher risk of certain chromosomal conditions, such as Down syndrome. The risk of pregnancy loss is higher.
This might not come as a shock, but there's no exact timeline for when you should get engaged. You may hear some "love at first sight" couples say you can get engaged after a few days, while experts may say wait three to six months.
Want to be a happier parent? Grow your family to at least four children! According to a study out of Australia's Edith Cowan University, parents with the most life satisfaction (which means those who are the happiest) are those that have four or more children. Dr.