Our 2018 parenting thoughts revealed...

As the new year kicks off, a new survey, carried out by Mumsnet, has revealed the things we parents do - the good, the bad, and the ones we do just because that’s what our parents did - that we’d most like to ditch.

Shouting and getting cross at children more often than we’d like topped the list, with 52 per cent of us pleading guilty to this one.

The dreaded ‘Because I said so!’ was a clear winner in the ‘things that pass our lips that we wish wouldn’t’ category, with 39 per cent admitting to trotting this one out, while ‘what did your last slave die of?’ has been used by 22 per cent, and a sturdy nine per cent admit they regularly throw out the classic faithful: ‘this house is not a hotel!’ Oh dear.

Cleaning up after our children, instead of encouraging them to take responsibility for their own messes, was something 40 per cent of us revealed we are keen to rectify in 2018, whilst ‘worrying’ - I’ll definitely cop to this one - was something 38 per cent of us admitted to doing far too much of.

38 per cent said they feel like they spend too much time saying ‘not now’ to their children, while 37 per cent claim they feel guilty about everything they do.

33 per cent intend to spending less time worrying about the state of the house in 2018, while 28 per cent would like to stop letting the house get into such a mess. 33 per cent intend to spend less time relying on TV and other technologies to occupy the kids, while 32 per cent would like to stop using sweets or snacks as rewards. 22 per cent have also admitted giving in to ‘pester power.’

Nearly two thirds of parents - 64 per cent - said there were parenting habits they regretted not putting in place sooner - such as limiting screen time (31 per cent) and encouraging their children to try new foods (22 per cent).

84 per cent acknowledged that, as a parent, setting clear rules and sticking to them is hard work, and more than half (58%) said that being busy made it difficult for them to be completely consistent in their approach to bringing up their children.

But it seems we’re doing things right too, with 85 per cent regularly reading with their children, 64 per cent regularly cooking with their children, and 80 per cent making a point to eat meals together as a family.

And while just 52 per cent say that most of their parenting habits are the same as their parents, 92 per cent say they are confident that the way they parent works for their family.

Here’s to plenty of happy parenting in 2018!