Married Because of the Siblings

A recent study out of Ohio State University claims that the more siblings you have the better your odds are of getting married, and once married, the better chance you will refrain from divorce. If this is indeed fact, it’s too bad we have no control in the matter. And, even if we did, as kids growing up, we wouldn’t have put much effort into our future marital status anyway.

So, now that we’re all grown up, what do we do if  we were only-children or just had a sibling or two? Is there any way we can reverse the odds of being single? Well, the sociologists who  presented the findings didn’t claim to know just why it worked this way, but we can speculate. When you are raised in a large family, you need to learn control. You have to accept the idiosyncrasies of your brothers and siblings. If you don’t there’ll be nothing but arguments and fighting. You also need to know how to create alliances with one another to make it through the tough times. On top of that, children in large families learn to be okay without being in the spotlight 24/7 or having all of their parents’ attention all the time.

That means that if we want to get married and stay married, even if we were only-children growing up, that we need to integrate some of these “big-family” traits into our lives as soon as possible. First, learn self-control. No one wants to spend their life with someone who flies off the handle at the drop of a hat. So, take things in stride. Think things through before you react.o

Second, when you find the object of your desire, don’t just make him or her your lover; make them your friend. Build an alliance with them, someone you can trust and go to, as well as being the person that they want to be around and that they can communicate with on a level other than spouse. 

And, finally, don’t be the attention hog. Find out what your spouse needs and wants. Fulfill needs without having to be asked. Focus on your partner, and let him/her focus on you. 

If the sociologists from Ohio State are on point, these skills may not only help you land a partner, but keep them.