Do/Did you enjoy talking to your parents on the phone?

In fact, I think I’m going to give my pops a call right now, since I’m thinking about it.

Yes, I do enjoy talking to my mother on the phone.

My mother calls me every Sunday, and tells me exactly the same things she told me last Sunday, with a few additions from the current week. And then she goes on and on about all of her ailments and my stepfathers problems. And I love hearing from her a ton.:)

Not really. There’s just not much for us to talk about beyond updating her on my life.

@Adirondackwannabe That’s what I don’t like lol. Hearing the same things.

@Blackberry She popped me out and spent 20 some years raising me. I guess I can cut her some slack. :)

I talk to my parents on the phone every day or two. I live 1400 miles from them, but stay more connected than my siblings who are within a 14 minute drive. I am sure I am making up for not being able to be in their day to day, but as they get on in years it helps.
My Father is more the chatterbox at this point and the conversation flows better than my Mothers, but I still enjoy talking to them both.

I’m at the other end of that phone call. My son calls me. I am usually in the middle of doing something else and he is usually telling me his problems and asking for something. It is ok for about 5 – 10 minutes but longer than that I’ve had enough. The conversation starts to repeat.

My ideal phone call would be one minute: “Hey Dad I know you’re busy. I’m not. How about if I come over and split wood for a couple of hours.”
That’s about as likely to happen as Angelina Jolie calling and asking if she could play with my wood.

Oh jeez. @worriedguy you have me wondering if my parents feel that way.

I don’t mind talking to my parents on the phone, but it quickly turns into a long ordeal with either parent.

My father lives in Florida (I’ve lived in Ohio my whole life), so I can understand him wanting to talk more as he’s less kept up on my life. But it ends up being an hours long conversation with him telling me stories that i’ve heard a hundred times before, and trying to tell me about some new job openings there in Florida, or how I should go back to school and get a doctorate or a masters in this subject or that subject… It gets tiring really fast. Let alone when you’re an hour and a half in and the cell phone battery is a comfortable 8 million degrees F.

My mom isn’t so bad. I moved out from her house 7 years ago and moved 2 hours away. She can talk for 30–60 minutes with ease. The problem is it’s typically about nothing. You’ll finish the phone call and be like.. “wtf did we just talk about?” Growing up it was this way even though I lived with her. If I was home from school for some reason she would call from work every 30–40 minutes. Nothing new to say, just calling to check in.

In college this was largely just an annoyance, but mow that I’m a lot older their long conversation wants are becoming particularly problematic. I’ve got two jobs, a band, a g/f, a dog and a cat to take care of, all of the regular stuff you have to take care of in life (feeding myself, groceries, budget, etc)... and they both go to bed by 9 (my prime free time hours starting around 10). It’s very hard to have let alone find a free hour or more to talk to them.

@ANef_is_Enuf @worriedguy from my experience, parents always would rather have their children visit versus phone, but sometimes not always possible.

Nah. I like gossiping with my mom. If there isn’t any gossip then I forget her existence. Maybe kidding.

@ANef_is_Enuf You can call me any time. :-)
Everyone is different but here are a couple of clues to determine if the experience is positive or negative for them. (In no way should this be interpreted as a complete list or things my son does)
1) Do your parents talk or is the “conversation” mostly your soliloquy?
2) Do you ask if they are in the middle of something when they first pick up?
3) Are all your calls about who did this or that and how sad you are about it?
4) Do you spend the time telling me your financial problems in the hopes that I will offer money?
5) Does the conversation repeat itself? Do you say the same things over and over? Have you already said it and are repeating it again? ....
6) Do you really want an opinion or information or are you just justifying what you are about to do?
7) Do you ever call to volunteer to help your parents? Or take them to dinner? Of just give good news? .

You know, if I had even one or two calls a month from someone offering to help me or give me money maybe I wouldn’t dislike the phone so much.

Your question reminds me of the song The Cats In The Cradle, by Harry Chapin.

The words in this song fits your question to a T.

I find it easier to speak to my dad than my mum on the phone. My mum often calls to say hi but doesn’t really have much else to say so it can be hard work. My dad calls me because he has something relevant to say so the conversation flows easier.

I call my mom every morning that I am not working. Usually that means Saturday and Sunday, but over the Christmas and Easter break it could be every morning for a week. We never run out of things to talk about – updates on the family, what we are currently doing or interested in, current events, weather, and yes, her and Dad’s ailments. That’s okay.

When I was single and in my 20’s I didn’t like it so much. I think I was afraid that she would drag out of me what I was up to. :)

Oh sure, I talk to my mother on the phone all the time, and I love it. My dad also calls me often, but I usually only enjoy the first 30 minutes of those 2 hour conversations… lol.

Nope. I’d rather not. It’s never unpleasant, but it’s kind of awkward for me. We talk about what we have to talk about and there are many pleasantries, but we never talk about anything real, except in the most businesslike terms. No feelings. Ever.

What’s the point? Just email me.

My mom and I have a blast on the phone. We can talk for hours until one of our husbands begs us to hang up. My dad—he can get tedious. He talks nonstop and constantly lectures about his theories and opinions on everything. I sometimes wish I could tivo him and listen at my leisure. I usually never say more than 2 or so sentences. One of his sisters is like this too.

I don’t enjoy talking to anyone on the phone. I can never think of anything to say.

Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way for us. On the phone or in person.

No, I’d much rather exchange emails because on the phone there are constant disruptions and distractions.

ha, hahahahahah

My mom used any communication as an opportunity to complain about her life and how everyone was out to get her. So…NO

My dad disliked chatting on the phone and was easily distracted by the dog or my mother. So…NO

My mother-in-law loves to chat endlessly but her favorite subjects are how tough life is, the price of oil, and the weather – in a thick Italian accent. So…NO.

My father-in-law refuses to get on the phone for any reason except your birthday. Here he’ll blurt out an unintelligable “Happy Birthday” and put down the phone. So…NO.

I don’t like the phone very much. So I’m not likely to call anyone unless I have something to say. If people are close to me then the conversation will be about where we should meet for coffee.

My mom was the same way. When I moved a thousand kilometres away from here we were forced to talk on the phone and some of those conversations would last for two hours as we both had something to say. But the conversations only happened once every two or three months.

My father is another story. He is barely aware that I exist. He has never once picked up the phone to call me and after calling him a few times and just being frustrated I accepted that I wasn’t going to have a relationship with him.

I don’t mind talking to my family on the phone at all if I have something to say or am being told something of importance or something funny. That being said, I do prefer short, infrequent, and to the point phone calls most of the time.