One thing I remember about being a teenager is that I didn’t really listen to the adults in my life who tried to give me good advice.

But I guess that’s what all teenagers, do, right?

You know it!

But I guess those of us that have been there still need to try to do our best and give these young folks advice and just hope that they listen to us…because we’ve been there and we’ve done that.

AskReddit users talked about what they think all teenagers should avoid. Let’s take a look.

1. Get it done.

“Procrastination.

My God, procrastination can get so bad and affect you so horribly if you let it get out of hand.”

2. 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.”

3. 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.”

4. Don’t start.

“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.”

5. It’s good for you.

“Lack of sleep. It doesn’t make you cool.

Go to bed early and enjoy full 9 hour night.”

6. 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.”

7. 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.”

8. 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.”

9. 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.”

10. 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.”

11. 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.”

12. 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.”

13. 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.”

14. 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.”

15. All of this stuff.

“Don’t practice unsafe s*x. Condoms and pills are cheaper than having to raise an unplanned child.

Tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. No, they don’t make you cool.

They are very addictive, and you can’t easily shake off the habit.”

16. A deep, dark hole.

“If you haven’t been financially educated, credit cards.

It’s far too easy to get into debt with them and can really destroy your future for years.”

17. You have to open up.

“Emotions were discouraged in my household. Well, positive emotions were fine. But if I didn’t look happy my parents would get angry and yell at me.

Now I’m trying to fix it by teaching myself what my parents didn’t. But to be fair to them they were raised like that too and didn’t know any different.

So to anyone who’s going to have children or already has them, one of the biggest favors you can do your child is work through your own sh*t. Because it will follow them and you’ll realize it way too late.”

18. Totally creepy.

“Older men.

Teenagers often think that they’re cool for hooking up with dudes who are far older than them, but the people who hook up with teenagers as older adults are not the cream of the crop.

Everyone wants to think they’re mature enough to date an older person, but most of the time there’s going to be a power imbalance.”

19. Don’t ignore them!

“When you are little, it’s sweets which rot the teeth.

As we get older, the issue is different and you should be more concerned with bacteria on the gum line- cavities are still a thing, but so is inflamed, retracting gums.

Brushing before bed helps a lot. A lot. And flossing is also good. Take care of your gums.”

20. Avoid them.

“Toxic friends.

Seriously, if your friends only ever get you in trouble and treat you like a burden, they’re not your friends.

By all means the prospect of leaving a social group to find another social group can be pretty scary. Facing that fear is better than being around sh*tty people.”

21. Go easy on those things.

“I’m honestly surprised I dont see this mentioned yet, but energy drinks (at least not in moderation).

Especially the newer ones like Bang, that have a ton of caffeine. I was drinking upwards of 3-4 Monsters a day as a teenager and wondered why I had “insomnia”.

I’m pretty sure I dont have a heart problem, but even 1 cup of coffee makes my chest hurt a little now. Take care of your bodies, kids.”

22. You don’t need all that stuff.

“Aside from pregnancies and drugs, I’d say going into debt for stuff that’s not actually necessary to survive, like buying the newest phone, or car, or whatever.

Where I live it’s still pretty common that younger people take up loans or enter subscriptions/contracts (think phone, internet etc) to have the newest gadgets, only to realize they cannot afford after a while, then the late fees pile up etc, it can end badly.”

23. A really dumb move.

“Shoplifting.

One of my school friends did this years ago. This doesn’t make you cool, he now has a criminal record, prevented him from getting jobs when he was 16.”

24. Good advice.

“Not picking up a creative and/or athletic skill.

One of the problems people face today is obsolescence: the skills you learned in your youth become useless because something new over the horizon will replace it. Kids today look up to influencers and are amazing at making tiktoks, but honestly, that’s not gonna last.

An athletic skill will give you a strong and healthy body for your entire life. A sport develops a competitive and goal orientated mindset that translates easily into any job. A creative skill develops sensibilities that will shape your worldview. Displaying your creativity gives you the opportunity to express and share yourself.

Not to mention that both develop responsibility, time management, and a love of practicing to perfect those skills. In the long run, any of these skills is worth more than any amount of likes.”

25. Be your own person.

“Letting other people make your decisions.

I let religion, family, friends society etc. dictate my behavior. It’s comfortable because you tell yourself they know what they’re talking about… They don’t.

Sure, you’ll make bad choices, but at least they’ll be yours and you can learn from them. There’s a special kind of regret you feel when the bad choices you make are a result of other people living your life.

Trust yourself enough you fail. Think, make a choice, and actually live.”

26. Plug up those ears!

“Loud concerts without ear protection.

Seriously. You get a decent set of earplugs and in 10 minutes you don’t even realize you’re wearing them and your ears are better for it in the long run.”

27. You’re going to change.

“A hard set beliefs of any type.

People change as they get older and their beliefs change with more information and experience.

Brains in humans do not fully develop until about 25.”

Now we want to hear from you.

In the comments, please share some good life advice that you think teens should hear.

Thanks in advance!