Contributed by Paul Seaburn, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Even those of us who aren’t parents know that it’s hard to be one.

Besides the cost, there’s the challenge of trying to come up with something new to say to your kids in an attempt to get them to listen to you so they don’t do the things you did when you were their age. The tried-and-true don’t work anymore. See if you don’t agree after reading this list of things parents say.

10. “Because I said so!”

This one usually comes out after hearing the question “Why?” for the umpteenth time. Kids hate it until they become parents themselves.

9. “Wait till your father gets home!”

This one has lost some of its oomph with more mom’s working, more single-parenting and more same-sex couples having kids. “Wait Till You-Know-Who Gets Home” doesn’t have the same effect.

8. “Pick up your toys or I’ll throw them out!”

Have you seen the price of toys lately? Maybe “… or I’ll sell them on eBay!” would work better.

7. “I told you so!”

Since kids never listen anyway, this one works even if you didn’t tell them so.

6. “I’ll give you something to cry about!”

Parents who were spanked as kids and survived like to use this one, but it’s not recommended in public places or if your children know a good lawyer.

5. “Your face will freeze like that!”

This was one I always wished would come true so I could show my friends the monster face that made my mom say it.

4. “N-O! No!”

Kids are no longer impressed by this one in the age of spell-checkers. I heard one mom try “Colon left-paren!” on a child who was familiar with the unhappy face emoticon 🙁

3. “Were you born in a barn?”

I’m sure this worked well at one time, but when was the last time your kids saw a barn that wasn’t a store or restaurant with “barn” in the name? This one is a definite fail with kids who like animals.

2. “If your friends jump off a bridge, are you going to jump off too?”

Bungee-jumping off of bridges makes this one sound like fun, and it doesn’t work if they find that picture of your bungee-jumping in a bikini on your last Spring Break.

1. “I’ve had it up to ‘here’ with you!”

Where you point when you say ‘here’ can sometimes help with this one. Neck is OK, forehead is better, jumping and touching the ceiling is impressive. Tall parents love this one.