I have a 14-year-old niece who I’m constantly trying to give life advice to
Of course, she usually rolls her eyes at me and only half-listens, but I still try to do my part because I want her to stay out of trouble…
And we all know that teenagers can get into TONS of trouble.
So I guess the only thing we can do is still try to impart our infinite wisdom to them and hope they’ll take a moment to look up from their phones and listen up.
AskReddit users shared what things they think teens should avoid. Here’s what they had to say.
1. My ears!
“Really loud music.
The kind at a concert front row loud, because tinnitus really sucks.
And not only tinnitus. I damaged my ability to hear certain frequencies when I was a teenager by going to loud punk gigs. It makes it really hard to hear people speaking over background noise. Doesn’t sound too major, but it makes socialising in a pub or club or public place that bit more challenging. I guess I lost the frequency range that distinguishes speech from general noise.
When you’re a young adult, you do a lot of your socialising in such environments, so don’t add an extra challenge to your social life.”
2. Pick a direction.
“Avoid waiting for life to begin.
It already has.
Go in some positive direction, even if you’re not sure it’s the exact right one.”
3. That’s smart.
“Work on your credit skills (and subsequently self-discipline) immediately.
My advice is to get approved for any credit card you can with any limit, doesn’t matter. Then, use that card on ONE thing. Groceries? Fuel?
Something small and exclusive so you’re definitely able to pay it off in full every single month. A good credit score at a young age does wonders, especially considering your peers.”
4. Nothing is forever.
“My mom found her dream job in her thirties and my current stepdad in her fifties. Don’t be too concerned with whether the things you’re doing now is gonna be forever.
Do what you can to open doors for yourself but don’t feel forced to think you need to know with who or what you should spend the rest of your life with at this point. Time gives you time to discover more things.
Discover more things, and eventually you’ll find your way, even if you didn’t realize it. Stop thinking in today and forever. You got all the time to figure it out. Just get yourself a solid foundation and explore.
Except for drugs. Don’t explore things that you could get addicted to for the rest of your life.”
5. Be yourself.
“Stop trying to tailor your personality to appeal to each new person you meet. You’re not required to be everyone’s best friend. It took me so long to figure this out.
It wasn’t until my early 20s that I figured out how I like to dress, what I like to do, or what music I enjoy because I used to change according to other people’s tastes.”
6. Get ‘er done!
“Procrastination.
Not as big as the other ones but my God, procrastination can get so bad and affect you so horribly if you let it get out of hand.”
7. Find the good ones.
“Fake friends.
It’s honestly better to have no friends than people who gossip about you and make snide remarks to you.
I know everyone says this but you will find your people.”
8. Take care of those choppers.
“Avoid skipping the dentist.
Even if money is tight professional cleanings and preventive maintenance will pay dividends later in life.”
9. Don’t smart.
“Nicotine.
I’ve been smoking for 10 years (ever since I was 14) and nicotine is absolutely the worst drug and the hardest to cut out.
There’s no satisfying “high” to it, just cravings and dizziness. Any other drug would give you more bang for your buck.”
10. It’s good for you.
“Lack of sleep. It doesn’t make you cool.
Go to bed early and enjoy full 9 hour night.”
11. They can hurt you.
“Avoid taking out large loans.
Any loans if at possible, though thats difficult if you go to college. Buying a brand new car at a young age is a bad idea.
The majority of your small paycheck will be going toward that loan and the insurance.”
12. Let it all out.
“Suppressing emotions.
It’s okay to feel sad, angry, anxious, etc. don’t be made to feel bad for feeling this range of emotions through your teenage years.”
13. Avoid at all costs.
“Adults trying to be to friendly/date you.
You’re not mature for your age, people their age don’t want to be with them or around them for a reason.”
14. Not worth it.
“It’s cliche as hell to say, i know, but drugs. Absolutely avoid drugs. Drinking too.
It is easy for a full grown adult to use a drug and get addicted before they are even aware there’s a problem, so it’s stupidly easy for a teen to get form a runaway addiction that can last years if it doesn’t out and out kill you from an accidental overdose. But even if you eventually were able to break the addiction, the changes it made to your brain chemistry could he permanent.
That’s exactly what happened to my brother. He got hit by a car at the age of twelve and his dumb *ss doctor put him on percocet and that was all she wrote.
From then on it was an ever sinking sh*t fest of one OD after another with more and more delusional behavior and psychological damage to the point now that at 28 he literally has the mind of a 14 year old cause the drugs never let him grow up properly.”
How about you?
What do you think is some good advice that all teenagers need to listen to?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
