The Mother Metamorphosis...I’m Turning into my mum!

Research released today has pinpointed 32 as the age at which we’re most likely to turn into our mothers.

According to the poll of 1,000* British men and women, conducted by Hallmark Cards, 48% of the nation believe that they’re turning into their mum, with the top five indicators being:

1.    Worrying more

2.    Stocking up on groceries

3.    Going to bed early

4.    Being more outspoken

5.    Watching soaps and drama

Using mum’s favourite sayings is yet another sign of mother metamorphosis, a trait that over half of Brits have grown fond over the years.  Not surprising, when you see that over a third of Brits look up to their mums as the most inspirational figure in their lives.

The top 10 most popular mum phrases highlighting the transformation were voted as:

1.       What did your last slave die of?

2.       Close the door, you weren’t born in a barn

3.       I can’t hear myself think

4.       It will all end in tears

5.       It will all come out in the wash

6.       Who’s ‘she’, the cat’s mother?

7.       You’ll catch your death in that

8.       Don’t make a face like that, if the wind changes you’ll stay like that

9.       You don’t get a pudding if you don’t eat your mains

10.   You don’t know you’re born

Such phrases are most likely to come out when talking to our children, with 39% admitting to using their mums’ expressions with their kids and a quarter of respondents even claiming to talk this way with their partners.

Tamsyn Johnston-Hughes, CSR Manager at Hallmark, said: “We conducted this research as part of Hallmark’s Cards for a Cure Mother’s Day preparation to explore just how strong the bond with our mothers can be.

“And, as the research shows, it seems we’ve taken that bond to a whole new level by becoming a mini-me style version of our mothers, copying their exact movements and phrases.

“Like it or not, it’s no surprise that we mirror our mothers in this way, especially when 37% of the population hold their mothers up as the most inspirational person in their life. I have to admit, I’ve noticed my mother in quite a few of my actions recently so it’s a good job I think the world of her too!”

Unsurprisingly, women are far more likely to go through the mother metamorphosis with two thirds of women feeling that they are turning into their mums compared to just one third of men. However, almost half of men still revert to using their mothers’ phrases when needed.

Behavioural Expert, Judi James, said:

“Despite our common desire to ‘be ourselves’ and develop our own individual personalities with our own set of unique characteristics, most of our behaviour is learned or copied, and much of that has been implanted at an early stage in our development when our main influencer would have been our mother.

“You can be in awe of, you can rebel from and you can even vow never to do, say or use the traits and habits you associate with your parents but the chances are they’re ticking away like a time bomb in your subconscious and – given the same prompting and the same set of circumstances – you’ll find them emerging, and there’s very little you can do to avoid it!

“First there’s your body language which is mainly learned via mimicry and mirroring. Then there are those dialogues you thought you’d never use, as the research has shown, which will pop out unannounced, revealing our adherence to the familiar even when we are intellectually opposed to it.

“Much of this adherence to copying our parents is down to basic survival behaviours. It’s a parental animal’s job to train its child all about finding food and avoiding danger. The fact you picked up a few less ‘life-essential’ traits along the way is just part of the evolutionary process!”

The majority of Brits will only revert to the words of their mother when scorning or telling people off but many also admitted to doing so when looking after their loved ones or talking to themselves!

Accepting the inevitable comes more easily for some than others. In fact, over a quarter of Brits have come to terms with the fact they’re turning into their mum. And, although 15% are happy about the metamorphosis, 17% of respondents insist on fighting the change.

And, when it comes to spotting the tell-tale signs, we’re not always the first person to notice. In fact, over a fifth of those surveyed said that it was their partner that had noticed certain motherly habits creeping in.

As far as celebs go, the most renowned stars for turning into their mothers (as voted by the nation) are:

1.    Liza Minnelli – daughter of Judy Garland

2.    Zara Philips – daughter of Princess Anne

3.    Lourdes Ciconne – daughter of Madonna

4.    Kate Hudson – daughter of Goldie Hawn

5.    Sylvester Stallone – son of Jackie Stallone

For more information about Hallmark Cards, the Cards for a Cure™  Campaign and to buy a Mother’s Day Card online visit www.hallmark.co.uk