How often do you ring your elderly parents?

[Chunkymenrock]

Every Sunday I ring my Mum and Dad for a good chat, so once a week. We also might email once or twice a week too. They are elderly but healthy and perfectly self sufficient. I'm just curious how often people ring theirs, after having a conversation with a 68 year old, whose 3 children each ring her 3 times a day!

68 isn't "elderly"!

My mums 78, I ring her or she rings me once or twice a week, and we exchange a few WhatsApp messages. My PiL are 88 and 93, dh phones them every couple of weeks but they aren't very close, never have been.

I FaceTime my parents every day. They are mid 70s. I consider my mum to be my best friend and I love their company. I thoroughly enjoy my daily chat with them.

I phone mine every week, roughly, if I haven't heard from Mum first.

I'd probably speak to her for ten mins or so every five or six days. They are both in their 80s and quite healthy. She could phone if she wanted to but isn't particularly bothered. (Dad is very deaf and finds the phone difficult)

I speak to my 89 year old Mum once a week. It was about once every 10 days or fortnight pre-covid. However we are not close and it is all duty calling.

Yes, it isn't elderly, I agree. I think I meant retired parents really.

Before my mum wasn't able to talk on the phone, we spoke twice a week (7pm Wednesday and Sunday, as we'd done since I was 18 and went to uni), but as she'd got worse, dad would phone me up to 5 times a day. My brother would go weeks and weeks between picking up the phone, or answering dads calls so I bore the brunt of supporting him

FaceTime probably half a dozen times a week, WhatsApp and email multiple times a day. Very rarely actually telephone though.

I think it's different if they are well and have each other for company. If they live alone and/or aren't well it's different.

I Video chat DM, 70, twice a week.

DH spoke to his elderly father in his early 80’s anything from every other day to sometimes 3/4 times in a day as he got more lonely. Ranged from ‘how shall I cook this?’ to ‘the Netflix has gone off again, how do I fix it?’

I WhatsApp mine, late 80s, every day, but only since covid times. Before that, it used to be a phone call about once a week.

I speak to my mother daily, she's 74 but lives alone. Father weekly, 76.

FIL, 83 and MIL, 76, weekly.

I ring DM about once a week. We have an active WhatsApp chat (with DSis) and I would fret and ring if I didn’t hear from her for a couple of days. She’s in her 70s and lives alone but (pre COVID) had a more active social life than we do.

My 82yr old Dad, every day sometimes more than once

Mine are lonely and bored in lockdown now, like all of us, I suppose. They look forward to it.

Daily . Sometimes more. Adore the pair of them ❤️

Pretty much daily but only since lockdown - before that it was once a week. My dad isn’t a chatter!

Every single day, I love my mum and enjoy talking with her. Just one phone call can make a huge difference to elderly people . It’s not a chore it’s a privilege

My mum only lives round the corner so I see her at least once a week and we are in touch on messenger or FaceTime in between. My dh only speaks to his dad once in a blue moon but they aren't particularly close and he doesn't live on his own.

Mine are in their 80s ... I speak with them twice a week (usually one phone call and one zoom call). Although we also text/WhatsApp.

They are far away and I get twitchy if I don't hear from them for a couple of days. We haven't seen them since between lockdown one and lockdown two.

Mine are 81/82 and I'm helping care for dad atm so I'm round there 5 days a week. On the two days I'm not, morning and evening...sometimes midday as well depending on how things are on the morning call. If mum's having a rough day we can speak 6 or 8 times during a day.

Prior to that I spoke to mum on the phone every day. Tbh it was/is a bit much but the circumstances are what they are and I'm an only child so...

My parents are nuts and relocated 100s miles to live round the corner from us, which is amazing. My DH gets on well with them and started doing their shopping during lockdown #1 (there is a click and collect near his work). My brother phones twice a week, DH sees them weekly and my mum finds excuses to drop stuff off at our house every week and chat on the driveway. I phone them when I want to talk to them, and vice versa. They have each other and speak to at least one of us every day. When one of them is bereaved I'll make sure to call myself every day but they are very healthy right now.

Once a week.

My mum is 72 and lives alone since my dad died. I FaceTime her most nights.

Mine are in their mid-70s.
Pre covid we’d speak on the phone once a week, most weeks, but not every single week.
Since covid we zoom once a week, and WhatsApp each other a few times a week

An hour a night