• Parents spend ten hours a week on the phone co-ordinating kids’ activities
• Children are on the phone for 12 hours a week
• Mums and dads spend 11 hours a week ferrying children about

School holidays signal six weeks of fun for kids, but for mums and dads it can be six weeks of pure mayhem.

A survey of 1000 parents commissioned by home phone and broadband provider, Homecall, revealed that over the summer holiday period pressured parents spend a whopping ten hours a week on the phone co-ordinating activities to fill up their children’s summer days, adding up to increased phone bills at a time when they need extra money for days out. It’s not only the parents who dial up en masse, the research also reveals that kids spend at least 12 hours a week on the phone catching up with friends who they’d normally see everyday at school.

The regular routines of the school run and after school sports are put on hold to be replaced with a flurry of organising lifts for the kids, arranging days out, sorting out babysitters and generally keeping the kids occupied while parents have to balance home and work.

It’s not just phone calls that add to the bill either with internet use increasing phone line usage for families who aren’t signed up to broadband.

According to the research parents also spend 11 hours each week ferrying their kids from one activity to another or supervising them on trips out, often while juggling full time jobs as well as their own social lives.

Homecall found that over the six-week period, the total cost of all the extra time spent on the phone, on the internet, and all the added extras such as petrol adds up to an average of over £300.

Sally Connor, parent to two children, comments: “The summer holidays are a busy time for both myself and my partner, we have to sort out childcare and activities for the kids which proves time-consuming and stressful as we both work full time. It makes us appreciate what teachers have to cope with!”

Emma Dalzell, Head of Marketing for Homecall, comments: “Although the summer holidays are a great opportunity for parents to spend more time with their children, organising their activities can be a worry. Parents can often get a shock when they receive their home phone bill and realise they and their kids have spent so much money making calls, often at peak times of the day.

“With Homecall’s Ring Round for Free, calls between customers are free at anytime of day, which can save parents money over the holidays.”

Homecall offer £10 calling credit to customers who recommend their friends and the friend who is recommended gets a £10 credit too. There is no limit to the number of customers that a person can recommend.

Homecall has also just launched broadband and the joint packages - that include broadband and low cost phone calls - start at just £17.49 per month. For just £29.99 per month customers will have access to unlimited broadband and local and national calls at anytime, which is less than many customers will pay for telephone and dial up internet that is much slower.

Homecall Broadband is offered in two flavours: Standard at 150kbps (up to three times faster than dial-up) and Extra at 512kbps (up to ten times faster than dial-up). Unlike some of their competitors, Homecall’s broadband service is uncapped, which means customers can surf the net for as long as they like without the worry of additional hidden charges. By comparison, BT add on surcharges of up to £12 a month if customers exceed their download limits.

* Homecall surveyed 1021 parents with two or more children of school age in April 2004