I think it depends on the relationship you have. I couldn't think of anything worse than taking the advice of my mother - it would be completely wrong!

This isn't to say that she hasn't tried to impart her wisdom regarding my relationships, however, it's been more meddling than anything. Like the time she took a phonecall from an ex-boyfriend (I was very much still madly in love with him) and advised him I'd moved on. I only found out by accident when my brother asked me if I knew that Blair had called.

Or the time that I went around to her place to grab some boxes of my things she'd had for nearly 5 years and found she'd accidentally put a letter from an ex-boyfriend in there. He'd asked her to pass it on, and she hadn't. I wouldn't have gotten back together with him, but the words in the letter could have gone a long way in mending the damage he'd done to my 23yr old confidence and outlook on life.

Hmm.. so, cutting a long story short... don't listen. Like "Just wondering" said... they never know you, like they think they do.

Happy Friday everyone!

I love my parents and I value their opinions but they know better than to make digs about my love life unless in the most apparent jest. They're pretty firm on making your own bed and lie in it so to speak. They refrain from making opinions about the wrong man until after I ditch him. However I think that my mother might get quite blunt about things if there were going to be serious consequences (ie Children or Marriage) from a relationship and she truely objected to the man, and if she didn't do it then my sister would.

Mum & Dad are only human, and also dated/grew up in a different time, so I couldnt hope that they will know everything about todays world (ie would be cautious about internet dating etc. Of course they will be conservative in their advice because they dont really want to see their child hurt. My parents never protested about me living with a man before marriage or anything like that, and they have always been fine about me making my own decisions, and as you said Greer, they're always there when you've learnt you lesson/had your heartbroken/made a mistake, and they always will be. Thats one reason why I would never chose a lover/spouse over my family, or stop seeing my family because my bf doesnt like them...family loves you unconditionally no matter what! Make your own decisions, because at the end of your life, you will always regret what you DIDN'T do, more than what you did.

Me and my mom used to be mortal enemies as I was growing up. I was a nightmare child and she wasn't the best at mothering. She's like a teenager in a grown up's body, and when I was the teenager it was hard to forgive her for that. What she knew as obliviousness, I took as neglect.

But as we've gotten older, we've gotten closer and now we're the best of friends and have been for roughly seven years now. I think it relates to moving country and only having each other to lean on.

After I moved out of her house a couple years ago though, I've found that although she is defniitely one of my best friends, she's not my confidant anymore. I find it harder and harder to tell her my problems, particularly my relationships.

My relationship with my mister went pear-shaped early January and my best friend was there, completely surprised to hear about everything that was going down around her without her knowing.

And yet, despite not witnessing the problems. Despite me not divulging too much information about the problems. Despite that for a few years now, I've not poured my heart out to her, she still knew all the right words to say and knew every little feeling I was experiencing. Not a word out of her mouth was wrong.

So for me... Mom is always right. Mom is also the one who will let me have my mistakes and will scold me, joke about it, soothe and love me afterwards and remind me that no matter what happens, I've always got my mom.

Parental opinion, like anyone else that is outside the (potential) relationship will often be different from the view from within. They often won't know the full story but could have the advantage of knowing you as well as you know yourself.

Take it with a grain of salt and do what's right for you.

Remember, you can choose friends and partners, but you are stuck with family. And just because you are stuck with them, doesn't mean that their opinions should take precedence over your own. Some parents genuinely do have a useful contribution to make, others "just want the best" and can never find someone to be good enough for their little darling.

I think we all go with our emotions over logic, but you can't ask anyone else to help pick up the peices (if it comes down to that) unless you acknowledge and address their concerns in the first place.

That's not to say you follow their advice, but rather just listen to each other's points of views, and discuss them through. If it goes belly up, there may be more empathy for why you took the risk with your heart in the first place.

Hopefully JW's family is about caring rather than controlling, hence their advice is an attempt to stop potential emotional pain. Truth is, life throws us turmoil all the time - whether it's someone our family's approves of or not. I say risk it, but with you eyes and your heart open.

This is an interesting topic! The opinion of my immediate family when it comes to my choice of partner is also important to me. I want them to get along! If your parents have an opinion in the negative, I think you should at least consider what they have to say. Arguably, there is no-one in the world who knows you as well as the two who raised you, and your happiness and well-being is most likely of first concern to them. If they have doubts it's most likely for a reason! However, I also agree that in the end it's your life, and the decision is yours. The really annoying thing though? When it all goes to sh*t and it turns out that your parents were right all along...

I definitely listen to my mother's advice on relationships and people, because she has a bit more emotional distance, but knows me well enough that she understands how I tick. I don't "obey" her, but I do value her opinion. She has generally been pretty good at evaluating the people who have been in my life, and has been more honest in her assesment of them than I was!

My father hasn't ever offered relationship advice. This is probably a good thing, as he appears to not be an expert in the subject.

Friends are more likely to be operating towards their own agenda, so I tend to trust them less than family.

Mum wanted me to marry someone rich. She thought the only way I could achieve a reasonable quality of life would be for me to marry someone who would look after me. Thanks for that vote of confidence, mum.

Dad is a little savvier, and understands that tradesman sons in law are a veritable goldmine of freebies and mates' rates deals. He was right, and is now getting his house renovated at a significant discount.

Basically, my lessons learned in this area are that your parents often don't know you nearly as well as they think they do, that they may be using wrong information (such as when his psycho flatmate who wants to get into him tells them a whole bunch of lies), and that if they expect you to choose between them and your lover it will backfire on them if they have a bad relationship with you already. Finally, I learned you gotta go where the love is. And where the respect is too, but respect is really an aspect of love.

As Mark Twain said, "When I was 18 I could not believe how ignorant my father was. When I was 21 I could not believe how much he had learned in the last three years."

Parental advice is like all advice, listen to it and then decide what works for you.