Here’s the real reasons your parents call you at uni, and it’s more savage than you think
Well this is embarrassing
Parents are always guilt-tripping us for not calling them when we’re at uni, and we’ve all heard the sorry tales about how Mum cried the whole journey back down the M6 after dropping us off in halls.
But once they’re back at home, do they actually wait by the phone to hear the sound of our voices?
We’ve uncovered some data with the help of global smartphone manufacturer Huawei, which suggests that our parents don’t miss us all the time:
- – 10 per cent of parents snaked us and booked a holiday within a month of us going to uni
- – 13 per cent pretty much forgot about us altogether and renovated our rooms. We thought they were supposed to love us?
- – 71 per cent of parents revealed that the main reason they call is to catch-up, a.k.a. trying to get all the goss
- – 29 per cent call just to check that we’re eating well, probably to avoid having to send us an Ocado shop
- – 11 per cent of parents only ring us to ask how to use TVs, laptops or their phones, as if we haven’t told them enough times
After reading this shocking data, we took matters into our own hands and spoke to our parents to find out how they actually feel about us living away from home:
They don’t have to spend the entire time doing washing
There’s a lot less dirty laundry to get through when Louis is away, although he does have a bad habit of bringing it all home with him for me to do. As soon as he rings to say he’s booked his train back I know to stock up on Persil. Old habits die hard, I suppose!
- – Vanessa, mum of Louis, Durham
There’s a lot less mess around the house
At first we missed Natalie lots, but after a few weeks it was quite nice to have some peace and quiet, and for the house to stay clean for longer than an hour. She is good and calls us all the time which is nice, but the house does stay a lot tidier when she’s at uni. I’d rather she inflicts her mess on her housemates than us to be honest.
- – Vim, mum of Natalie, Manchester
They save a lot of money on bills
Obviously it’s odd not having Fiona around, and her mum and I do miss her a lot, especially after we’ve spoken on the phone. But bloody hell it’s nice not to have to follow her around the house turning off all the lights. You can tell when she’s been home because the electricity bill absolutely rockets.
- – Richard, dad of Fiona, Leeds
They sleep a lot better
I have to admit I did get told off by my husband for driving 90 on the motorway to go and visit Louise at uni, but I was just looking forward to seeing her so much. What I don’t miss though, is her crashing through the door loudly at four a.m. and waking up the entire house. She can leave that habit at uni. Although we do get the odd drunk call from her saying she misses us…
- – Miriam, mum of Louise, Southampton
The food shop is a lot cheaper
We save loads on food when Michael is at uni – when he’s back he eats us out of house and home. He’s always calling his mum to ask how to cook one of her recipes – but says he can’t ever do it justice so just destroys our fridge when he’s back. Every time we visit him at uni his mum stocks up the car with frozen food for him. He’ll never learn.
- – Steven, dad of Michael, Nottingham
Huawei’s research also revealed that we are the ones who are pretty needy – nearly half of us call our parents to ask stupid questions like how to use an oven and how to cook pasta.
So that’s why Huawei want us to sign a contract with our parents to promise we’ll be better at getting in contact for all the right reasons, and you could be in with the chance of winning not one, but two phones by doing it.
You can use your phone to call your parents, they can use the other one to call you, and you won’t have paid for any of it – win, win, win.
All you have to do is head to huaweistudents.com to see details of the contract and how to enter. Once you’ve entered, you’ll be in with the chance of winning a pair of Huawei’s Mate 20 lite smartphones – one for you, and hopefully one for your parents too. 
All you have to do is enter Huawei’s Communications Contract Competition here