Remember squirming in shame as your mum tried to plant a kiss on your cheek at the school gates?
Yeah, things haven’t changed much for your kids. These days, however, it seems blaring Daniel O’Donnell from the car window is much lower down the list of parental mortification methods than it once was… and kids are scoffing at mum and dad earlier than ever.
According to a new survey, two thirds of children claim to find their parents embarrassing, and a third wish their mum and dad would try harder to be less gross.
The average child thinks they started to notice their folks’ morto behaviour when they were just six years old, and have noticed their parents are at their worst when putting on a show around friends.
Of 1,300 children aged between six and 13, wiping food off their face or telling them off in front of friends and calling them by a pet name were crimes that featured highly on the list.
While many kids cringe when their parents share embarrassing photos of them on social networking sites or tell baby stories to friends and family, kids also hate it when parents gross them out by talking about toilet habits, or when mum or dad picks their nose for them rather than handing them a tissue.
The study, conducted ahead of the launch of the new gross-out animated CBBC comedy series Scream Street, shows children feel completely grossed out when their parents eat disgusting food such as sushi, vegetables or oysters.
They also hate it when mum or dad insist on playing awful music when their friends are round, and when they wear unfashionable clothing.
Children also complain when their folks try to say cool phrases, buy them ‘uncool’ clothes to wear or get out the baby pictures in front of others.
TOP 20 WAYS PARENTS GROSS OUT KIDS
- Kissing them at the school gates / in public
- Telling them off in public
- Wiping food off their face
- Hold their hand
- Sharing embarrassing photos of them
- Farting in public
- Telling embarrassing jokes
- Snogging
- Calling them a pet name
- Playing embarrassing music
- Telling baby stories about them
- Trying to say cool phrases
- Drinking wine/ beer
- Choosing them ‘uncool’ clothes to wear
- Talking about toilet habits
- Picking them nose for them
- Eating horrible food such as oysters, sushi and vegetables
- Spending hours on the toilet
- Dressing unfashionably
- Showing off their baby pictures
TOP 20 WAYS CHILDREN GROSS OUT THEIR PARENTS:
- Refusing to flush the toilet
- Untidy bedroom
- Wiping their nose on their sleeve
- Not washing their hands
- Leaving dirty socks and washing on the floor
- Not brushing their teeth
- Eating with the mouth open
- Spilling drinks / making a mess
- Whining
- Wearing the same clothes over and over again
- Playing with their food
- Spitting out food they don’t like
- Yelling
- Eating stuff off the floor
- Chewing their hair
- Playing with chewing gum
- Getting covered in mud / dirt
- Getting covered in food
- Saving chewing gum for later
- Telling gross jokes
