Individual perspective about relationship is very complex due to differences in personal preferences and religious/cultural background. What a group of people will indulge when it comes to relationship might be considered a taboo by another. There are a lot of things to consider while building a relationship especially the ones with long term objectives, in terms of health related issues or comparability, financial stability and other factors that might be a challenge in the future. But then there are other matters that might seem irrelevant but also plays a vital role in a relationship, the matter of Age.
The most common thing when it comes to age is that the man is usually older while the female will be few years younger. This has been in practice for as long as I can remember, I never knew who sets the standard but most people tends to be of the same opinion especially in the western part of Nigeria. It is really hard to tell if this so called practice is not as a result of egocentric nature of most men to always be the superior one in a relationship but I believe it is more than that.
I have heard some married women and medical practitioners talk about how age barrier could affect couples in terms of child birth. I'm not a science person but I will try to give a general view of what this means. It is said that it is a lot preferable for a woman to attempt child birth when they are still much younger, this reduces the chances of health complications that might surface during childbirth. As we all know the body gets weaker over time as a result of old age, this also affects older women during pregnancy, Lacking that youthful strength to pull through the whole process of childbearing.
Based on popular opinion, it is said that for younger couples it gives them the privilege of having a less complex childbirth. For couples who might face the issue of being unable to have children, Inability to have children might be as a result of a lot of reasons but for couples who are still young, the window of trying multiple time till they are finally able to conceive is still quite large compared to older couples, though there are other ways that might be considered such as adoption, surrogacy e.t.c but then not all couples can afford it. Old age affect both men and women differently when it comes to marital activities in a relationship.
Here comes the bitter truth, not everyone will be privileged to be in a relationship or get married at a young age, some might get a lot older before they found the one but here is were it gets tricky. Where I'm from it doesn't really matter if older people are in a relationship but as long as the man is older than the woman. This might sound a little bit weird since we are now in a more civilised world but some cultural beliefs tends to be passed down through generations. One of those cultural belief around here is the matter of age. People might not really talk about it but then I haven't seen anybody around here get married to an older woman, which means the cultural belief still thrives in people.
What do I think about this? Should age barrier be considered in a relationship or not? Personally I would say do what works for you, that is what I consider the most important. If a person believes age barrier is a significant factor in a relationship, then such person should follow his/her beliefs. Based on my current relationship status, I'm has single as a pineapple but then if I do wish to be in a relationship would I consider the age barrier? I might but there is something more important which is following where my heart leads.
Which is what I would advise everyone else to do, I mean is it worth forfeiting being with the right person just because of age barrier? We need to think about what really matters in a relationship and from my standing point it is happiness. As long as both parties are happy I don't think age barrier should be an issue. If we were to set a particular age bracket for couples, what guarantees that they would find their match within the set age bracket. At far as I'm concerned, when it comes to relationship, each individual has the right to choose what works for him/her regardless of societal criticism.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Age is just a number" in hive learners community.
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