'Because I said so' and 'Wait and see' are just two of the most popular sayings repeated by generations of mums, according to our most recent survey.

Four out of five mums often think they are turning into their parents when they say things like 'It'll end in tears' and 'who's she, the cat's mother?'.

When spouting things such as 'If someone asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?' 75 per cent catch themselves mid sentence and realise they sound just like their mother. Today's mums often find themselves repeating sayings such as 'You'll have someone's eye out with that' and 'What did your last slave die of?'.

'It'll end in tears', 'I've told you a thousand times!', and 'There's no such word as can't' all appear in the top 20 most used sayings.

The funny thing about this research of 3000 mums is that many will insist they are nothing like their own mothers. But the reality is that we can't help but teach our children as our parents taught us, and that means using old sayings, familiar methods of discipline and routines which worked for our parents. It's easy to understand how some of the top 20 sayings could feature in everyday conversations.

Children are always questioning their parents, pushing the boundaries to see what they can get away with. Sometimes a quick retort such as 'Because I said so' is all mums can offer before running out of patience!

More than half of today's mums claim they intentionally use some of their parent's best loved phrases because they think it worked to discipline them but 40 per cent of mums admit they sometimes repeat things their parents used to say to them, without knowing what it really means.

Sayings such as 'close the door you don't live in a barn' baffle mums but they continue to use them because most children don't know how to respond.

Two thirds of mums say their own parents find it hilarious that their sayings are being re-used on their grandchildren and six in ten children are said to regularly question the funny things their parents say to them.

Some of the popular things parents say include 'Say pardon not what', 'What did your last slave die of' and 'I want never gets'. Other favourites include 'That's for me to know and you to find out', 'Do as I say, not as I do' and 'Don't sit too close to the TV you'll get square eyes'.

The Top 20 Sayings
1. Because I said so
2. Wait and see
3. If someone asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?
4. You'll have someone's eye out with that
5. What did your last slave die of?
6. Close the door you don't live in a barn
7. I've told you a thousand times!
8. There's no such word as can't
9. Say pardon not what
10. It'll end in tears
11. Who's she, the cat's mother?
12. I want never gets
13. If you're too full to finish your dinner, you're too full for desert
14. That's for me to know and you to find out
15. Back in my day,
16. Don't sit too close to the TV you'll get square eyes
17. I'll give you something to cry about
18. Carrots will make you see in the dark
19. Ask your father / mother
20. Do as I say, not as I do

4th December 2009

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