How young to start diving ?

[frenzer3]

Update on above post... Our 14-yr.-old son is now PADI certified, having passed his open water class this past weekend. The only help we gave him was in getting "suited up." (Then again, I helped my husband with his drysuit, and my husband helped me with my 3-finger gloves, since water temps were in the mid-50s. Why shouldn't we help our 90-lb. son with his cold-water gear, too?) Once dressed, and at the water's edge, we left, and our son was completely on his own with the rest of his classmates. (For a slightly different perspective on age and the requirement to handle all of one's own heavy equipment, look at the scubaboard thread that discusses how OLD is too old to get certified.)
The instructor commented to us that he felt our son was among the top 5 kids he's ever worked with in terms of skills demonstration, comfort underwater, etc. He got bit by a bluegill near his lip (some of the people who were not wearing hoods got bites on earlobes, too) but he stayed calm and otherwise had a good time. Clearly, if he was much younger, I don't think he would have been able to handle himself in these less-than-ideal conditions (cool water, 8 ft. visibility, etc.) As it stands, we are looking forward to our first warm-water family dive vacation together. We intend to stay at shallower depths, and we feel confident that our son can handle the responsibilities now as well as any other new diver, of any age.

 

[scuba_chick55]

I think that 10 is the perfect age to get certified. I'm going to get my kids in the water at 4 but not with anything with scuba until they're 9 at least. I was certified at 13 and love to scuba dive still. 10 is the perfect age for scuba but not before then.

 

[frenzer3]

Re: scuba_chick55, without repeating all that has been said before, there can be no one "perfect" age for scuba. While it is nice that you are willing to give your children the exposure to scuba at an early age, be sure that it is what they WANT to do themselves. Most kids are eager to try new things once, but it needs to be more than just a "novelty" to them. They must be motivated and mature enough to accept the responsibilities that come with diving, as well as physically large enough to manage the equipment.
We just returned from a week in Jamaica, and our skinny 90 lb., 14-yr-old son enjoyed daily dives above 40 ft. Unlike a family who had a 12-yr-old on the boat, our son basically handled his own gear, and seemed far more capable both above and below water, than even some of the other adults. We know he wouldn't have been able to do it at age 10. (We also acknowledge that all 10-yr-olds are not the same, but no parent can, or should, predict with certainty what age their child is going to dive. They have their whole lives in front of them, so what's your rush?)