How often do you see your friends ?

[Xtfc123]

As in your close friends
I appreciate it's different once you have children so will target this more at people who either don't have children or whose children are independent etc.
Or maybe your life pre-children.

This is a hard question to answer this year! Not much. I have some good friends who live in another country who I would normally see 2-3 times a year but not at all this year. Local friends I see maybe once every 1-2 months, depending on what we have on. We all work full time and have families, pets, hobbies, other friends, so we don't live in each other's pockets, but are always happy to spent time together.

Maybe 4 times a month? We speak every day though.

I have lots of friends but socialise with different people each week. One week I’ll have dinner with one group, the next week will be a different friend ect. But I socialise weekly for sure.

Roughly twice a month before covid sometimes more, we’re in our twenties live close by but work full time

I used to go on a dog walk every Sunday early morning with a friend and meet another for lunch every Thursday. Dog walking changed just before lockdown as her DS started playing football Sunday mornings. We meet up sporadically now due to lockdown, same for Thursday mate.

Pre baby and pre covid I saw friends every weekend. Different groups but I was generally seeing someone every Saturday and Sunday. It was rare we had a free weekend.

This makes me so jealous haha, I don't really have any friends I would see on even a fortnightly basis. It's refreshing to read this though, on MT apparently if you wanna speak to and see a friend more than twice a year you're needy and desperate.

Its not changed since we've had a child.

I see 3 friends all once a week. Normally takeaways/dog walks/playdates

Almost daily when I'm Stateside even now.

It saddens me when people say friendship groups change when you have kids. 6 of us 8 small people in the mix. Speak every day on whatsapp and see each other just the same but adapt what we do. Not all have kids so pre covid if we have a lot of kiddie things we make sure we have adult only things too. We dont all do everything together as a 6, but once a week minimum I will someone. I think sometimes friendship groups change when kids enter the mix because people arent honest with each other. We are lucky, primary school friends in mid thirties now and we are just the same but have small crying people tagging along

That's great you can still see each other the same amount. You're right kids shouldn't change it, I think it's just me making excuses for friends.
I have a friend with a 4 year-old son now and haven't seen her for a year. She works full-time too but I have offered on many occasions to go round when it's convenient for her even take her son for a walk to give her a break or babysit but nothing.

At the moment? We see no friends as its not allowed indoors and its bloody freezing outside!!

But yes, under normal non-covi times its less than it was pre-child. We're quite different ages and are in really varied life stages. Also, quit a few of my oaks are child free by choice so I wouldn't subject them to my child and neither I or them would enjoy it. I miss my old friends, and also, my old life a fair bit, although being a Mum is great too!

Only one person I can call a close friend and she has gone cool on me which is fine because tbh, I can't deal with her problems very well, either.

Nobody really knows what's going on inside my head. It's ok.

I have genuine close friends at work, so in normal times would see them every day. I'd socialise or play sport 2-3 evenings during the week and play more sport and/or see other friends at least one day at the weekend.

I don't have kids or a partner, so I have more time for socialising but also prioritise it because otherwise I'd be alone at home.

At the moment with Covid, I've been trying to see at least one friend once a week, but that will literally be the only person I see that I know in a week.

Pre covid I see 3 friends weekly, and 2 friends who live far away twice a year.

I can't believe how many people get to see friends weekly, I am honestly so jealous.

@Xtfc123

That's great you can still see each other the same amount. You're right kids shouldn't change it, I think it's just me making excuses for friends. I have a friend with a 4 year-old son now and haven't seen her for a year. She works full-time too but I have offered on many occasions to go round when it's convenient for her even take her son for a walk to give her a break or babysit but nothing.

Of course it changes. Some people are able to do a balance and some aren't. Your friend works full time with a 4yo she doesn't have a lot of free time. What good is offering to babysit or take her kid for a walk if you are interested in visiting her?

Not often - I spend most of my time in a different country now. I probably have 5 people I would consider ‘friends’ - as opposed to just ‘people I know’ and I probably see them each about once a year. I chat pretty regularly with some of them on WhatsApp though - and TBH, that feels like enough to me - I don’t feel as if I am missing out by not being in the same physical space.

@Xtfc123

Did you post about a whatsapp group on a different user name?

Usually every few months. Admittedly, I struggle to maintain friendships. I'm more of a presence at the end of a phone. For messaging, not calls 😅

No haven't posted before, just thought it was the norm now to rarely see friends, didn't realise so many saw theirs weekly.

Once a week at the weekend. Coffee lunch or a walk. In between - no-one outside work.

I see mine everyday in the week due to our kids going to same school. We also have 2 mornings a week together with no kids or husbands and then normally we go out as 2 big families once a weekend (do this maybe twice a month)

I much prefer having a very small number of close friends then having lots. I have one "main" and I'd be lost without her!

@Xtfc123 I have kids so see mine less but see one group or a friend at least weekly for dinner or drinks. Before kids probably 2 or 3 times a week. When you have kids a lot of socials happen with kids.

In non pandemic times, usually at least once a week, usually Friday/Saturday evenings, sometimes a week night too. However, this was not the norm for many years due to juggling of childcare by everyone, so made for logistical difficulties, so much easier now none of us need to factor in that. I don't see my best friends often due to distance so we book weekends away a couple of times a year, so I have missed that this year.