Whether or not youโre close to your dad, you probably grew up hearing him share some interesting advice. That advice ended up becoming a โDad sayingโ in your house, something you and your siblings reminisce about in adulthood. It seems the moment a man becomes a father, he turns into a fountain of knowledge.
Thatโs not to say all dad advice (or dadvice, as the case may be) is created equal. Some of itโs great, imparting life lessons weโll never forget. On the other hand, some of itโs terrible. Then you have advice thatโs so weird you have to ask yourself what on earth was he thinking.
But for better or for worse, theyโre our dads. And they come equipped from the moment of our birth with life lessons for us. Whether itโs good or bad, itโs quintessentially fatherly. And thatโs what makes it โdadvice.โ
If you wish you had wiser fatherly sayings in your life, never fear: the internet is here. These 75 pieces of dad advice are pure gold. That doesnโt mean theyโre all good. But no matter if theyโre great or bad, theyโre undeniably memorable โ and pretty hilarious.
1. Hurtful, but helpful
Iโm guessing Dad didnโt intend to be rude โ that is, he wasnโt trying to imply she was fat. He was just trying to tell his daughter what her priorities should be.
Well, thatโs not technically what that means, and I donโt know if the cruise line would accept it. But realistically, who else is going to be coming to help you out at sea? Dad is thinking practically.
Dads can be naturally overprotective of their children, especially as they reach the dating age. But punching at a middle school dance might cause a scene.
Itโs just like a dad to compare love to bodily functions. But, like most fatherly advice, even though itโs disgusting, thereโs also got an element of truth to it.
Some people just have โThat Face,โ the one that makes people tell them about their problems. Dadโs all about taking opportunities that present themselves. And we canโt exactly blame him.
Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking. Luckily, Dad supplied a vote of confidence. Or rather, he made his child doubt their intelligence for the rest of their life.
7. Well, there go my dreams of holding theater curtains down
Every dad has a saying heard by their kids a million times while growing up, but it still never made sense. This is one of those. The meaning is clear, butโฆa sandbag?
Dads have a unique ability to make serious points but in a way thatโs funny. This advice is extremely important โ and he gave it in such a way that his child will never forget.
Sometimes, you think your dadโs going to get mad but he surprises you by taking everything in stride. Not only did this dad react calmly, but he also gave some practical advice.
Our parents raised us to think that random strangers would offer us drugs in dark alleyways. The reality is no one does that because, as he says, drugs are expensive.
Scaremongering isnโt always the best way to get through to kids, but you canโt deny this leaves an impression. Seriously, people โ just buckle your seatbelt.
Weโll never know the reasoning behind this fatherโs strange hatred of apples. Apparently, theyโre the fruit of the common rabble and he considers himself above all that.
In driversโ ed, they teach you about defensive driving. But what they donโt teach you is โcreativeโ driving. Oh, wait, yes, they do โ in the lesson about accidents and speeding offenses.
Either this dad was hoping to make his daughter smart by osmosis, thereby saving on college expenses, or he was hoping sheโd marry a rich guy. Either way, you canโt fault him for thinking outside of the box.
Dads have a way of giving important life lessons in the weirdest and most awkward ways possible. I wonโt deny these lessons are true, but I also donโt want to think about them too much.
Some kids arenโt naturally inclined to sports. Regardless, parents should support them. It seems sports ability wasnโt important to Jimmy Fallonโs dad. He just wanted to go home.
I donโt know how to start unpacking this one. Frankly, I have a few questions about how this advice was born. What prompted this pearl of wisdom โ or do I even want to know?
If youโve ever been to college, you know there are two things universal for students: theyโre always hungry and rarely have money. In college, you take whatever free food you can find.
Older people often have an odd fixation of having their privacy violated. Theyโre very protective of their rights. But not using your turn signal is taking it way too far.
I feel like a good middle ground here would be to eat in moderation or wear sweatpants, but that wasnโt good enough for Dad. This begs the question: exactly how much was he eating?
I want to know if he gave any other context to this advice. Iโm assuming his warning of โnot to be the drunkestโ was to save some embarrassment. Alas, weโll never know the whole story.
This was spoken by a dad who didnโt brush his teeth often enough and had to pay for an absurd amount of dental care. At least, thatโs what Iโm assuming. You donโt forget those harsh life lessons.
When we were young, our fathers told us to speak to our mothers with respect. But with the changing of technology, the advice from our parents has to change, too. One day weโll be saying, โDonโt make fun of your mom on the holograph.โ
This piece of advice is pretty extreme. Itโs definitely on a level above โHeโll put coal in your stocking.โ New theory: Santa gets the coal from the houses he burns down.
Sure, itโs important to start a savings account. But ultimately, your money has to go somewhere. After all, you wonโt be taking it with you at the end of your life.
You should never swerve to avoid hitting an animal โ at least not a small one, like a squirrel. But I get the feeling Dad got himself mixed up between trees and people.
In general, itโs a good idea to avoid smoking โ even though not everyone who smokes gets cancer. But this dadโs ideas of responsible consumption might be a little bit off-base.
Babyproofing is a never-ending task, and some kids seem determined to find every tiny object in the house. Where did they find that little screw? Youโll never know.
A better lesson might be to avoid going around naked under a bathrobe, but weโll give it to him. It could save you a lot of future embarrassment โ and it seems as though Dad is speaking from experience.
This is yet another one of those pieces of advice that mustโve come from real-world experience. I feel as though it shouldnโt need to be said, but thatโs where we are.
Siblings fight about the strangest things, including flatulence. But parents donโt usually encourage them to blame their farts on one another. How about just saying โExcuse me?โ
Something tells me this father-in-law had a bad experience with expensive chicken. Either that or heโs a cheapskate and takes unregulated chicken prices very personally.
The way Dad worded this advice makes me think he was tired of listening to his kidsโ complain. Heโd rather they commit a murder than subject him to those annoying people by proxy.
37. Iโm guessing he didnโt go to medical school
Plenty of dads have some version of this, maybe โrub some dirt on itโ or โwalk it off.โ Itโs all the same way of saying: โYouโre going to get over it because I donโt want to take you to the hospital.โ
Beer does tend to go through your system much faster than most alcohol. But Iโm not sure what Dadโs trying to say here โ maybe โGo to the bathroom before you get in the carโ?
The biggest problem with this โsolutionโ โ besides the fact that it doesnโt satisfy thirst โ is that you produce less saliva as you get more dehydrated. Dad needs to read a science book before doing that victory dance.
Something tells me that Dad thought long and hard about the way he wanted to give this advice. He settled for a particularly elegant way and seemed pretty proud of it.
Why do I get the feeling Dad is still bitter about that $200 he lost to the neighbor Tim back in 2003? Sometimes, dad advice comes from a dark past. You might want to ask some questions.
Okay, this is funny to laugh at from afar. But in all seriousness, this is an excellent way to get yourself killed. A riptide isnโt the best way to test your swimming strength.
At least Dad isnโt concerned about his son marrying a divorced woman. He doesnโt care about baggage โ in fact, he thinks it comes with quite a few perks. Talk about putting a positive spin on things.
In case you didnโt know, that acronym stands for โThe Fault in Our Stars,โ which is a real tearjerker. And honestlyโฆthis isnโt the worst advice in the world. John Green would approve.
Do we want to know how Dad came to view this as life advice? No, we donโt. But suffice it to say, thereโs a story behind this and it was a tragedy.
Every parent wants their kid to be good โ at least, for the most part. But this dad knew his daughter wasnโt always going to behave, so his advice had a Part II.
Ah, dads, the kings of telling their kids theyโre fine so they avoid going to the doctor. To be fair, this seems like an obvious solution to the problem.
In this dadโs defense, thatโs the first rule of getting poison ivy or poison oak. But he left out quite a few more helpful solutionsโฆlike calamine lotion.
Dads are great at finding the most disturbing or disgusting ways of imparting great life advice. This is just the slightly grosser way of saying, โDonโt treat people badly because you might need their help one day.โ
Forget telling your kids their fingers will look like prunes. This dad had a more extreme saying that probably spoiled swimming for his kids for the rest of their lives.
Good old Dad, giving advice as colorful as possible. Itโs good advice, but it might not be the best to share in polite company. Keep it between dad and son.
Iโll be honest: Iโve read through this at least five times and still donโt understand the phrases โalligator mouthโ and โparakeet ass.โ But his message is clear.
Do people exist who wash their entire body by rubbing a bar of soap directly on their skin? I guess this is good advice if youโre going to do that, but for the love, people, use a loofah.
This dad seems to get it: you can be extremely intelligent and still be terrible at taking exams. When that happens โ and it happens to all of us โ itโs up to you to fudge your way through as best you can.
Most dads try to encourage their kids through their troubles, but this one wasnโt pulling any punches. I sincerely hope he was using a bit of ill-timed dark humor.
I feel as though there shouldโve been a second part to this lesson that said: โAlso, donโt go to hookers.โ Someone, please tell me there was a second part.
This is a popular urban legend that just doesnโt seem to die. Dear Dad and everyone: no, they wonโt let you die just to get your organs nor will they take them while youโre alive.
Iโm sure thereโs wisdom somewhere in this confusing Dad saying. Is he saying that picking your nose is preferable to having friends? Or is he saying you should be able to wipe your friends on the couch?
Most parents make sure their children know all about strangers, but this dad had a different bit of advice. Hopefully, he said it when his kids were old enough to understand it was a joke.
Sure, itโs important to be cautious when youโre dating, especially if youโre meeting through a dating app or website. This might be overkill. But I donโt think he cares.
Not only is this advice completely illogical, but itโs also extremely unsafe. If he ascribes to this, I wonder how many speeding tickets heโs gotten in his life.
This might be an appealing thought for little boys, but not so much for little girls. You might be scaring your daughter off from eating anything green for fear of turning into a hairy monster.
If youโre okay with everyone thinking youโre an idiot, this is some life-changing advice. It could be a one-way ticket that allows you to sit on the couch for the rest of your days.
Forget your MLM cure-all essential oils, Karen. This dad knows exactly which oils are essential to his needs, and they donโt include eucalyptus, sage, or lavender.
In many public campsites, itโs illegal to consume alcohol. That helps cut back on irresponsible behavior, waste, and excess noise. But Dad doesnโt care โ he wants to make sure his daughter parties it up.
Some dads are optimists, telling their kids to shoot for the stars. This dad has a much more negative view of โ well, everything. I guess a dose of reality can be healthy.
We donโt know where this family lived, but it sounds as though they mightโve been in a place where hurricanes or tornadoes are common. But Dad wasnโt worried about his family โ he wanted to save his guitars.
At first, this reads as a warning to always take responsibility for your mistakes, which is mature advice. But the second line is a real kicker. Sorry, Patrick.
This is a rather harsh way to teach your kids that wishes donโt always come true. In true Dad form, he managed to find the most visceral way to say it.
In general, running from the police is a bad idea. Itโll lead to some difficult questions, even if youโre innocent. Something tells me Dadโs speaking from personal experience.
Whether or not youโre close to your dad, you probably grew up hearing him share some interesting advice. That advice ended up becoming a โDad sayingโ in your house, something you and your siblings reminisce about in adulthood. It seems the moment a man becomes a father, he turns into a fountain of knowledge.
Thatโs not to say all dad advice (or dadvice, as the case may be) is created equal. Some of itโs great, imparting life lessons weโll never forget. On the other hand, some of itโs terrible. Then you have advice thatโs so weird you have to ask yourself what on earth was he thinking.
But for better or for worse, theyโre our dads. And they come equipped from the moment of our birth with life lessons for us. Whether itโs good or bad, itโs quintessentially fatherly. And thatโs what makes it โdadvice.โ
If you wish you had wiser fatherly sayings in your life, never fear: the internet is here. These 75 pieces of dad advice are pure gold. That doesnโt mean theyโre all good. But no matter if theyโre great or bad, theyโre undeniably memorable โ and pretty hilarious.