When I was pregnant with my first child, I had a list of all the "dos and don'ts" required for effectively achieving the status of perfect parent. As I swapped my hopes for a career in nursing, and instead chose countless hours of time bonding with my children, in those early days of motherhood when I was stumbling over the educational toys strewn about my home, nobody could have convinced me then that I would become what I am today.

We've all heard them. Those annoying phrases that our parents said to us growing up and now that we're parents ourselves, we've decided to inflict them our own kids. The reality is that the true meanings behind these messages that parents tell their kids are often not as straightforward as they appear to be. Following are the top 10 phrases that parents use on their kids, and what they really mean.

Being a mother is just part of a woman's persona, not the be all and end all of a woman's life. Mothers need not check their goals, dreams and aspirations at the hospital door when they go to deliver. And for one to suggest that you might have days where you'd rather not be around your children -- and actually admit it out loud -- is okay. Most importantly, moms don't always have to like the job of being a mother. Because quite frankly, many don't.