Teen Guide to Married Life
Freidrich
1989
So, what is marriage all about? Teens want to know and this is the guide!
Nothing particularly earth shattering here. Basics about sharing, money management, apartments, children, etc. This is basically a plea for teens to be cautious. Despite the cover, there is very little about painting a wall. My dad would say that if you want to test a relationship, a couple should have to paint and/or wall paper a small bathroom in hot weather. If you can do that without killing each other, you can probably manage a marriage.
As far as this book is concerned, there is nothing “wrong” with this book. It’s just dated and probably would not be used by any teen. The hair and fashion depicted is a dead giveaway that this book is hardly speaking to a contemporary audience. (You can almost hear Milli Vanilli playing in the background).
Mary
It’s scary how quickly books aimed at teens become outdated. Too full of pop culture.
It may be ok if resource information and illustrations are updated. Is this a British book? The row of prams parked outside the family planning clinic leads me to suspect so (who in the US, outside of certain highly-walkable, car-unfriendly and VERY trendy sections of New York and other East Coast cities, even USES that style of pram?)
They look like they were designed by a hearse manufacturer with all that black and chrome.
Ha ha ha. This isn’t Mary Poppins you know.
Wonder if you could even buy those easily in 1989? You certainly wouldn’t have seen them in a row like that — they would have been outliers. I guess from the rest of your post that they are now trendy and so probably ultra-expensive.
Your dad said that? So do my husband and I! (We learned very early that his talent is for painting, mine is for papering. But now we defer to the professionals.)
How about assembling a pre-fab entertainment unit together? We survived!
Is the first line, “Do Not get married now, you are way too young?”
A new edition that states “You don’t need children to be a family” would be nice. More people need to know it’s okay to be childfree by choice and not have kids.
So true!! I would hope that most of these sorts of books that are written nowadays (if any are) address this as a valid life choice. All I got when I decided I wanted to be childfree (at about age 15) was a bunch of people saying, “you’ll change your mind someday!”
Judging from what I see on the internet that hasn’t changed much. :-/ Only now we’re also told we’re “selfish,” “horrible sinners,” and “evolutionary failures.” (Yep, atheists can be just as nasty about being childfree by choice as “Christians” can be.)
Every marriage book should include a “You don’t need children to be a family” section.
Candidates for “What not to wear”! Including a haircut for lover boy on the cover. He must play for a hair band!
One look at the photo on page 30, and I can practically hear the theme music from “Roseanne” blaring and Becky Connor screaming at her dad.
Mind you, I fell in love with a lass whose look was very much along those awkward lines (but trade out corduroys for the jeans)–IN 1982!!!!!
Interesting note: Alan Nourse also wrote science fiction!
It doesn’t seem to be a bad advice.
Though i wouldn’t put wallpaper in a bathroom. There are bound to be problems along the line due to the humidity.
not to mention the two feet above the floor next to the toilet!
That’s where the wainscoting comes in handy.