How Often Do You Call Your Folks?

A recent article in The Guardian says that most people in the U.K. call to check in on their mothers about once a week, usually on Monday nights “after work and before the decent telly starts.” The calls, on average, last about 22 minutes. So that’s true for the Redcoats, but is it true for you?

For me, there’s no such thing as a singular call home because — as is the case with a lot of people — my parents are divorced. Sunday evening ends up being a relay race of telephone conversations with me first calling my mom’s house to chat with her and my stepfather and then ringing up my dad to catch up on what he, his wife and their new baby (i.e. his “unbroken” family) are up to.

On average, I probably talk to my mom 1-3 times a week, depending on how many of my emotional problems I’m unfairly expecting her to solve from a thousand miles away (and I wonder why our family is the broken one). My dad and I talk more sparingly, with both of us checking in about once every 2 weeks. I’m close with my family and genuinely like hearing from them so the frequency — in general — suits everyone pretty well.

Now your turn! How often do you talk to your parents? Is it a chore? A pleasure? Do you have dream parents who you’d rather be calling? (“HELLO, IS THIS GEORGE AND MARTHA? IT’S YOUR HUMAN DAUGHTER MADELEINE CALLING.”) Please share!