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© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

 

If his parents were our friends and rambled on about their son's brilliant career, we wouldn't consider them braggarts.  Seth Meyers has been a star on such comedic biggies as Saturday Night Live and the Late Night show and was host of the Golden Globes in 2018.

Maybe his parents don't talk a lot about their son–I have no idea; I don't know them. But Seth Meyers tells us (via comedian Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee) that his dad, whose expertise is finance, used to give him lots of career advice and critique his comedic approach–even when he was on SNL. Over the years, Meyers reported, his dad had some worthwhile  comedic pointers to offer. But sometimes the tips not only came too often but were unhelpful on many levels. 

Here's what Meyers told Seinfeld he told his dad about the advice-giving business, especially as it relates to child-parent relationships:

“I remember saying to him, ‘You’ve done a very good job of being a tough, honest critic with me. I no longer need it. So you have to shift from what you’ve been doing to a completely different role–of support.’”

Meyers and his dad have weathered the advice-giving shoals. You can see how well the family gets along on the above video, one of occasional Late Night segments called The Meyers Family.

 

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6 responses to “Observation: Seth Meyers on parents giving grown kids job advice”

  1. candy Avatar
    candy

    Everyone parents different. I don’t give advice unless asked directly for my opinion. They are adults and can figure it out unless they ask.

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  2. Christie Hawkes Avatar

    I have a similar approach to Candy. No advice unless requested or someone is in imminent danger–as determined by me :-).

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  3. penny Avatar

    Yes, everyone parents differently and every child is different and has different needs. But overall, as you suggest, advice is best given when it’s asked for.
    thanks for stopping by.

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  4. penny Avatar

    the tricky part is that determination of danger. But we’re all in the same boat–wanting to help; needing to keep out mouths shut. Until our kids really need the benefit of our experience.

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  5. Miriam Hendeles Avatar

    I love this. And the Seth Meyers story is mind blowing. Wow! All he wanted was support. That’s perfect. I linked this to a recent blog post of mine.
    I’ve never loved too much advice. Support yes. Unsolicited advice, not so much. So, when parents or in-laws gave too much advice, it never felt right (read: awful. suffocating). I try to remember that with my adult kids. It’s so important for people to figure things out on their own…actually they do a great job of it when we get out of their way. And be there for them if they ask.

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  6. Penpen Avatar

    Hi Miriam
    You nailed it: Be there for them If they ask.
    So glad you enjoyed the Seth Meyer story: so genuine. No wonder he is so successful a comedian.
    Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy following your family on Facebook.
    Penny

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