Equipping marriage skills, young people are ready to participate in courses
In the context of young people getting married more and more late, Vietnam's birth rate tends to decrease rapidly and has fallen below the replacement birth rate. Specifically, the birth rate decreased from 2.11 children/woman (in 2021) to 1.91 children/woman (in 2024) and 1.93 children/woman (in 2025).
The Ministry of Health has just proposed to organize pre-marital courses for young men and women preparing to get married nationwide, and at the same time encourage marriage before the age of 30 to contribute to raising the birth rate and improving population quality.
This proposal in the draft Circular guiding the implementation of the National Target Program on health care, population and development for the period 2026 - 2035 (phase I: 2026 - 2030), has just been consulted by the Ministry of Health.
Immediately after being announced, the proposal received the attention of many young people. Many opinions expressed their agreement, saying that besides financial preparation, equipping knowledge and skills about marriage and family building is also a necessary baggage before entering married life.
Ms. Nguyen Ha Lan Chi (Hanoi) said that she is not yet ready to get married because she wants to prepare carefully in terms of economy as well as skills for family life.
I think marriage not only needs love but also needs many skills such as communication, financial management or how to resolve conflicts. If there is a formal course, I am very willing to participate to have more preparation before getting married," Ms. Lan Chi shared.
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc (Hanoi) said that many couples today enter marriage when they do not have enough skills to behave, leading to unnecessary conflicts.
If the course is designed to be practical, close and with expert guidance, it will be very useful. I think studying before marriage is like preparing luggage for a long journey," Mr. Duc said.
Creating a sense of security for young people to confidently start a family
Wanting young people to be willing to get married, just equipping them with knowledge is not enough. More importantly, it helps them feel secure when entering marriage, and at the same time creates conditions for couples to prepare well in terms of psychology, skills and plans for common life.
According to psychologist Hoang Anh (Voice of Therapist Office): "The message should not just be to get married or have children, but to help young people believe that they can build a family without having to bear all the risks of marriage and raising children alone.
Expert Hoang Anh also believes that the decision to get married is affected by many factors such as employment, income, housing, health, quality of relationships and belief in the future. Therefore, premarital education is only truly effective when it comes with policies to support young families.
Regarding the above issue, Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh (Society expert, lecturer at the Institute of Journalism and Communication, Academy of Journalism and Propaganda), pre-marital courses can contribute to reducing post-marital conflicts, but the important thing is not how much knowledge is conveyed but creating opportunities for couples to dialogue with each other before entering common life.
The practical value of premarital education is not in the amount of knowledge imparted, but in that it creates opportunities for two people to have exchanges that have never existed before," said Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh.
According to experts, some couples who have been in love for many years have never frankly shared about finances, accommodation after marriage, child plans, how to divide responsibilities in the family or how to behave when conflicts arise between both paternal and maternal families. Sitting down together to discuss these issues before marriage will help the two people agree on expectations and reduce the risk of conflict.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh also believes that "shocks" after marriage often do not come from a lack of information but from the gap between expectations and reality about the role of each person in the family.
The content of the course will be useful if it helps both sides identify and agree on their roles, instead of just guiding how to adapt," Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh emphasized.
Regarding the goal of reducing divorce, Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh believes that pre-marital education can contribute to limiting conflicts and breakups, but it should not be seen as the only solution to reduce divorce. Because divorce is affected by many factors, the effectiveness of the program needs to be assessed through the quality of married life, sharing between husband and wife, and the level of safety of family members, instead of just relying on the divorce rate.
