Getting my 11 y/o into diving

[Angelo Farina]

CMAS clubs here in Italy, in several towns, offer pool activity (acquaticity courses) starting at 6 months.
We did bring our children to a club named Sesto Continente, in Reggio Emilia, starting at 8 months.
They had a special instructor, named Roberta, who was enabled to train parent-son couples in the range 6 to 36 months.
Free body submersion and underwater swimming up to 18 months, then she introduced floating sleeves, fins, mask and finally snorkel.
At 30 months a small air tank with a special subminiature regulator. The pool was just 80 cm deep.
At 36 months we moved to a deeper pool in Montecchio, around 140 cm deep. And my wife took over, as she is a CMAS instructor qualified for children above 3 years.
It was mostly playing with plastic animals, passing through a submerged play castle, including a 2m long pipe, and doing excercises such as alternate breathing with a single reg, removing and evacuating mask, etc.
Twice per week, one hour each time, for years.
My sons did enjoy this tremendously. It was pure fun!
It did take years, and hundredths of hours in the pool, and later in the sea, for building very slowly water confidence and self reliance.
One must never be in hurry with children, each has different times, and you never should force them. It must all be a game, fun time for them.

 

[Tadpole Frogfish]

Keep in mind snorkeling/freediving allows you to talk the 1:1. Will not be amusing slate pictionary for an 11 year old.

 

[llamadiver]

While standards allow for your child to dive (supervised of course), you may want to keep in mind that scuba diving can be a stressful activity for a young child. We have to put on equipment in order to survive as we are not meant to breathe underwater. New equipment, new skills and concepts, and the underwater environment can overstimulate a young one. I would highly recommend private instruction and always ensure your child is mentally ok to dive (check confidence level before EVERY dive, including pool). Best of luck to you and your son!

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

you can also do what i did... get certified as an instructor so that you can certify your son yourself and take him out on your own. I did this for my daughter. Also, it is much more enjoyable for her to dive with a small backplate, no wing, and a simplified reg set than the whole kit. I hold on to her harness the entire time and sometimes i just let her breathe off my long hose so she isn't dealing with the tank and regulator.

In my mind, it is more important she enjoy the experience than deal with all the doo-dads just yet. she has plenty of time for that.

 

[johndiver999]

you can also do what i did... get certified as an instructor so that you can certify your son yourself and take him out on your own. I did this for my daughter. Also, it is much more enjoyable for her to dive with a small backplate, no wing, and a simplified reg set than the whole kit. I hold on to her harness the entire time and sometimes i just let her breathe off my long hose so she isn't dealing with the tank and regulator.

In my mind, it is more important she enjoy the experience than deal with all the doo-dads just yet. she has plenty of time for that.

Clutching a child's harness 100% of the time and denying them use of a buoyancy control device and octopus is not how I would do things. It does not promote the learning of skills, competence nor confidence. Is that how you were taught to teach by your certification agency?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Clutching a child's harness 100% of the time and denying them use of a buoyancy control device and octopus is not how I would do things. It does not promote the learning of skills, competence nor confidence. Is that how you were taught to teach by your certification agency?

actually, being taught how to teach and what to teach are two different things. i was taught to work within my student's comfort zones and always adjust what i am teaching and at what pace to accommodate my students, not the other way around.

my daughter laid on my arm when snorkeling for years. should i have pushed her off and made her fin on her own? because of the support i gave and continue to give her enables her the opportunity to build confidence in stages, not slightly less degrees of panic.

i am fully aware that many people still believe in throwing their kids into the water from the end of a dock and telling them to swim or die. i'm not one of those parents. but to each their own.

by the way, my daughter is 9, not 22.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Clutching a child's harness 100% of the time and denying them use of a buoyancy control device and octopus is not how I would do things. It does not promote the learning of skills, competence nor confidence. Is that how you were taught to teach by your certification agency?

When they started diving in the sea, at 15 years old, also my sons had just a small 5-liters tank, with backpack, no BCD, no SPG and no octopus. At that time they had already 3 years of experience using this setup in pool.
They were at 3 meters max, on a gently sloping sand bottom, crystal clear and warm water, and all that stuff was unneeded:
But when they were 10 years old and they started to do some more serious boat dives, at 8-10 meters, I progressively added BCD (a small wing, of course, without changing their plastic backplate and harness), the SPG and the octopus.
however, it did take them two other years for reaching a proper self control, perfect buoyancy and trim. They were both cerytified Junior AOW at 12.

 

[USdiver1]

My primary concerns are mental maturity and the effect of breathing compressed air on growing bodies.

In this thread: Question - At what age can a kid start diving

I cited a study or two on the growing bodies concern [see post 26 on the link above].

 

[tursiops]

My primary concerns are mental maturity and the effect of breathing compressed air on growing bodies.

In this thread: Question - At what age can a kid start diving

I cited a study or two on the growing bodies concern.

Neither one of those two links you provided in Question - At what age can a kid start diving was actually a study, but rather they said there was really no evidence one way or the other, thus were speculative and used the precautionary principle. Some quotes from the X-Ray Magazine link:

"It has been suggested that inert gas bubbles tend to form in the epiphyseal tissue causing decompression illness (DCI). Such an injury to the epiphyses may impair the process of bone growth. According to Dr Simon Mitchell [4], it is not wise to draw any solid conclusion regarding this theory, as there is insufficient evidence and no clinical reports of apparent epiphyseal damage during decompression."​

​

"Another concern is the equalization. Up until the age of around eight, the Eustachian tubes are narrower and more horizontal than later in life. By the age of 12, the Eustachian tubes develop into their adult-like form, making equalization of the pressure in the middle ear easier and more effective. However, normal Eustachian tube function does not guarantee that a young diver will reliably perform a Valsalva manoeuvre. [1, 4]."​

I'll add that a Valsalva is neither the only nor the best way to clear one's ears.​

​

"One of the most common medical conditions in childhood is asthma. This serious lung disorder has reached epidemic proportions to children and it is a major concern—and long subject of controversy—within the diving community [1]. There is an argument that asthma may put a child at an increased risk of pulmonary barotrauma and other life-threatening complications. As Mitchell [3] suggests, children with a history of asthma should refrain from diving activities until puberty."​

I'll add that asthma in adults is also an issue for diving.​

​

"However, psychological and behavioral issues are also important. They determine how a child will learn and gain skills, as well as the quality of their social interaction and emotional development. Sometimes, physical growth does not equate with emotional maturity. Psycho-social and cognitive factors need to be accessed during the child’s dive training process [3]."​

I'll add that psychological and behavioral issues also exist in adults, but we prefer to ignore those.​

 

[johndiver999]

actually, being taught how to teach and what to teach are two different things. i was taught to work within my student's comfort zones and always adjust what i am teaching and at what pace to accommodate my students, not the other way around.

my daughter laid on my arm when snorkeling for years. should i have pushed her off and made her fin on her own? because of the support i gave and continue to give her enables her the opportunity to build confidence in stages, not slightly less degrees of panic.

i am fully aware that many people still believe in throwing their kids into the water from the end of a dock and telling them to swim or die. i'm not one of those parents. but to each their own.

by the way, my daughter is 9, not 22.

I've taught quite a few young children to snorkel. If you found it necessary to spent YEARS with your child clinging to your arm while snorkeling, I think that is a pretty good indication that the technique is non-optimal.

What I have used (for children 4 -6 yrs old) is to place them on my upper back. I do NOT hold them at all. They hold onto me with one or two arms so they are riding me and they can kick a little, but I am doing most of the propulsion.

They place their head over one shoulder and keep the mask in the water and can see where I am pointing. If/when they have difficulty with the snorkel and breathing, they will immediately and instinctively began to push down on your back in order to lift themselves up out of the water. When this happens I remain still and (supportive) and give them a few seconds to sort it out on their own. It is impossible to not sense when they are having difficulties because you have "a monkey on your back". If they don't quickly settle back down on my back, then that means they need some help/intervention and I can instantly spin around and grab them and support their head above water.

This technique is very safe and the child only receives the exact amount of support that they need. You do not need to watch them or see what they are doing, because you can feel them. I do not need to hold their hands. Soon, often in the first outing after 10 minutes, they will choose to slip off the side and swim and snorkel on their own to your side but might hop back onto my back if they get scared or tired.

Actively holding onto the child with your arms should be a avoided (except maybe for the first 3 minutes of initial introduction) because it does not develop their confidence and abilities. You can not protect their airway, they MUST be able to learn to do that and protect their own airway. That is the critical aspect.

Similarly, when scuba diving, actively holding people's harness is not how I do things unless there is a crisis or emergency.