Influencing other people is hard. With kids it's easy. They believe whatever you say, but as people get older the window closes. I think it's unfair, though, when someone is becoming dependent on you, sharing their problems with you, and you're listening to them but then when you try to help they don't listen to you. Communication has to go both ways. If you gave bad advice or too much advice that would be one thing, but if you gave good advice at least they could listen. But yah, I agree with the other posters that most of the time people don't want advice. They want someone to be aware of what they're going through.