People Are Sharing The Worst Advice They Ever Got, And Some Of These Left Me Gobsmacked
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.
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And it was with the latter in mind that redditor u/Skiingfun asked the folks on AskReddit, "What is the worst advice you've ever received in your life?"
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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."
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 clarify, the conversation was VERY short. I explained my friend has been struggling, depressed, with no motivation, and isolating herself from others — something along those lines (it was a while back) — and what could I do. The only piece of advice they gave me was to 'let her sort it out on her own' and 'find new friends.' That's it. Nothing to interpret or misinterpret. I don't think. We remained friends though and she's alright now."
3."Someone told me that I should have kids in my early twenties so I can just get it out the way."
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 explained why you're on your third marriage.''"
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."
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.'"
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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 gathering his things. He said to me, he says, 'When my kids were babies, I wish I knew what I know now.'I was like, 'What's that? What do you know?'He says, 'Babies don't need formula. All they need is sugar water. All the rest is a scam.'I was like, 'I'm so glad you didn't know that back then.'"
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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 receiving a chemistry and chemical engineering dual degree and then going on to get a PhD in chemical engineering...I'd say that guidance counselor knew jack sh*t."
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."
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."
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."
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."
13."'Buy a house [in 2006]. It'll be the best decision you ever make!' Worst decision I've ever made."
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."
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 off The Simpsons."
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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."
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."
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 was fired about a year after that for bullying employees. I tried to leave but ended up staying and turned down other jobs, not a bad place to be for now. I spoke about it to a couple of senior executive I trusted at the time."
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."
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You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
