Recently, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share with us the moment they realised that they were acting like their parents. It happens to us all at some point, so here are the fun responses:
1. "Growing up my mom would always say, 'I had that exact same outfit growing up' whenever she would see someone wearing something 'trendy' that has come back around. I was at a store and saw a floral dress that looked like it was from the '90s and I said 'I’m pretty sure I had that exact same dress when I was little.' My husband then laughed at me and when I asked him why he said, 'you sounded just like your mother right then.'"
2. "It wasn’t until I got married that my husband started making me aware of my similarities to my mom. Besides looking like her, apparently, I have the same social tendencies, am a little gullible, I dress like my mother, and we both have a habit of dropping into our husband’s TV shows at the ~worst~ possible moment."
3. "The first time I told my kids to not wear their coats indoors because they ‘won’t feel the benefit’. That’s when I knew... I had become my parent."
4. "I was wandering around my local town and passed my favourite coffee shop. Thought I'd pop in for a cup but then straight away I heard my own voice in my head say 'No, you have coffee at home.' Made me laugh to myself and saved me about £4."
5. "I cannot stand overly sweet things now. My mom is always complaining about how everything is 'sickly sweet' and the actual phrase, 'this lemonade is too sweet', crossed my lips the other day when mere years ago, I would make myself Koolaid in a glass using 3-5x the recommended amount."
6. "I knew I was becoming like my parents when I started buying my clothes at Costco."
7. "I used to mock the fact that my mom would walk into inanimate objects and apologize... well, guess what I just discovered myself doing the other day at work in front of my students?"
8. "I’m not exactly like either parent because I have quirks from both of them. I have my dad’s musical affinity and love of sci-fi and I notice myself saying most of my mother’s phrases towards my pets."
9. "I could think of many examples, but I recently realized I combine both of my parents into my driving. Me channelling my mom: 'Oh, it looks like that car is trying to turn into traffic. I’ll slow down to give them an opening.' Then, five seconds later, me channelling my dad: 'Oh my god, GO!!! What are you waiting for? I’m holding up traffic for you, why are you taking so long?! Wait, you were turning LEFT? Then why wasn’t your blinker on, asshole?!'"
10. "Oh my god, my mom used to do this thing with her arm when we would ride in the passenger seat as kids (it was the '90s) and she would hit the brakes. It was kind of like she was holding us back with her arm while making a little gasp. I do that now, except my kids are in the back seat and there’s no one to hold on to, so I’m just holding on to the seat. My kids think I’m cracking up."
11. "My mom passed her love of shopping on to me long ago. It was a regular activity every weekend especially one or two years ago."
12. "My dad was a huge car guy when he was alive. He owned at least seven vehicles and always stressed the importance of their cleanliness and maintenance to me and my siblings. I always thought he was too obsessive but after several car problems related to bad maintenance, I'm all about taking care of them now. I recently gave birth so now I also clean my car so it will be nice for my baby. My husband definitely doesn't care about his car's cleanliness at all and I found myself telling him the exact thing my dad always said to my teenage self. Thanks, dad!"
13. "I keep catching myself saying the things to my kids that are the exact same things my mom used to say to us — 'We have food at home', “Maybe' (which eventually means no), 'If your friends jumped off a bridge would you do it too' 'This kitchen isn’t a restaurant, you’re eating what I cook.' I can see my mom holding back laughing and thinking 'haha, payback!' every time I do it in front of her."
14. "Growing up, my mom had no patience with people in customer service. I hated how she would be confrontational and cuss people out. This was especially bad whenever it was over the phone. Well, one day recently, I had a poor experience with a big-name retail company and when I called in to complain (something I never do since I’m not a Karen) they kept redirecting me. On the 5th time me having to re-explain my story, I lost it. I was visiting my mom's house at the time and she was in the kitchen so she heard everything. When I got off the phone she laughed and said 'you sound just like me.' My stomach dropped. I wanted to call back and apologize, but there was no way to ensure I found that individual. I will never allow myself to lose my composure like that again."
15. "My mom is really defensive of the people around her, especially her kids. Growing up, any adult who said something snide about us or was generally rude would get their ass handed to them. It used to embarrass me a lot but I realised I was like her when one day I saw two people arguing on the street and one of them used a racial slur towards the other one. I turned around and started screaming and cursing at him. When I told the story later my dad was upset but my mom couldn't have been prouder."
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.