Modern mums are subconsciously turning into their own mothers – by wheeling out a string of phrases they were subjected to when they were young, it emerged yesterday.

Researchers found mums regularly turn to adages such as ‘Because I said so’, ‘Wait and see’ and ‘Ask your father’ to enforce their will upon their children when the need arises.

Other common maxims include ‘No pudding unless you finish your dinner’, ‘If someone asked you to jump off a cliff would you?’ and ‘If i’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times’ .

'However we feel about saying the same things that our parents did, it's obvious that some of these phrases work otherwise we wouldn't still be using them.' said a spokeswoman for Mothercare.

The trend emerged following an in-depth Mothercare study carried out among 2,000 mums.

The report also revealed two thirds of mums have caught themselves mid-sentence and realised they sound just like their mother.

Yesterday a spokeswoman said: ”When you become a parent most of us look for advice and guidance from the people closest to us and it’s only natural to take inspiration from your own parents, especially when you know from experience that some of their words will have the right effect.

”It is only natural that after becoming a parent yourself that you will have more sympathy with what your parents had to deal with.”

Other popular responses to annoying questions from their children are ‘wait and see’, ‘ask your father’ and ‘do as I say, not as I do’.

‘It’ll end in tears’, ‘I’ve told you a thousand times’ and ‘there’s no such word as can’t’ also appeared in the top 20 most used phrases.

The study also found both mums and dads use their parents’ best loved phrases on purpose – because they worked when they were disciplined.

More than half said they were shocked by how similar their behaviour is to their parents’ with 40 per cent saying they find it ‘funny’ they are using the same hackneyed phrases.

One in five even find themselves repeating things their grandparents said to them.

Furthermore one third said they have used phrases they don’t know the origin or meaning of such as ‘close the door – you weren’t born in a barn’ and ‘who is she? The cat’s mother?’

Most mums admitted they use odd and old fashion sayings just to baffle their children in to doing as they’re told.

Others admitted wheeling them out because they don’t have the patience to explain the real reasons for doing things.

As a result three quarters of mums said they sympathise with how hard it was for their parents, with most agreeing that they are closer now as a result.

The spokeswoman added: ”However we feel about saying the same things that our parents did, it’s obvious that some of these phrases work otherwise we wouldn’t still be using them.

”In an ideal world parents would have limitless time to explain everything to their children but life is very busy and a little phrase like ‘wait and see’ said in the right tone of voice, can be incredibly exciting for a child.”

Other favourites include, ‘if you are too full to finish your dinner you won’t need dessert’, ‘say pardon, not what’, and ‘I want never gets’.

TOP TWENTY ADAGES

1. Because I said so
2. Wait and see
3. Ask your father
4. No pudding unless you finish your dinner
5. If someone asked you to jump off a cliff would you?
6. I’ve told you a thousand times
7. Say pardon, not ‘what’
8. What did your last slave die of?
9. You will have someone’s eye out with that
10. It’ll all end in tears
11. I want, never gets
12. Close the door – you weren’t born in a barn
13. Don’t sit too close to the telly – you will get square eyes
14. There is no such word as ‘can’t’
15. Who is ‘she’? The cat’s mother?
16. Carrots make you see in the dark
17. Take your coat off or you won’t feel the benefit when you go outside
18. Don’t make that face. If the wind changes you’ll stay like it.
19. Do as I say, not as I do.
20. Back in my day

Which ones do you remember using that worked for you?

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