How young is too young?

[SparticleBrane]

I don't necessarily have a problem with kids on scuba at a young age--but only in a pool. My rescue instructor said that when his kids were younger they'd hop in the dive well with a small pony bottle and they'd be down there for 20ish minutes tops.
He refused to certify them, however, until he thought they were mature enough to truly handle what scuba demands--I don't believe he certified them until their late teens.

Personally I think 11 might be a little young. Even mid teens--still a little young.
Think about this: You get your 11-year old certified, and you're diving with her. You have a heart attack--is she strong enough to get you to the surface and possibly tow you to the shore/boat?

 

[ChrisA]

My Fiancé and I are taking the national geographic scuba lessons now. My 11 year old really wants to dive also. She is a great swimmer. Practically lives in our pool. Is it a good idea to get them diving so young? She is really responsible and picks up on things really quick. She learned to snow board in one day. By the end of the day was going down intermediate slopes. Since I am new at it also wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. We were thinking of giving it to her for her 12 birthday in October as a present. By then we would have at least 15 dives under us but still wasn’t sure if that’s too soon. Would appreciate other divers with Jr divers giving some feed back of thoughts or concerns.

Thanks
Stacy

When I took my AOW class there was only one other student in the class. She was a 12 year old girl. This girl was both large (for her age) and smart. Had no trouble lugging an AL80 and weights up a flight of stars and know the bookwork perfectly. Most 12 year olds are not like this and very few 11 year olds are. This same person tried to do OW class at age 10 and failed. She simply was not strong enough at that time to walk into the ocean while wearing all that gear

Many times the 200 meter swimm and five minute water tread test is more than some small children can do orthey might no be strong enough to do a skill like "deep water exit" My opinion is that ifthey can do all of the skill WITHOUT need to lower the standards "because they are a kid" then they should be able to get a Jr. OW cert.

Now the next part. As a Jr. OW diver they can only dive with either a profesional diver (Instructor or DM) or with a certified parent. But I's add one more VERY IMPORTENT rule: The certified parent should be compentent to supervise new divers. No way would I call a resent certified OW parent qualified to supervise anyone. I'd say do 100 dives and take the rescue class before you supervise your own Jr. OW certified child. OH YES, One other point. If you dive with a 10 year old who is your buddy. Can that 10 year girl old haul her 200 pound dad out of the water and perform CPR? Likey not. If you are diving with a 10 year old you are in effect a solo diver. You need to be comfortable as a solo diver before you take a 10 year old out in the oean.

I've also found that kids do nothandle little problems very well. Thinks like a BC failure or gtting lost under water (by failing to watch the compass) Most kids are not good at getting themselves out of problems and do need a more experianced person to stick with them and watch them full time. But assumming competent supervision kids should be able to do easy shalow dives in good conditions

 

[shark.byte.usa]

Why not start with her out with PADI Seal Team or SSI Scuba Rangers; get her into scuba under close supervision of a trained instructor and having a blast without task overloading yourself. Once she's had enough of the kiddie program you should have more experience and she'd be well on her way with all the education and pool experience to go through OW class.

Garrett

 

[Dive 'N' Dolphin]

When I took my AOW class there was only one other student in the class. She was a 12 year old girl. This girl was both large (for her age) and smart. Had no trouble lugging an AL80 and weights up a flight of stars and know the bookwork perfectly. Most 12 year olds are not like this and very few 11 year olds are. This same person tried to do OW class at age 10 and failed. She simply was not strong enough at that time to walk into the ocean while wearing all that gear

Many times the 200 meter swimm and five minute water tread test is more than some small children can do orthey might no be strong enough to do a skill like "deep water exit" My opinion is that ifthey can do all of the skill WITHOUT need to lower the standards "because they are a kid" then they should be able to get a Jr. OW cert.

Now the next part. As a Jr. OW diver they can only dive with either a profesional diver (Instructor or DM) or with a certified parent. But I's add one more VERY IMPORTENT rule: The certified parent should be compentent to supervise new divers. No way would I call a resent certified OW parent qualified to supervise anyone. I'd say do 100 dives and take the rescue class before you supervise your own Jr. OW certified child. OH YES, One other point. If you dive with a 10 year old who is your buddy. Can that 10 year girl old haul her 200 pound dad out of the water and perform CPR? Likey not. If you are diving with a 10 year old you are in effect a solo diver. You need to be comfortable as a solo diver before you take a 10 year old out in the oean.

I've also found that kids do nothandle little problems very well. Thinks like a BC failure or gtting lost under water (by failing to watch the compass) Most kids are not good at getting themselves out of problems and do need a more experianced person to stick with them and watch them full time. But assumming competent supervision kids should be able to do easy shalow dives in good conditions

Good points but as I pointed out earlier. I would never count on her to be my buddy. She would be the 3rd to my buddy team. I think I will look into the seal team at our local dive center. I don’t want to risk her safety in any way. The lifting of all her gear is a concern. She is thin but very fit. She has been in Gymnastics for a while now but I think the weight would be hard for her at first. I would never go out a lone with her though if I did get her certified at 12. I wouldn’t feel safe in that situation but maybe only when we go with a group. Believe it or not I am a very protective mother so definitely have some concerns.

Thanks
Stacy

 

[ChrisA]

By then we would have at least 15 dives under us but still wasn’t sure if that’s too soon....
Stacy

I just read the part about you not having even 15 dives yet. I have to say "no way". Wait untill you have both training and experiance. The PADI rescue class is quite good and without it, it would be very hard to argue that a diver has been trained to handle problems withj other divers. But October is a reasonable goal. Sign up for both AOW and Rescue NOW. Step up your diving schedle to include dives every weekend in addation to the two classes. Join some dive clubs. October is a tough goal.

Another option is to hire competent supervision. DM work cheap or dive with a club. I know if you dived with our club someone with 1000+ dives and lots of trainnig would dive with you. You buy the bear and everyone is happy. Other dive clubs should be the same.

 

[nrh]

My kids are 11 and 13 and avid snorkelers. They won't be getting certified until they've a) completed puberty b) I consider them emotionally mature enough to take care of themselves and their buddy in the water and c) are big enough to carry ALL their own gear (including tanks and weights)!

I started diving when I was 14 and was the only girl and the only child in my class. It worked to my advantage and I think I became a better diver for it. I went on to take all the advanced certifications I could as I became old enough to do them and eventually became an instructor when I was old enough to do that.

There are plenty of places that you can scuba dive while your daughter can safely snorkel right above you. (The Keys and Turks and Caicos to name two) Lots (not all) of charter boats are happy to let you bring your kids along to do this at the shallower dive sites...for a fee. I can't count the # of times my kids have startled the heck out of me by freediving down and flicking me on the back of the head! Situations like this enable you to get more experience diving while allowing your daughter to grow up a bit before she starts... a win/win situation in my book. And when you want to do more advanced dives...leave her at home or on the boat!

 

[Dive 'N' Dolphin]

I just read the part about you not having even 15 dives yet. I have to say "no way". Wait untill you have both training and experiance. The PADI rescue class is quite good and without it, it would be very hard to argue that a diver has been trained to handle problems withj other divers. But October is a reasonable goal. Sign up for both AOW and Rescue NOW. Step up your diving schedle to include dives every weekend in addation to the two classes. Join some dive clubs. October is a tough goal.

Another option is to hire competent supervision. DM work cheap or dive with a club. I know if you dived with our club someone with 1000+ dives and lots of trainnig would dive with you. You buy the bear and everyone is happy. Other dive clubs should be the same.

That's really good advice. I definitely would dive with a group with her. We have been looking into a club here in Sacramento. Also I think the idea of the rescue course is a great idea. I think I would feel better know that I had some rescue skills when going out with her. Some times when they look at you with the please, please and that ow so cute I will love you forever. It's just hard to resist.

Thanks
Stacy

 

[Scubar]

Now the next part. As a Jr. OW diver they can only dive with either a profesional diver (Instructor or DM) or with a certified parent. But I's add one more VERY IMPORTENT rule: The certified parent should be compentent to supervise new divers. No way would I call a resent certified OW parent qualified to supervise anyone. I'd say do 100 dives and take the rescue class before you supervise your own Jr. OW certified child. If you are diving with a 10 year old you are in effect a solo diver. You need to be comfortable as a solo diver before you take a 10 year old out in the oean.

I agree with this fully, my two sons were certified at 11 years old and they do well. We have a good briefing before we submerge and do a few skills like regulator retrieval and mask clearing. The child needs to be confident, if they show any hesitation in performing skills in the OW course particularly mask removal and replacement and reg retrieval skills I would be reluctant to let them continue.

 

[OHGoDive]

i believe PADI permits a Junior certification (between 11 and 14 years old) but
the child has to dive with a pro or certified parent or guardian to a max depth
of 40 feet.

at 14, they can be fully certified.

PADI gives a Junior OW Certification from 10 - 14 (my son just got his at 14 1/2). It was the same class/skills/requirements of the adult OW class. As Andy said, you're restricted to 40' max depth and a pro/certified parent attending all of your dives (it even says this, right on the front of his card).

You can upgrade it to OW at age 15. No further requirements to upgrade, just send in the card (and I imagine a modest fee), and they send the new card.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

We have two young divers in the family, my son was 17 when certified, he's 18 now. My daughter was 10 when certified in February, she is 11 now. She loves to dive and we observe strict safety precautions, always do an extremely thorough dive brief and thumb the dive at the first sign of a problem.

If you observe the limits (40 feet for Jr. OW divers) and really adhere to proper safety requirements, diving can provide wonderful family moments.

Sammi, my daughter, is also certified in navigation and will be night certified shortly. She is working toward her AOW.

Jeff