<p>Re: calls-- Quality is more important than quantity, I think.
My S, who is very talkative here at home, is almost non-communicative when it comes to the phone, particularly if there are any other people around. Phone talk just isn't his thing. Am hoping this will change when he heads off in the fall. I'll miss our conversations, but will leave the calling times to him.</p>
<p>Older S is a rising senior and calls Sunday afternoons just to " check in" (his own words). He calls more often, when there is something going on or if he needs something.
According to one of his suitemates, he calls home twice a week, but he calls his mom daily whenever his dad is out of the country for work, "just to check up on her" (also his own words). I think that was so thoughtful of him. A college kid who checks up on his mom, can you believe that?</p>
<p>I went to a school over 500 miles from home and will be starting my fourth year there this fall. We worked out a system where I call home once a week (usually a weekend) and we talk for 15-60 minutes. I know kids who got homesick and called their family every day and parents who missed their youngest child and called several times a day (the kid let the phone ring many times due to this). As college is about getting a sense of independence, that also means trying to make it out on one's own to some degree. Calling regularly but not overly frequently is a fine balance to keep in touch and inform parents of what's going on without one side or the other going overboard on communication.</p>
<p>I never asked for a wake-up call except as a precaution when I had an early morning final exam and even then I'd have a "dead man's switch" -- if I woke up when I was supposed to I'd email my home to say no need to call and three years later, I've never needed that call.</p>
<p>I call my mom every day. Why shouldn't I? I have a cell phone, it's easy, and I love talking to her. I'm also a very independent person, but I don't think it's unhealthy to call home every day.</p>
<p>To each his or her own. My son is a rising college junior and he calls once a week at a set time. That is plenty for him (we'd always like to hear from him more often, but understand). D is a rising high school senior, still living at home, but I can imagine that she will call more frequently when in college. She is by nature very social and open with us and likes to ask advice or run things by us. Our son values his privacy and independence and never asks for advice. I think under some family situations it can be healthy to call home or connect with parents every day, but it really depends on the quality of the phone calls. If either the parent or the kid is too needy all the time, then someone might need to practice letting go or becoming a bit more independent.</p>
<p>I usually talk to my mom everyday for about 20 minutes on average.
She usually calls me sometime after dinner and we just chat about random interesting things that happened to us during the day and of course those motherly reminders: take your vitamins, eat your fruit, don't sleep too late, etc.
If I have a lot of work or a midterm to study for, I'll just let her know, and the call will just be about 5 minutes.
Worked out fine. =]</p>
<p>my mom said i have to call here every morning next year... I am not going to</p>
<p>More often than he wants, less often than I would prefer! (Telephone once per week, e-mails 1-2 times per week).</p>