Twice a week on average I’d say. At the moment my parents are travelling in South America, so we haven’t been speaking quite as regularly, simply because the time difference makes it more difficult.
I talk to my parents probably a couple times a month, I email them a couple times a week, and see them about once a month (sometimes more frequently). But we have a large family, so even when I don’t see them or hear from them, I’ll hear from one of my sibs about what’s up with the old folks. All told, I talk to, see, or email a family member just about every day.
I actually spoke with them earlier this evening before going on-line. The folks live about 15 miles away and we’ll usually speak 2 or 3 times a week. I last saw them on Friday, but that was to take them out for their wedding anniversary. As a rule, I’d say I visit them about once or twice a month these days. It used to be more often, but that was when I was working about 5 miles from them. Nowadays, stopping by after work is impractical and there’s a certain gentleman who’s been taking up a lot of my free time.
As for why I do this, it’s because I genuinely enjoy their company. While they’re far from young, they’re both active physically and mentally. While father’s long since retired, he remains a pure engineer, and my mother is a lethal card player. This means that on Friday, I got to see my father and the gentleman I mentioned, who’s also a pure engineer, happily absorbed in trying to figure out how a center punch works, while on other occaisions, I’ve seen the gentleman trying like mad to beat my mother and me at cards. Sometimes, he even succeeds!
I’m lucky. I’ve gone through the sturm and drang of my 20s and 30s, come to terms with who my parents are and why they did what they did and realized that, despite some of the nastier stuff, they are genuinely fun, interesting people and I enjoy their company. In return, they’ve realize their daughter is no longer their little girl, but a full grown woman who may not necessarily do things the way they would, but is an all right human being.
Gotta run! THe power’s about to go!
CJ
Yipe!
Not enough, apparently. My mom and I have periodic arguments about how I don’t talk to her enough. I call them maybe once a week or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. We live 2000 miles apart and I visit them usually twice a year. (Last year I got them to visit me! That was a major accomplishment!)
My mom almost never calls me. I moved away in 2002 and she has called me about five times, tops, since then. It is 100% on me to make contact. Mom does enjoy emailing me guilt trips about what a lousy daughter I am when it goes too long between phone calls, however. Of course I love calling her and listening to her go on and on about the people I don’t know in her quilt guild.
My parents are married and live together, but my dad seems contented to talk to me whenever we’re able. We always have nice chats about movies and sports and whatever they’re up to, no pressure.
Guess who I have a better relationship with, mom or dad?
Count me in with the outliers too… we used to email each other about once a month or so. Until I taught my parents about MSN Messenger, and now we IM every few weeks or so on top of the occasional email from them. They keep tabs on how late I’m at work that way – if I’m signed in, I’m usually at work.
Um. And I do the annual Christmas visit home. I talk to my younger brother at Christmas, but I talk to my sister maybe a bit more often than once a year, since she has a blog.
We don’t really communicate that well as a family, but other than blood, I have very little in common with them. 
It appears the ladies that have posted tend to call home more often and more regularly than do the sons. Which might explain why deep down inside, most women (my Mom included) feel closer to their daughters.
FTR: When it comes to calling my parents, I take the opposite approach to the Hollywood-casting-director-policy…unless I need something.
I think I am going on 4 years since the last contact. I envy my adopted friends. At least the people they cal “Mom” and “Dad” wanted them.
3-5 times/week.
My parents live an hour and a half away. They visit about once a month (I very rarely get back to my hometown because there’s nothing to do there), and my mom calls about once a week. I talk with my brother once in a blue moon on MSN, usually about sports or something easy like that.
Interesting observation, there, JohnBckWLD.
My mom is 88, and she had a life threatening medical emergency about 6 years ago. Prior to that I was in touch with her about once every 3-4 weeks. Now I try to call her every weekday evening and occasional weekend nights.
She’s learned the drill - I’m calling to check on her and usually don’t care to chat. Most of these calls are over and done in ~90 seconds. At least once a week I engage her attempts to tell me of her life just because, well, she’s my mom and she wants to talk to me. I tell her very little about my life, because she consistently puts the wrong spin on it.
If she’s either forgotten to tell me that she’ll be out for the evening or has responded to spontaneous plans and doesn’t answer, I’ll drive over there (~1.5 miles). I haven’t found her dead on the floor yet.
None of my six siblings live here in Houston, so I am the watchbird. And, as with my father and my stepmom, when she goes, I’ll be the first on the scene and will deal with it.
My dad and I aren’t particularly close. So maybe every 6 months or so.
Mom and I speak every week or so. We tight. Lady Chance accuses us of being twins.
I talk to mine at least twice a week, sometimes three times. I visit them at least once a week. They only live about a half mile from me
Heh. Just got it out of the way for the night.
She’s leaving to stay with my sister in New Mexico for two weeks in the morning. Yay! Since she’s going away and I won’t talk to her for a couple of weeks, I engaged. Not much there.
Good luck to her!
I’m at college on the other side of the world so no reason to call my parents too often. Usually they call me every few weeks or so just to make sure I’m ok. My dad always calls me and we say a few words then he hands the phone to my mom who I talk to for 10min or so. Don’t usually have very much to say. If I need something (money, usually), I text my dad and have him call me - long distance calls are way too expensive. I try to remember calling on my parents birthdays, but often forget so they end up calling me instead. Yeah, I’m a terrible son… but it’s ok because most of my family is the same way.
I talk to my parents once or twice a week. If something especially requires communication, we e-mail, as both Mom and I check it several times a day. If something big is going on, we’ll talk by phone four or five times that week.
Male, 20, at college and at a distance. I call my mom every 2 or 3 days usually, just to talk for like 15 minutes about life in general. She calls HER mother every night, promptly at five past nine, as soon as the long distance cell minutes are free - her mother is 88 and lives alone (with an older son living 5 minutes away and also checking in daily), though, so the nightly conversations are a big reassurance.
I email my dad and he emails me whenever we have something to say - probably a couple times a week, I guess? The relationship is just as healthy as with my mother but of a very different type.
My friends at college run the whole gauntlet, from daughters who have their mothers calling from halfway around the world every morning, to children who talk to their parents when they need something or to tell them when they’re coming home. It’s a very individual thing.
More now that I have kids than we did before…so, several times a week. Plus my mom and I instant message almost every day for a quick hello and my dad and I e-mail a couple of times a week.
Every Sunday at 7:00 China Time and 7:00 a.m. EST, where my parents live.
My mom and dad live five minutes away. I’m extremely close with my mother, so I actually see her everyday. She usually stops by to say hello after work. If not, she will usually call to see how I am…My father and I are not so close. I probably see him once every month to two months.
Wow, I didn’t realize how much more I talk to my family than most people. I guess I’m an outlier on the other end of the spectrum (an inlier? 
).
I email Mom every day. I live alone, and she worries a lot so she wanted me to email her daily to let her know I’m alive. At first she wasn’t responding every day and that was making it hard for me to keep a conversation going. So I told her the deal was if I have to email her, she’s got to email me back. So now we talk via email every day. Neither of us are big phone conversation people.
If I do call home, both parents get on the phone so I talk to Dad at those times. Probably once a month or so. And they live about an hour away so we get together around once a month (hence the need for the phone call to set up the visit). They come here much more than I go there because they live in the middle of nowhere and there’s nothing to do out there besides watch the cows. Or, as I did last month, watch Dad boil sap into maple syrup. Woo.
I get along really well with Mom and pretty well with Dad. Mom’s one of my closest friends and we just love to talk and laugh together. I can’t wait to hear from her today. I sent her a really funny email yesterday and can’t wait to hear her response. That’s just how we are, and I’m really glad that it turned out that way.