Myth #4: Having a child together will help a couple to improve their marital satisfaction and prevent a divorce. (From David Popenoe’s Top Ten Myths of Divorce.)
Popenoe writes:
Many studies have shown that the most stressful time in a marriage is after the first child is born. Couples who have a child together have a slightly decreased risk of divorce compared to couples without children, but the decreased risk is far less than it used to be when parents with marital problems were more likely to stay together “for the sake of the children.”
It has been a while, but I do remember what being a new parent was like: sleep deprived, decreased ability to be spontaneous, cash draining from my bank account as through a sieve. Not to mention the areas of possible disagreement dramatically increase when we add children to the equation. I can’t imagine anyone truly believes having a child will save a marriage; that is surely a sign of self delusion.
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