I don't remember advice that wasn't good...I do know my mother didn't care for my choice of husband...my father liked him, but my father died when we were married only 3 years....now it's been 46 years.

Marry a Catholic girl. I married a Methodist.

Don't light a fire using gasoline!

Funny Brushworks...I was a Methodist girl that married a Catholic boy, now we have our own shared beliefs...we don't follow any specific religion. I remember in high school other kids telling us it would never work out....46 years later we're glad we didn't listen to them.

Conform. Care about what the neighbors think.

I had a neighbor who has 3 girls. Girl #1 married a guy that my neighbor detested. They just celebrated 20 yr anniversary. Girls 2 & 3 married guys she liked and they're both divorced. Go figure.

hmmmmm....and that worked out HOW?

Watchmelol's comment reminded me of something my mother-in-law said more than once: "Do the done thing." I loved my mother-in-law, but I'm glad I never followed that piece of advice.

My step-father told me to only work for big established companies like his beloved IBM. I'm in Silicon Valley- you can work out what I thought of his advice.

Nanny, that's a great lesson for many other women (and some men, too!). I recall hearing either directly from my father, or a sister's interpretation of what he said, about a feeling that came out of being raised during the Depression -- that people should be grateful they had ANY job, and to not even think about striving for something more interesting, or at a higher pay grade. Glad you envisioned what you COULD be!

"Do the done thing." ?

Not sure what that means?

"Do the done thing." ?

It means following the norms of society. What's expected.

I'm glad people are posting b/c it shows they understand that parents had their best interest at heart but diff priorities, their own life experiences, might have been behind the advice that didn't work for the next generation.

I wonder if I'll ever know/hear of advice that didn't work for my stepson. I can't imagine a thing, ha

My mother is Catholic. We quit going to church when I was 13 or 14 so I exposed in the religion, but not truly raised in it. When I went off to college she handed me a booklet on the rhythm method. Yes. That was my birth control education from my mother. Thank goodness I had other sources of information.

I married at 19. Mom was not particularly delighted. She said,"Well, I suppose if you don't have children you can always get a divorce. We have been married 42 years this month. My mom has been married 4 times during that time

There are so many!! I think the worst was, "Your pretty you don't need college, just a husband". My daughter was taking her Nursing finals and her boyfriend said, " Your pretty if you don't pass who cares, you'll always be able to find a husband". I was so angry. She passed and dumped him a few months later.

Career Days in high school. I said I was interested in becoming a Phlebotomist. My counselor said I should be a model. I said why do you think "that"? He said, "Weeeeeeeell you like clothes don't you?" (That's a funny memory. Makes me laugh.)

I love my mom dearly, but sometimes I look back at her advice and shake my head. Sometimes it was just so wrong and sometimes it was the negative way in which it was delivered. Honestly, she had something bad to say about nearly everything and could squelch your ambitions in a heartbeat. Part of the problem was that she was supersensitive to what "people would think". Once I was an adult and could think for myself, I just let her words roll off my back. As I advised my brother, just agree with everything she says and then do what you want.

Thanks for your kind words pammyfay!

I raised my daughter to believe that she could do anything she wanted-she just completed her Addiction Psychiatry fellowship.

"Why waste your time going to college? College is worthless. You are too dumb, anyway."

It wasn't, and I wasn't.

from DH's parents, CLEAN YOUR PLATE!

Don't make waves. Sometimes you just have to do so to make sure the right thing is done.

Learn keypunch! All the big companies will be using it in the future!

I only wish someone would've told me how to apply for scholarships or student loans and told me I could leave home to study. Parents or school. No one told me.

I cannot remember much at all in the way of advice from my parents. My father was just too absent and busy. Looking back it seems that my mother must have thought I didn't need any advice about anything, but I'm sure I could have used some. I'm not sure if they had a lot of faith in me, or if maybe they were a little oblivious.

Matthias, I think people *were* oblivious to their children a lot of times.

Most people didn't "talk" to children; they talked to other adults, but they issued instructions or orders to children.

Lots of people still do this.

Dad told me not to learn to type because then someone will expect you to do it! I think he was trying to save me from being a secretary...

My first husband was told by my FIL not to learn a task (menial, in particular), else he'd be stuck doing it. FIL was extremely successful but first husband felt the need to "do stuff" so he could properly train his staff plus be able to assess, from experience, what constituted a "good job". I agreed with his point of view. Advice worked for one generation but not for the next.

My mother said, "Put down that book, and go outside and get some color! You're pale as a ghost."

I kept reading. I have very fair skin and blue eyes -- and no skin cancer.

"Marry a doctor". So I married a nurse, ha ha.

"Be safe" which I interpreted as look both ways before you cross the street and obey the traffic laws. When I asked her as an adult what she had meant she responded "you know, don't drink, don't kiss boys, stay away from troublemakers" I was like......"you should have been wayyyy more specific"