30 Times Women Realized They Were Turning Into Their Mothers

When we asked Talya Stone, a former public relations specialist turned blogger and the woman behind online journals Motherhood: The Real Deal and 40 Now What, what factors have shaped her as a mom, she said it was a combination of two.

"The desire to not be like my parents and also probably my own personality which can be a bit loud and silly," Stone told Bored Panda. "A sense of humor goes a long way in parenting that is for sure!"

"Everything I do in parenting is basically geared toward not being like my own Jewish mother," Stone added while laughing. "You can just imagine the struggle is real and very apparent in my constant need to feed everyone that walks through our door and incessantly offer up food to my own daughter."

Interestingly, similar situations to the one Talya Stone described are more common than you might think. Researchers have identified the top 20 signs that indicate you are turning into your parents, including dozing off on the sofa, repeating the same jokes, and saving old boxes and bags just in case you might need them.

An amusing poll of 2,000 adults found roughly half believe they are morphing into their own mom or dad, which, on average, happens to them at 32-and-a-half years of age.

Other popular signs people have noticed are dressing for comfort instead of style, and relying on their kids for tech support.

While almost one in four respondents were met with the dawning realization that during arguments in their own younger years, their parents were actually right all along.

"We learn how to be parents from our own parents – who else?" Louise Care of research agency OnePoll, which carried out the study, said.

"So, it's no surprise to find many adults consider themselves mini-versions of their own moms and dads, at some point down the line."

Care thinks it's interesting that many of the signs that you're becoming like your folks are often very personal things that most parents seem to do.

For example, the study found that just under a quarter (23 percent) of adults find themselves using the same phrases as their moms and dads, including the classic 'You're not going out dressed like that!'

Women are slightly more likely to report transforming into their parents than men – 50 percent compared to 47 percent.

And 84 percent believe it was only after having kids of their own that they realized their behavior had started to transform this way.

Of those who believe they are going down this path, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) don't mind it.

With that being said, 42 percent have actively tried not to become their parent at some point in their lives, even if it's eventually inevitable for 79 percent of us.

Around 40% of those surveyed believe that starting to turn into their parent made them close, and a cheeky 84 percent of those in relationships teased their partner by claiming they are becoming just like their mom or dad.

Of the respondents with children, two-thirds have been mocked and had their mannerisms imitated by their little ones.

Louise Care added that the circle of life goes on, and attributes and mannerisms are passed down through generations. "Something funny your mom or dad did – that you find yourself doing today – may have been joked about by family members hundreds of years ago."

"It's strange to think about, but may explain why so many want to pass down positive attributes to their kids."