Required Field Validator Preventing moving to another page?

Hello, I have pages set up with text boxes for inputs. Some or most of these have required field validators that I intended to fire when the submit button has been pressed. My problem however is that they will fire when I press a link button to navigate to another page without having even touched the text boxes. These link buttons are common to all pages and are located on the master page. This then prevents this navigation from occuring, a problem!! What's even more confusing is that this doesn't happen when any hyperlinks are pressed. I have hyperlinks unique to certain pages on most of the pages that this is happening on, and can navigate fine with them.  Can anyone explain this behaviour and how I can avoid it? Thank you all!