If you think you'll never turn into your parents, a study finds you probably will - and people are sharing the hilarious moments they realised it was happening to them.
If you're the sort of person to text your mum five times a day, then it's likely you have a good relationship. Similarly, if you're living near grandparents and are the kind of family who enjoy holidays with grandparents, it sounds like you're a close-knit family who enjoy spending time together. But how do you feel about turning into your mum or dad?
Most people think it won't happen, but it looks as though it could be inevitable - it could also happen sooner than you think. A survey of 2,000 adults carried out for insurance company Progressive, found the average person began to realise they were morphing into their parents at 30 years old, with some even noticing they displayed their parents' habits and traits from the age of 20.
The top three categories respondents saw similarities between themselves and their parents were their food (cooking and eating) habits, their daily lifestyle habits and their language. Traveling habits also made it to the top 10 on the list, and Gen Z are most likely to see similarities to their parents in the way they travel.
The survey found 41% per cent of Gen Z like to arrive arrive at the airport early, come prepared, and like to keep track of their luggage. Both Gen Z and millennials believe they took on their parents' lateness traits, with 16% per cent revealing they suddenly have the urge to get food during flight boarding, while 15 per cent of Gen X and 19 per cent of baby boomers make a toilet dash at this time - just like their parents.
As part of the study, people revealed exactly when they realised they were turning into their parents:
- "Working on cars with my dad."
- "While shopping, bargain hunting to the max like my mum and grandma."
- "When I started talking the same way or giving the same advice they did."
- "When talking to my kids I would go through all the names of all my other kids before getting the right name."
- "When my kids pointed it out."
- "When I went to go out to eat and I grabbed a bunch of pepper packets."
- "When I watched the shows my mum likes."
- "When I understood something that happened in the past from their perspective."
- "When I started waking up really early to start my day and realised that actually makes me more positive and productive."
- "When I started saving for retirement in my 20s."
- "When I drove extra miles to get a cheaper price on a product."
- "I used an envelope to write down what I need from the shops."
Mum-of-two, Lucy, realised she'd turned into her mum when she started saying the one phrase her mum always said. She tells us "My mum seemed to be forever saying 'I've just sat down,' when we were kids, whenever we asked for something or made some sort of mess. I didn't get it at the time, because who cares - just get back up again. One day I'd just settled down to watch something on TV and was asked to do something by my kids and after being on my feet, running around after them all day, I said in dismay 'but I've just sat down.' And that was it - I'd turned into my mum and had a very real understanding of exactly why she'd be so annoyed when we disturbed her resting time."
Dad James, says "For me, it was getting excited about hearing a new farm shop was opening near us. Going there and comparing the choice of food and coffee compared to the other favourite farm shops and garden centres on my list, made me realise I was now actually my dad."
Mum of one, Steph tells us; "I don't like using my phone to do my shopping list, I'm always scared I'll drop it, so I use old envelopes... my six-year-old said the other day 'Nan does that too'. I slowly nodded before muttering 'It's like Blackpool illuminations in here' and turning the big light off, just like my Mum circa 1996."
Family dynamics can be tricky, especially if you have a toxic mother, or you grew up with an emotionally immature parent. Finding peace with absent parents can also be hard, and an expert shares what you can do to handle your feelings about it.
