If you find yourself moaning about the weather more than you used to, or nodding off in front of the TV, it could be a warning sign – that you have turned into your parents.
According to a third of people, these are the main indicators that you have become your mother or father, a poll has found.
And it said the average age we start to act like our parents is 43, with women beginning to exhibit their behaviour slightly earlier, at 42 on average, while men don’t turn into their parents until 45.
Other key ways we become like them include dressing for comfort (according to 31 per cent of respondents), liking to be tucked up before 10pm (27 per cent) and feeling guilty for lying in at the weekend (15 per cent).
Listening habits also converge on our parents’, with not recognising new music in the charts (21 per cent) and switching radio stations to something more ‘calming’ (14 per cent) making the list of indicators.
Meanwhile, 61 per cent admit they’ve found themselves buying the same things as their parents, from furniture to fashion accessories.
So, it is little wonder that 94 per cent of Britons believe certain family traits are genetic, getting passed down through generations.
If you find yourself moaning about the weather more than you used to, or nodding off in front of the TV, it could be a warning sign – that you have turned into your parents
A total of 61 per cent admit they’ve found themselves buying the same things as their parents, from furniture to fashion accessories
Ways we become like our parents include dressing for comfort, liking to be tucked up before 10pm and feeling guilty for lying in at the weekend
Following your parents’ lead can also have a positive financial impact, as 20 per cent say that one of the telltale signs is undertaking a regular review of your finances.
Paul Stokes, from M&S Credit Card, which commissioned the research of 2,000 Britons, said: ‘It’s clear to see that many of us find ourselves turning into our parents as we get older, but that isn’t such a bad thing, especially if we’re following in their financially savvy footsteps.’
Some 87 per cent of those surveyed agree that you learn how to be a parent yourself from your own parents. And over two thirds (78 per cent) acknowledge that having children made them realise just how similar they are to their mother or father.