Age 10 Seems Too Young for Certification

[MauiScubaSteve]

May be there are some (let's say) twelve years old, who are able to drive a car. I am sure they really would like it, but would you like them to have a drivers licence?

I went to college with a minor Lybiyan prince who owned and drove a gull wing Mercedes at age 11-12. When he was hiding out from Gaddafi, in Colorado, in '70 (30 miles from my home town), he drove some big gaudy 2-door Chrysler to within 2 blocks of Jr High every day, parked on the street and walked the rest of the way to school. The Jr High was already having a hard time accepting the 13 year old with the mustache. :shocked2:

Years later, I got a nice picture of him lighting a joint with the end of his traditional beard, on his 21st b-day.

 

[DevonDiver]

I think this is a typical attiude of modern generations, who want everything...right now.

What's wrong with swimming and snorkelling? What's wrong with enjoying those activities whilst building your skills and learning to aspire to do more later on?

When I was a kid I loved motorcycles. My parents didn't buy me a motorcycle when I was 10 though. They bought me a bicycle...with stabilizers. I thought it was awesome. When I got proficient, they took the stabilizers off... that was amazing. When I was 12, I got an honor mark at school. My reward was a new bike...adult size...racing style. I was king of the world. I could go faster and further than ever before. Eventually, years later, the day came when I got a scooter. I was king of the world again... a real 'motorbike'. The sense of satisfaction and accomplishment was immense. I'm still waiting to get my Ducati... that'll be a great day and I am looking forward to it. I'm just glad that my parents didn't get me a motorbike when I was 10... I would have missed out on so many milestones and life lessons along the way....

A child can learn to swim. I did that at a young age. I got my 'mile badge' at the age of 9. I have fond memories of my Dad encouraging me to swim all the time. He enrolled my in a swim team... that was awesome. I always wanted to scuba dive. When I was very young, I remember having dreams about being underwater yet astonished that I could breath. I wasn't dreaming about scuba diving.... I could just breath underwater. Learning to scuba dive was a lifetime ambition for me, since as early as I can remember. I swam whenever I could. I just loved being in the water. On family outtings to the beach, I would literally spend all day in the sea. I nearly drowned once, in Africa, as I got caught by a big wave and held under the water for a long time. Strangely, I remember that as a happy memory?!? I loved watching Jacques Cousteau re-runs on the tv. Those men were like gods to me...on a par with astronauts.

Eventually, my parents gave me a mask, fins and snorkel for my birthday. Now I could see underwater! Even in swimming pools... the thrill of swimming up and down the pool with my mask on was enormous. The joy of watching skanky old elastopasters floating around in an over-chorinated pool!! When I eventually did learn to dive - I still had that joy and confidence in the water. It was an ambition achieved. I had wanted it for so long... Over more time I achieved more... I saw sharks...turtles...I travelled and dived around the globe... I became an instructor. Every single step of the way was a dream come true... and the waiting...and hard work... made it so much more worthwhile.

Sure... you can argue that kids should learn to dive at the age of 10, or younger. Give them what they want. Why wait? Why earn it? Personally, I think you'd be robbing them of the chance to learn the true joy of the water..

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I think this is a typical attiude of modern generations, who want everything...right now........


Sure... you can argue that kids should learn to dive at the age of 10, or younger. Give them what they want. Why wait? Why earn it? Personally, I think you'd be robbing them of the chance to learn the true joy of the water..

Here is my 10 yr old... diving 80 feet inside a shipwreck. He seems to be having fun.
It was the first time inside the wreck.

He earned it by doing a lot of practice

YouTube - 10 yr old Wreck Diver; Palm Beach

 

[Rhone Man]

Here is my son finishing up his OWD course (aged 10). He had a blast (saw a 5' blacktip shark on his first OW training dive), and he is really enthused about the sport. Everything was done in benign conditions and shallow depths, well within his nascent skill levels. It helped that he had 1-on-1 instruction for most of his course.

Diving is clearly not for all 10 year olds, but I don't have any regrets about supporting and encouraging my son to do it. He had been champing at the bit to do it since he did his PADI Seal Team course in a pool, aged 8.

 

[adurso]

When my daughter was ten and starting diving I was still shooting 35mm; so I do not have pictures handy.
But I will never forget the look of joy and wonder many times as she experienced the underwater world.
The first time she saw sharks in the keys was barely eclipsed by her experiences with
the sand tigers on the U352.
The US Navy thought her diving experiences added enough to her leadership potential to award her a full scholarship to her college of choice.
One of the things the selective colleges look for is something "different"; the thing that makes one student stand out from another. Diving can make that difference....
The studies that link martial arts study to improved classroom behavior and grades can be posited with diving as well.

 

[Drewski]

I loved watching Jacques Cousteau re-runs on the tv. Those men were like gods to me...on a par with astronauts.

Sure... you can argue that kids should learn to dive at the age of 10, or younger. Give them what they want. Why wait? Why earn it? Personally, I think you'd be robbing them of the chance to learn the true joy of the water..

A few things. First, funny you should mention Jacques Cousteau. He taught his son, Philippe, how to dive at age 5. By age 7, he was accompanying his father on world-wide expeditions and diving almost daily. Let's see, that was about 1946 through 1948. So much for the "modern generation."

Second, why would you make your kid "earn" something by withholding it? If the child does well in school, is athletic and wants to dive with YOU - especially if they have the appropriate maturity - why would they need to "earn" the privilege? That's like saying, as a parent, they need to "earn" your love. Sorry, that don't cut it.

Third, let's move away from diving and make a comparison, shall we? How about riding bikes? Let's start with the bad news. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, from 1975 (the year I started diving) through 2008, 11,290 children aged 16 or younger DIED while riding bikes. In a 2004 study, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that 297,729 bicycle accidents resulted in Emergency Room visits for children ages 14 and under. Another study found that nearly 60 percent of all childhood bicycle-related deaths occur on minor roads, usually within one mile of the kid's home. This same study found that the total annual cost of traffic-related bicyclist death and injury among children ages 14 and under is now more than $2.2 billion. Now the good news. Bicycle helmets and rider safety programs decreased child fatalities from a high of 675 in 1975 to a low of 94 in 2008. In 1975, kids outpaced adults killed on bikes, 2 to 1. In 2008, adults outpaced kids, 6 to 1.

Want to talk about car accidents next?

How many parents posting in this thread have ever considered that letting your 10 year old ride a bike around the neighborhood or driving him or her to school regularly puts them at significant risk for injury or death?

My point is that there are PLENTY of things in this wonderful world of ours that can injure or kill your child much faster and easier than diving. Don't let the tail wag the dog. Sure, teaching a kid how to dive safely is a significant undertaking that involves parental time, commitment and expense. But it can be quite safe and very fun. It can also build significant trust and understanding between the two, as well.

Think about that next time your 10 year old goes riding down the street alone on his or her bike...

 

[knowone]

Physiology.

 

[Drewski]

Here is my 10 yr old... diving 80 feet inside a shipwreck. He seems to be having fun. It was the first time inside the wreck.
He earned it by doing a lot of practice.

Oh, Dumpster, I just KNEW you were going to post THAT video!

Here it comes... See you on the hang line, lol.

 

[Paladin]

Hmm. I got my first bike when I was three. My father let me steer the family car while sitting on his lap when I was four. As I got older and bigger, I graduated to sitting in the driver's seat alone. At age eight, I drove a 1953 Ford pickup (at night) over to Kentucky to deliver the truck to my uncle, who was buying it. I followed Dad, then drove the family car home with him in the passenger seat. That same year, I got my first snorkeling set. When I was eleven, I started SCUBA diving with my Dad's friend, Harold, as my mentor. The next year, Dad bought me a 1943 Willys Jeep that I drove off road on the dirt roads through the woods behind Harold's place. On my sixteenth birthday, I took the learner's permit test and then the driver's road test on the same day. The next year, when I was 17, I went for my Private Pilot's Certificate. I owned a .22 rifle when I was five and Dad took me hunting with him. Thing is, this sort of thing was not unusual for the boys of my age in my neck of the woods.

Sadly, things have changed and boys aren't allowed to be boys anymore.

 

[Rhone Man]

I owned a .22 rifle when I was five and Dad took me hunting with him.

Not judging, but I don't let my 5 year old touch the remote control. Even if you are a subsistence hunter, I can't help feeling 5 is a little young to be carrying loaded firearms, no matter how well schooled. Makes diving at 10 look tame.