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BigDHornfan

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1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

SIAP, for those in Austin with 5-17 year olds who like to swim and who aren’t on a year-round team, Parks and Rec opened up swim team registration earlier this month.  Not sure how long registration runs, but the season is from early June through mid/late July.  Last year the kids finished the season by swimming at UT’s natatorium.  Only $80 for 4 days a week practice and saturday swim meets at the various neighborhood pools   

https://www.austintexas.gov/department/swim-teams

Many/most of the neighborhood pools have teams

I hope I can find an area team in Round Rock a couple years from now. They were great, cheap swim lessons as a kid and I always loved the meets.

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16 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

I hope I can find an area team in Round Rock a couple years from now. They were great, cheap swim lessons as a kid and I always loved the meets.

There are plenty of teams in and around Round Rock.  Some are neighborhood specific like the Avery Ranch Redfish some are open at all like the Brushy Creek Marlins.

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On 4/16/2024 at 3:27 PM, LonghornJones said:

I am so jealous...of the self medication and drinking part.

Grand Floridian Pool bar was good to dad. Same for JW Marriott on Marco Island. Disney with twin 6YO's was fun, minor meltdowns but all in all a success. 

the Boy rode Tron, Space Mountain and GOTG and really loved Thunder Mountain. think I have a rollercoaster kid. 

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On 4/22/2024 at 7:45 AM, BurntOrange&White said:

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Solid choice in the green accent wall… had the same color in the nursery/baby room for both of my guys. 
 

I am irrationally proud that my 2.5 year old’s favorite shirt is currently his “go horns” shirt. I taught him how to do the hook em a little while back and he’s finally able to get his fingers to do it right. Multiple times a day he will just throw up a hook em and yell “go hooor-wuns!”. I just missed it in the picture, but he did it while riding his horsie like it was south Austin’s mom.

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Edited by Etexhorn13
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8 hours ago, Etexhorn13 said:

Solid choice in the green accent wall… had the same color in the nursery/baby room for both of my guys. 
 

I am irrationally proud that my 2.5 year old’s favorite shirt is currently his “go horns” shirt. I taught him how to do the hook em a little while back and he’s finally able to get his fingers to do it right. Multiple times a day he will just throw up a hook em and yell “go hooor-wuns!”. I just missed it in the picture, but he did it while riding his horsie like it was south Austin’s mom.

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Hell yeah man. 

 

I've never done that type of wall before and it was a lot of YT research and a few trips to home depot to get it done but it turned out great I think. The wife loves it so that's all that matters. 
 

here are some progress pics. Took 3-4 days total with the paint drying and extra coats. 
 




 

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Edited by BurntOrange&White
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That looks great. I have my office in the same kind of green, it’s a nice energy. I would laugh at my wife if she suggested that I put up that wall accent thing, so good on you for being a handy dad.

 

took this picture at the park last week. Sometimes a picture just captures your kid being a kid in a way that triggers your love feelings.

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also I found a new hobby in dressing the baby and sending the wife outfit pictures. She did not think that this made him look like a “rizzly bear”.

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On 4/15/2024 at 7:41 PM, UT_OB1 said:

I need some phone advice help. Daughter just turned 12. Wife wanted to get her a phone for Christmas despite for months me saying she’s too young for a smart phone. Wife got her a Gabb phone.  Rules were set. Rules were broken - and not just in an accidental way but a trying to get away with things way. Phone part of camera was abused (nothing sexual). Anyway, look who was right, wife went nuclear option, she’s too young for a smart phone now. 
 

We still like her having a phone that she can take with her when she goes out to play. That was definitely nice that we copied let her roam a bit farther on her bike (and her younger birthed). 
 

Any recs for a no camera / internet phone?  The flip phones look good, but I haven’t seen one that has a text monitoring option. 

 

On 4/16/2024 at 11:00 AM, Damor said:

No help there, but a couple suggestions for when she does graduate to a smart phone:

1)  Phone contract.  It's somewhere in this thread.  Make one, everybody sign it, and adhere to it.
2)  Do not give her the phone as a gift.  It's not hers, it's yours and you're allowing her to use it as a tool.  Dad lendeth, and dad can taketh away.

Those things served us well with our boys, and we treated cars the same way.

 

On 4/17/2024 at 6:31 PM, EE2B said:

My oldest has a Gizmo Watch from Verizon that has worked wonderfully for us. Everything is controlled through an app-who her contacts are, who can call, we can see her location, etc. she only use the built in text words/emojis. She can’t actually type on it. She can make phone calls from it, but only to people who are in her list. I’m sure other phone service providers have something similar. 

 

On 4/17/2024 at 7:33 PM, CleverNickname said:

daughter is 14 headed to high school next year, so I'm a couple years ahead. Good luck and God bless in holding the line. Every friend my daughter has she FaceTime and snaps *constantly*. And fortuitous, they actually set up face to face mall crawls and such. If your daughter claims social isolation from a smartphone ban... I would believe them. Even the apple iPhone chat bubble snobbishness is real. That said, bed time and screen time apps are plentiful and fairly simple to set up. 

16 in a week here. Things I have learned so far.

They will absolutely try to get away with stuff on their phone. Multiple instagram, snapchat, or whatever app accounts. One you know about and one you don't. If you think your kid is different you aren't trying hard enough.

Life 360 is great but it also lets THEM know where YOU are. The alerts on there work both ways and offer plenty of time for them to be ready for when you get home. I turn my battery saver on which kills my location. Now my wife is suspicious. Location lets us be lazy and assume they are where they are supposed to be but kids are crafty and learn to leave their phone at a friends house.

They will abuse the camera.

Snapchat is the devil. Middle school kid in our area got hooked up with a plug that would meet her at the park in her neighborhood to sell her drugs in our sleepy little suburb. This is a lot harder with no snapchat.

If your kids are in sports apps and text groups are how the coaches communicate everything from workout schedules to which uni they are wearing. This will become an issue if you are using taking the phone away as a punishment when they get older.

Bullying because you don't have insert type of phone is a thing.

YOUR WIFE WILL TYPE IN THE PASSWORD FOR A DOWNLOAD AND NOT UNDERSTAND THAT SHE JUST UNLOCKED THE PHONE FOR YOUR KID TO GO BEHIND HER CHANGE SAID PASSWORD UNTIL YOU FIND OUT AND CHANGE IT BACK. HOWEVER, DO NOT SCOLD YOUR WIFE OR IT WILL END BADLY FOR YOU. AND THEN YOU WILL BE ON HERE GIVING THIS TYPE OF ADVICE TO ANOTHER SURLY DAD.

You absolutely have to violate your kids privacy and periodically go through their phone. You will learn a lot by just reading their text messages and then returning it without them knowing.

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I had cell phone contracts with my girls.  Only a couple of times did we have any issues - mostly with not putting the phone away at the designated time.  We also required them to charge the phones overnight in the kitchen as opposed to their rooms.

I'm sure they got away with things, but they turned out fine.  I would not resort to reading their text messages without them knowing.  If I had a concern, I would have them bring me the phone to look at in their presence.  I don't remember ever having to do that.  At one point, the one of the phone passwords was changed, but that was a result of Apple moving from a 4 digit password to 6 digit password.

The girls' phones were linked through my wife's apple account.  They could not download any apps without her permission.  We were able to discuss the apps with the girls prior to allowing them to download.

Our relationship with the girls has always been trust until they give you a reason not to.  YMMV

 

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1 hour ago, Jerry Callo said:

I had cell phone contracts with my girls.  Only a couple of times did we have any issues - mostly with not putting the phone away at the designated time.  We also required them to charge the phones overnight in the kitchen as opposed to their rooms.

I'm sure they got away with things, but they turned out fine.  I would not resort to reading their text messages without them knowing.  If I had a concern, I would have them bring me the phone to look at in their presence.  I don't remember ever having to do that.  At one point, the one of the phone passwords was changed, but that was a result of Apple moving from a 4 digit password to 6 digit password.

The girls' phones were linked through my wife's apple account.  They could not download any apps without her permission.  We were able to discuss the apps with the girls prior to allowing them to download.

Our relationship with the girls has always been trust until they give you a reason not to.  YMMV

 

My daughter had a friend who asked us to call her by her boy name when she was in our house. My daughter declared our house a safe zone for her lgbtq+ friends. Her parents didn't know she was trans and her parents didn't know when she was having sleepovers "with the girls" that she was dating one of the girls she was sleeping over with. They were 12 and 13 years old. My daughter's classmate committed suicide a few weeks ago. His parents were caught off guard. Had they known I am sure they would've gotten him help. Maybe you heard about the kid who shot his friends in the back of the head while sitting on the couch at his house because he "just wanted to know what it was like to kill someone"? A freckle-faced, redhead kid from my daughter's school. Apparently he posted a picture of himself with a caption of song lyrics about murder on his Instagram. Had his parents been paying attention maybe they could've gotten him some help before he murdered his friend. Now he will be tried as an adult at age 17.

Kids don't tell us what is really going on in their lives. Sometimes you have to break their trust in order to help them. I say that as a parent with a daughter who struggles with her mental health. Looking at her phone is a large reason why she is still here and helped us get her help before something tragic happened. Your daughters may have turned out fine. However, there are many many people out there with different stories. From online predators to my own personal stories like the ones above. If we aren't watching our kids then who is? We live in a lily-white suburb where people's doors are open 24-7. You don't expect things like that to happen here until they do.

Edited by Thatguy
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I will once again recommend the Bark app. It doesn't catch everything but it can give you an idea what they might be doing or saying that's risky. With the older one, I've made it non-negotiable. If she wants the phone we provide her, she must have the app on and not trying to circumvent it. It doesn't police Tik Tok or Snapchat as those two turds combined with Apple don't allow for it. It has flagged tons of questionable texts, Instagram stories and messages, and emails that if not noticed might have led to a disaster. 

I will also reiterate, don't get them a phone until you feel they are ready for it. We held out with our younger one till 8th grade and feel it was a great idea, something we screwed up doing with the older one. Now, the younger one is definitely more responsible and has a better head on her shoulders than her older sister. She's also a lot more innocent, capable of long periods of down time without needing a device, and can be with friends who similarly don't need constant endorphin rushes from the devices. 

Edited by mdmost
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My daughter had a friend who asked us to call her by her boy name when she was in our house. My daughter declared our house a safe zone for her lgbtq+ friends. Her parents didn't know she was trans and her parents didn't know when she was having sleepovers "with the girls" that she was dating one of the girls she was sleeping over with. They were 12 and 13 years old. My daughter's classmate committed suicide a few weeks ago. His parents were caught off guard. Had they known I am sure they would've gotten him help. Maybe you heard about the kid who shot his friends in the back of the head while sitting on the couch at his house because he "just wanted to know what it was like to kill someone"? A freckle-faced, redhead kid from my daughter's school. Apparently he posted a picture of himself with a caption of song lyrics about murder on his Instagram. Had his parents been paying attention maybe they could've gotten him some help before he murdered his friend. Now he will be tried as an adult at age 17.
Kids don't tell us what is really going on in their lives. Sometimes you have to break their trust in order to help them. I say that as a parent with a daughter who struggles with her mental health. Looking at her phone is a large reason why she is still here and helped us get her help before something tragic happened. Your daughters may have turned out fine. However, there are many many people out there with different stories. From online predators to my own personal stories like the ones above. If we aren't watching our kids then who is? We live in a lily-white suburb where people's doors are open 24-7. You don't expect things like that to happen here until they do.

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On 4/18/2024 at 9:00 AM, BabaYaga said:

Heading up to meet the coaches as KU this weekend.  I get it.  "Dad" has morphed into professional driver, chef, travel agent, and most importantly - sports psychologist.  

 

On 4/17/2024 at 6:23 PM, JesusSweatDuck said:

My daughter has been grinding hard on the beach volleyball circuit. She's still in the "no contact" phase of recruiting and has been struggling because of the unknowns. Well all within the span of a couple weeks she was directly invited to camp at 3 different D1 schools (think UT's junior day camp) and to participate in a NTDP (regional national team camp).  Nothing more rewarding than watching your kids achieve their goals

The no contact phase is stressful. My kid didn't think she was truly good enough to play college volleyball. Then her club coach sent her this email.....

 

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She still wasn't buying it until we were at Triple Crown in Kansas City and they were in hitting lines. She hit a ball and while running to the back of the line noticed the Wake coach sitting right there. They were in Orlando and Chicago as well, even videoing her when she was on the sideline. Now she probably isn't that high on their Christmas list, but it does tell her that if a P5 school like that is recruiting her, she is more than good enough to play D1 volleyball. So tell your girl to keep grinding and someone will scoop her up pretty soon. We are almost at the finish line. Also, we play AJV this weekend at regionals.

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9 hours ago, mdmost said:

I will also reiterate, don't get them a phone until you feel they are ready for it.

Yep, our soon-to-be middle-schooler is going to get an Apple Watch with a cell phone connection, which is not perfect, but we control the other devices that it will be connected to.  At least we can get a hold of him whenever we need to, see where he's at, see what his text messages are, etc.

I just wish it had Pac-Man on it like the 80s kids watches that had it.

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as far as I can tell, boys are fine with a phone alternative. It's the girls that are social media monsters. I am not sure what it is like to be a teen woman, but I don't think I have it takes. If they gotta kill a tourist on Rainey Street once in a while just to feel something after survivng middle school, who am I to judge?

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8 hours ago, Thatguy said:

 

The no contact phase is stressful. My kid didn't think she was truly good enough to play college volleyball. Then her club coach sent her this email.....

 

Resized_20240205_180003_1707177648836.thumb.jpg.f5759fc97df47e9f3794373c6f32a97d.jpg

She still wasn't buying it until we were at Triple Crown in Kansas City and they were in hitting lines. She hit a ball and while running to the back of the line noticed the Wake coach sitting right there. They were in Orlando and Chicago as well, even videoing her when she was on the sideline. Now she probably isn't that high on their Christmas list, but it does tell her that if a P5 school like that is recruiting her, she is more than good enough to play D1 volleyball. So tell your girl to keep grinding and someone will scoop her up pretty soon. We are almost at the finish line. Also, we play AJV this weekend at regionals.

We just got to Gulf Shores for the NCAA Championships. Brutal drive but she's excited about getting to watch all these teams 

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8 hours ago, Thatguy said:

 

The no contact phase is stressful. My kid didn't think she was truly good enough to play college volleyball. Then her club coach sent her this email.....

 

Resized_20240205_180003_1707177648836.thumb.jpg.f5759fc97df47e9f3794373c6f32a97d.jpg

She still wasn't buying it until we were at Triple Crown in Kansas City and they were in hitting lines. She hit a ball and while running to the back of the line noticed the Wake coach sitting right there. They were in Orlando and Chicago as well, even videoing her when she was on the sideline. Now she probably isn't that high on their Christmas list, but it does tell her that if a P5 school like that is recruiting her, she is more than good enough to play D1 volleyball. So tell your girl to keep grinding and someone will scoop her up pretty soon. We are almost at the finish line. Also, we play AJV this weekend at regionals.

Also, good luck this weekend. Wake would be the double bonus of a great school and a great program 

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5 hours ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

Also, good luck this weekend. Wake would be the double bonus of a great school and a great program 

I truly doubt she is at that level but I cannot wait for when she gets her first offer. Enjoy the tournament. Beach is so much more chill than indoor. 

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