I imagine sometimes the honest-to-goodness expression is true , free advice is usually worth precisely what you paid for it .
We all need some advice every once in a while — which we usually take, or at least consider, if it’s good. However, sometimes we get advice from someone that is at best…questionable.
And it was with the latter in mind that redditoru/Skiingfunaskedthe folks on AskReddit, “What is the worst advice you’ve ever received in your life?”
1.“When I was in high school I had a friend who was not the smartest. I remember him telling me if I didn’t want to get a woman pregnant, then she should be on top so the sperm can’t flow up. He became a father his sophomore year.”
— cmanymules
2.“I called kids helpline when I was a teen to ask for advice on how to help my depressed friend. They advised I find new friends. I wish I was making this up.”
" To clear up , the conversation was VERY short . I excuse my friend has been struggling , downcast , with no need , and insulate herself from others — something along those lines ( it was a while back ) — and what could I do . The only man of advice they gave me was to ' have her classify it out on her own ' and ' determine raw friend . ' That ’s it . Nothing to interpret or misapprehend . I do n’t think . We rest supporter though and she ’s OK now . "
— atsignwork
3.“Someone told me that I should have kids in my early twenties so I can just get it out the way.”
— gbtwo88
4.“My dad: ‘You know, son, there really is no such thing as cheating if you aren’t married. The Bible doesn’t recognize any relationship that isn’t bound in the covenant of the Lord. So until you are married, relationships don’t really exist.'”
" Me:‘Thanks Dad , you just indirectly explicate why you ’re on your third marriage . '’ "
— djramrod
5.“Had an uncle tell me that men could be allowed to ‘fool around’ in relationships, as it was their impulse to have as many children as possible. And women, well, look at a man other than your husband and you’re a whore. I️ have some questionable family members.”
— shakespearestark
6.“I once called a crisis hotline and told the lady that I was afraid my parents would disown me because I thought I was bisexual. She paused and then said, ‘Yeah, some kids go through that phase.'”
— 857934508
7.“When my daughter was an infant, my wife couldn’t breastfeed and my daughter couldn’t digest formula very well, so I had to buy a special predigested formula for like $25 a can.”
" I was at the cashier paying for the formula . The guy in front of me was cumulate his things . He said to me , he says , ' When my tiddler were babies , I wish I knew what I cognize now . ‘I was like , ' What ’s that ? What do you know?‘He says , ' infant do n’t need formula . All they demand is clams water . All the ease is a scam . ‘I was like , ' I ’m so glad you did n’t cognise that back then . ' "
— [ deleted ]
8.“My high school guidance counselor said that I ‘wasn’t college material’ and I took her advice and started the process of joining the Marines with my friends (who were also told this). My chemistry teacher at the time scheduled a substitute, personally drove me to a nearby college, and sat there with me while I spoke with admissions.”
" Fast - forward a few years : After experience a chemistry and chemical engineering dual degree and then die on to get a PhD in chemic engineering … I’d say that direction counselor knew jack sh*t . "
— hotcheetosandtakis
9.“My boyfriend suffered from a terrible charley horse in the middle of the night. My bizarre, space cadet of a co-worker heard this and immediately interjected, frantically explaining that I needed to get him to a hospital because this was a surefire symptom of pregnancy. She also recommended that I call the news because my boyfriend is well…a man. I guess she thought history was about to go down. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t pregnant.”
— pocketmole
10."‘Just listen to your academic advisor. They know what they’re doing.’ Thousands of dollars added cost to education, an extra senior year, and a withdrawal on my transcript. Seriously, don’t be afraid to push back on your advisors if you’re concerned about what they say or do."
— RayFinkleO5
11.“When I was little, I told my mom I was sad because some kids were bullying me. She said I should tell them that when they bullied me it hurt me inside, and they would stop. I did what she said. This was bad advice. They did not stop.”
— doot_doot
12."‘Just open another credit card, it’s free money!’ Coming from my friend who is in thousands of dollars worth of debt and has no idea that she will eventually have to pay that off."
— BaconAficionado8
13."‘Buy a house [in 2006]. It’ll be the best decision you ever make!’ Worst decision I’ve ever made."
— TheAethereal
14.“I went to the doctor at 17 for depression, and he said to write a journal of things that make me feel sad and eat more bananas.”
— VagueSomething
15."‘Stop reading! You read too much, and you’re going to hurt your eyes! Go watch TV for awhile!’ My grandma, every time she visited, while grabbing the books from my hands. It was like something offThe Simpsons."
— yiuroitu
16.“When my marriage was on the rocks, my dad said, ‘Son, go out and find yourself an older woman that just wants to f**k and keep your marriage. She (wife) doesn’t have to know, you’ll be getting laid and the older woman will be happy without a commitment.’ Thankfully…I didn’t go that route, and my marriage is repaired and stronger than ever today.”
— MiketheJeepGuy
17.“This wasn’t me personally, but my mom told me that we had a neighbor that used to constantly tell my dad that life insurance was a waste of money and tried to convince him to stop paying for it. Fortunately, my dad was intelligent because he died five years later and my family would have been completely destroyed without it.”
— feeryu
18.“Engineer, salaried, married with a kid. I also have a masters degree, and several years of work experience. VP of the company advised me to work at McDonald’s after work if I wanted to make more money. He even took his calculator out and told me how many hours I should work.”
" The guy wire was fire about a twelvemonth after that for bullying employee . I render to give but end up staying and reverse down other job , not a unfit position to be for now . I speak about it to a couple of elderly executive director I rely at the time . "
— fr3nchcoz
19.And lastly: “My career advisor in high school when I said, ‘I think I want to do something with computers.’ She said, ‘Have you heard of Microsoft?’ Then she wrote Microsoft on a piece of paper and slid it across the table and that was it, my careers interview was over.”
— softwhitebread
You can read the full thread of responses onReddit.
mark : Some responses have been edited for length and/or lucidity .
