Advice your Mother gave you that you actually listened to.

[TheLostWinchesterWife]

Talking to my children today about being nice. Two seconds after they were tearing each other apart again.
Found myself saying 'I always listened to my Mum!'
...then wondered if I ever actually did.
Some of it was good and I should have followed and some was rubbish. But I couldn't think of any that I remembered thinking 'ah yes..I must remember that' so has anyone, anywhere ever listened to their mother?

However my dad gave me this piece of advice.

"You do not need much to be happy. To be happy and loved is the richest a person can be."

He also told me, "never let a man change you. If he tries, send him to me."

Moisturise your neck as well as your face. Hasn't actually stopped me getting old, but seemed to hold things back for a bit...

Don't let the sun go down on your wrath.

Neither lender nor borrower be.

No-one has the right to be happy. They have to work for it.

Respect yourself, and others will respect you.

Never stand as guarantor to a loan.

Always buy good shoes. You can wear scruffy clothes, but you will be judged by your shoes.

You are what you eat.

Always keep in touch with your friends

"There's plenty more fish in the sea"

Shame she doesn't like my catch of the day!

If you are going to push the boat out, then you might as well sink it.

Shame my brother is twice bankrupt!

Can I have some of your mothers?!?!

"You are ruined for life once a man has had his way with you"

"Don't bother to apply to University- it's only for posh kids- you will let yourself down".

You can have my mother terror.

Don't bring trouble to our door - when I was going on my 1st holiday!

Don't go to bed on an argument.

Don't do everything for a man otherwise they will expect it all the time.

Have a bit of time together having fun before you settle down and have babies - now we are ttc I wish I had ignored this and got on with it sooner!

And my Dad told my DH always to have the last word in a argument ................ Yes Dear

My mother always told me that if a relationship wasn't going anywhere after 6 months it never would and it was best to say good-bye and move on. Having spent most of my early twenties trying repeatedly to get two relationships back on track repeatedly and becoming emotionally exhausted I wish I'd taken more notice at the time. DH proposed within a fortnight, so i didn't have to apply the rule to him (married 30 years this year)

Ensure your children understand, from as early an age as possible, the meaning of the phrase 'I've changed my mind'.

if you cheat you will always ALWAYS be found out

apple pie without some cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
It's better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable but rich and miserable is better than poor and miserable.
If you act like a tart, you'll end up a tart.

Ive only ever judged people in too high heels or too pointy toed shoes! Those shoes probably werent cheap!

Always stick to one brand of good quality make up.
Mum always looked very young for her age in her 50s/60s especially and so I will stick with this and see if I follow suit!!

Keep things tidy as you go and don't have clutter.

A glass of wine at the end of a bad day washes your troubles away

Terror, my mother unstilled so much fear in me i am thinking about doing a course or reading a book about how to occasionally take a risk!! My parents never told me anything helpful. They just made everything out there seem too terrifying and dangerous. Even an electric blanket is too dangerous!

'Never marry a man straight from his mother'

She learned the hard way, my Dad is a lovely man but useless round the house. I listened and am currently supping tea on the couch and mumsnetting while DH does the washing up. I think it is very important that men & women share the household jobs.

'Enjoy your money while you are young and don't have a lot of commitments'

I think I took this one a bit too much to heart before getting married and buying a house. I did travel a fair bit and enjoyed myself before settling down but a few more pennies in the bank would have served me well.

"Take scrambled eggs off the heat just before they've finished cooking" - sound advice that I've never forgotten.

Not sure about anything else. She was a lovely person but had a pragmatic attitude to life - she used to say "you can't pee against the wind" along with "the trouble with your father is, he thinks he can pee against the wind". I think she was probably right about that.

Wow! Some good advice here and some very very 'advice'!

From my Mam:

'Instincts, instincts, instincts!' Said as she emptied every child/baby care book I had into a binbag and slung them out of the house. I was a weeping mess at this stage.

'Nothing gives you freedom more than education.' She's a textbook example of a woman who was the first person in her family to go to university in the 60s.

'Remember who you are and where you're from.' Quite old school but as an ex-pat northeasterner in London, it's something I've never forgotten.

From a very close friend's Mum:

'Always use an extra egg.' I make a lot of cakes. This has very genuinely been invaluable advice!

From my wonderful and slightly dotty Grandma:

'Eating brown eggs will keep your hair brown.'

'Keep a bit of money back from your housekeeping each week and you can buy yourself some new tights.'

Hmm good thread. I'm often at odds with my mum and her frankly bizarre statements but I think I heeded a bit more than I realised!

• Always make sure you can provide for yourself as you never know what might happen to rock your stability.

• You'll never meet the love of your life in a bar (nope I met him online )

• Education is a gift to be cherished so make the most of how privileged you are to get to go to school and university

• Treat others with respect

• in an argument or dispute behaving with dignity is your most powerful armour

The first and last ones probably shaped me the most.

I should have added for every line of wisdom from my mum it would be followed up by something that makes my toes curl.

Oh and

• when making pavlova always make sure your mixing bowl is as clean as possible as any stray fat or grain will mean the egg white doesn't set so well

Marry someone who's kind.
Marry someone who's easy to live with.
You can't change a man.
Use SPF moisturiser.

I forgot a really important one from my Mam!

Always vote. Whenever and whatever election there is. If you don't you're disrespecting the women who fought so that you could.

limelight yes! Also got that from mum and grandmothers. Even if they always voted Tory

My nana nursed Jewish survivors from the war and she said that in their memory alone it was so important to vote for someone to prevent that from happening again.