[BabyNicole]

Originally Posted by DianaB

I think that with divorces so easy to get that we tend to go into marriages with the idea that "if it doesn't work out then I'll get a divorce". People don't seem to take marriage as seriously as they did a long time ago. I think that it's important to "know" what a person wants and likes and how they react in different situations BEFORE you get married.

Even in a good marriage you have days, and even weeks, that you really don't like your spouse, but you have to know that you're in it for the long haul. I have a great marriage, but we still have had our rocky spots. We never mentioned the "D" word because we knew that for better or worse we're sticking it out.

Does a marriage, or lack of one, affect children? Yes! Children that come from a stable marriage, with few problems, feel much more stable with their life. They have a solid base for their lives with a Mom and a Dad who is there for them. They feel safe and secure.

I know that any time we've had an argument in front of the kids I've found out later about how worried they were. I left the house once following an argument and my daughter was worried that I wasn't coming home. It wasn't even a bad argument but in her eyes it was. When my older children were little they informed me which parent they were going to live with if we got a divorce. They were getting prepared because their friends at school were going through this with their parents and they figured it was going to happen to them too. Isn't that sad?

My husband works with a group of children from church that for the most part are from divorced, single parent, or step-parent homes and you can tell that there is a difference between them and kids from homes with both original parents.

In my daughter's class at school there are very few kids that still live with both of their parents. You can't tell me that this isn't affecting our children and our society.

Just to briefly touch on co-habitation.....I don't think that it's any better than getting married and divorced. It's just easier to get out of than divorce, no ties! I'm sorry if I have offended some, but this is my opinion. Sorry.

Sorry, I have such a hard time giving short answers.

You've got a point. It sure as heck wasn't easy on me!!! Easier for him to get out, yes, but not easy on the heart.