Raise your hand if you’ve ever opened your mouth to correct your kids and your parents’ voice came out. Glad to know I’m not the only one. Regardless of how many times I told myself I would NEVER be my parents, I find them sneaking into my head and taking over my mouth. I can’t help it. Their words just seem to roll off my tongue effortlessly. For fun, I’ve compiled a list of familiar sayings you’ve probably either heard from your parents or said to your kids. Give yourself one point for each. Two points if you’ve both heard and repeated the same expression.

1. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
2. Eat your dinner. There are starving people in China (or pick your country of choice).
3. This hurts me more than it hurts you. (Yeah, we all know that’s a lie.)
4. When I was your age . . . (fill in the blank). (This one is a favorite of mine. I believe my kids should understand just how bad things were for me compared to their easy, pathetic lives.)
5. Stop crying before I give you something to cry about.
6. Close the door. Were you born in a barn? (Well, gee, I figured my parents would know where I was born.)
7. Close the door. We’re not heating (cooling) the whole outdoors.
8. If you keep making that face, your face will freeze that way.
9. Don’t make me pull this car over.
10. Do I look stupid? (It’s always best not to answer this question.)
11. If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?
12. I’ve told you a thousand times . . .
13. Don’t sit so close to the TV. It will ruin your eyesight.
14. Because I said so, that’s why.
15. Where is your other shoe? (Said daily.)
16. I’m going to count to three. (My kids always challenged this one, leaving me nowhere to go. Three-and-a-half?)
17. How do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try it?
18. No, we are not there yet.
19. How many times do I have to tell you . . .?
20. We’ll see. (This, of course, means “no,” but I’m not in the mood to argue about it right now.)
21. I don’t care who started it. You finish it!
22. I’m not going to tell you again. (Yeah, right! This goes along with “How many times do I have to tell you” and “I’ve told you a thousand times.”)
23. Go ask your father (mother.)
24. You could poke somebody’s eye out with that.
25. And my personal favorite: I hope you have a child just like you when you grow up.
What does the high scorer get? Nothing, of course. You need to learn that nothing in life is free. But you can share your results in the comments.