<p>emilybee–just curious–have you ever asked your tennis friends to turn their phones off while you play? I guess they would not be comfortable with that but honestly, I turn mine off when I am in meetings, and pursuing my personal hobbies. I would find it rude if they stopped your games to talk!</p>
<p>As to frequency of calls, I think whatever works and makes both parent/kid happy is fine. I would NOT be happy with constant interruptions but on the other hand, I want my kids to feel they can call if they are upset or just need to hear my voice or just want to say hi. My D at college dislikes talking on the phone, would rather text. We send long email ‘letters’ weekly and text between, probably talk 1x a week at most–sometimes not that much.</p>