Last weekend, I was at a USS swim meet and heard parents and coaches complaining about the "distraction" of many swimmers now. They blame this distraction (in addition to the rise of the boy/girl crazy period) on the advent of cell phones and IM-ing, etc. Apparently, at meets, and I've seen it, the kids spent scads of time on their cells phones, phoning friends, phoning kids across the pool, texting constantly (even to kids 5 feet away). Then they go home and IM for hours, checking and gossiping over the instant meet results and who beat who. Now, all the swimmers seem to know each other because, even if they're not on the same team or live in different states, they now can communicate easily via IM-ing and texting. I heard one coach say he's not sure how to get his swim kids to focus in this new techo-age. Obviously, some kids are focused like lasers, but I see an abundance of chatting and cell phone use too. Would kids do better without cell phones at meets? And is technology distracting them? Some seem to be swimming blazingly fast, but are others not swimming up to their potential because of this?
Former Member
I don't see masters swimmers texting away at meets though.
Or if they do they're texting a massuese:
"HELP! I've flip-turned and I can't get up!"
I can tell your kids are younger than mine. You have to be lay down rules, but you gotta give them some room too.
Some parents think that kids are adapted to multi-tasking while doing homework, etc., and that it doesn't hinder them. I've heard both views. I tend to be more old-fashioned and think they should be focused on their homework or swimming. But others don't. I guess their grades and times are the test.
hehe...yes joking aside grades and results (or at least best efforts regardlwss of outcome) are the barometer. You do good, you get rewards...you do bad;you lose them.
My house: No TV's in bedooms, no phones in kids's bedrooms no computers in bedrooms, radios and cd's yes. Computers in the bedroom won't happen. TV's might creep in within a year or two.
I have to admit, I couldn't give two shakes about kids using cell phones. It's the thing with people from about age 6 to 70. I message all day long at work, it's actually encouraged. Good luck trying to stop a kid from doing what 99% of his/her peers do, that's usually a recipe for problems. There are some common sense things you can do to moderate it.
The only cell phone kids NEED is a jitterbug. It comes with 3 buttons: Mom, Dad, 911.
But there's a distinction between NEED and having something that is now for better or worse a fundamental part of our society (at least where I live). They should at least be old enough to, as Matt says, know how to be reasonable and responsible with them and not lose them.
I'm all for kids having fun at meets. My kid is already sad that I didn't sign her up for an upcoming LC meet, but I'm getting meeted out and summer league is here. She's complaining she "won't see her friends." I was really just relaying some comments about distraction that I heard from parents and coaches. I agree that some parents are obsessed with their kids' times. Some have them on an excel sheet. I try not to do that with my kids. Mosts kids seem to know their times down the hundredth of a second anyway. If they forget, they can just check the computer, which hopefully is in a public area.
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I don't think they are appropriate at a meet, likewise on the sidelines at a game--you should be paying attention to what's going on.
I.
:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:
OK, I will stop laughing now. You obviously have never coached Junior High girls. Pay attention to what's going on?:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: Only if there is a cute boy in the vicinity.
My kids have cell phones. It makes it easier when they are on the bus coming home from a school function late at night. I don't have to sit in the parking lot waiting because the band bus was 2 hours late from a competition. Instead, they call when they get close and I go get them. When my son played soccer, they often had games 2-3 hours away, and were sometimes uncertain if games would continue after dark because small rural schools sometimes did not have lights on their fields. So the coaches could not tell us what time they were getting back. That is why I got my kids phones, too many long nights in parking lots waiting and waiting.
I will say at our last big meet in January(500+swimmers), it was very noticable that every kid had a phone, and they sat there and texted. One of our coaches commented on it. I cannot say I noticed that before as much. I rely on my phone at meets, because I give my number to coaches as contact in case they have an issue and need to let me know. When running postive check in, it helps to know if a team is struggling with ice and snow, and is running late. We also use radios on deck to help with our organization, and our cell phones to communicate with each other to smoothly run the meet.
I see the fun police are out looking to put kids in the fun jail. How in the world are we supposed to make 3-5 hour swim meets more palatable to the kids if we prevent them from bringing their phones and ipods? You spend 2-3 weekends a month at a meet without a phone or ipod and there goes your program.
Ah Swimstud we must have gone to the same school of torture... I mean parenting. My daughter age 9 doesnt have a TV in her room -never will, computer is in a common area - so things can be monitored and we told her no cell phone til she drives. Why does she need a phone? :violin: She is either with one of us or a adult that we trust to make decisions or that has a cell phone to call us in emergencies.
We just had a sprint carnival at our Y - ages 5 to 65 - I didnt see any cell phones - lots of snacking and drinks, wet towels and yelling by parents not to run on wet decks. My master mates dont seem to bring cellphones to the deck - I think we are all just glad to get away from obligations for a while.
Maybe the coaches should nix the phones.
I don't have an issue with teenage kids using cell phones, providing they can be responsible about their usage of course. As for distractions at swim meets, so what?! They are KIDS! Is it about kids having fun or about the parents getting bragging rights about their kids times?
Feel free to keep things like cell phones from your kids but be prepared for the unintended consequences of such rules. I can assure you that the kids whose parents do not allow them to use these devices are made fun of and feel left out. Who do you suppose they blame this on? My guess would be their parents. I am not saying to give your kids whatever they want but something as simple and harmless as a cell phone seems like the wrong fight to choose IMHO.
