Women start turning into their mothers at the age of just 33 – a year before men start behaving like their fathers, according to new research.
Motherhood is the thing that triggers personality changes in women the most, followed by physical signs of ageing.
More than half of women polled admitted they stopped rebelling against their mothers once they hit their thirties and started behaving like them instead.
Keira Knightley, 33, is the age that most women polled confessed to aspiring to be like their mothers. The actress’s mother Sharman Macdonald is 68. Men were also surveyed and revealed they start turning into their fathers at 34 – the same age as Prince Harry, whose father Charles is 70.
Women said classic signs they were starting to behave like their mothers were watching the same TV shows as them, taking up the same hobbies and using the same expressions.
Men said they started acting like their fathers after becoming fathers themselves.
Others said showing signs of middle age, such as balding and weight gain, switching lights off in empty rooms, and switching from Radio 1 to Radio 2, were all indicators of them turning into their fathers.
They also admitted adopting the same political opinions as them.
The poll was commissioned by Dr Julian De Silva, a Harley Street plastic surgeon.
Describing the results from the 2,000 participants, he said: ‘We all turn into our parents at some point in our lives – and that is something to be celebrated. They are the most wonderful people in the world.
‘Becoming parents is the main trigger and lifestyle factors are also important.
‘Both sexes said the physical signs of middle age were also a key factor.
‘We start to feel like our mums and dads when we start looking like them, too.
‘It is an inevitable part of ageing but a process lots of people want to put off for as long as possible.
‘It is one of the reasons why the average age of first-time cosmetic surgery is coming down for both sexes.
‘For women, it is now 37 and for men it is 43. More people are trying to delay this onset of middle age to improve their appearance and levels of self-confidence.’