My 10 year old wants to dive.

[adurso]

There are certain things to keep in mind; unknown effects of pressure on epiphyseal bone, small eustachian tubes inhibiting clearing, lack of physical strength, not having moved from concrete to abstract thinking patterns (problem solving abilities), and a host of other horrid potential problems...

There is nothing so cool as watching your child delight in the discovery of the underwater world, that you are sharing with them.These are memories you will share forever.People have mentioned that they observed younger divers gain self confidence which impacts the rest of their life, very true.

I am one of those self taught youngsters from long ago, I grew to my expected height, my liver did not explode, and I have enjoyed the daylights out of diving; my kids started young and have suffered no ill effects, they have seen things that most kids their ages have never seen and will never see, they have traveled to places their peers have never heard of, all from involvement in diving

The only down side is that you must watch the 10 year olds like a hawk while underwater, so your focus is on them, your preparation and planning for a dive must be meticulous, as the adult your enjoyment is vicarious.

I never saw this as a down side though

 

[memorex77]

My son did his JOW at 11. It's fun diving with him in our vacation. The temperature window for the local lakes is quite small, essentially July and August. The biggest issue is carrying all the stuff! I ended up quite frequently to do it myself, which means twice the load...

When he started, the doctor limited it to 10m and 30min, no repetitive dives. At 13 this went up to 20m and unlimited time. Microbubbles may interfere with growing, the effects are not understood yet.

 

[Lockdownx99]

i was certified at age 13. the sad thing is that im 25 now and ive only got the open water cert dives under my belt. my parents got me certified and then continued going to dive site all over the world and leaving me at home with my older sister. i still however feel a sense of accomplishment when i tell someone im certified, and i have been for 12 years. im actually going on a dive for the first time since my certs tomorrow. anyways, i think you should get it as soon as safely possible. the longer he has held his C card, the better his self esteem and confidence will be. not to mention his bragging rights. just make sure that your promptness doesnt overshoot his maturity as the other posts have said.

 

[Mopar]

I wanted to dive at that age but my parents did not think people could get training in our part of the country. It was in high school the ROTC had a scuba team as they called it. So I begged my parents and the rest is history. Who says I did not learn anything in school.:mooner:

 

[budgy]

I dont have any children of my own, although I was once a kid in short pants, that wanted to learn to scuba dive. I've been reading articles about scuba for a few years. Larry "Harris" Taylor and his article on why he wont teach children is a classic. Frank honest opinions based on reason are often controversial. Agree or disagree, Larry's articles have always made a lot of sense to me..

 

[knotical]

But my fears are more based on the effects diving has on a smaller person with smaller lungs breathing compressed air at depth.

This book has some relevant discussion:
Amazon.com: Children and Scuba Diving: a Resource Guide for Instructors and Parents: Professional Association of Diving Instructors, b/w Illustration & Color Plates: Books

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I started teaching both my boys at 8 yrs old or less. The older boy, who was more mature, I had scuba diving in 60 feet and spearing fish at the age of 9 (before he was certified). I ended up getting both kids certified (by other instructors) by 10 years of age. However the certification course was more of a formality for them and they were taught very little or nothing in the actual cert course.

In my opinion, 10 yrs old is too young for 95% of the kids. They lack the maturity, cognitive ability and physical strength and endurance. If you plan on taking the boy diving in local (cold) water, the heavy suit, gloves and additional lead, and relatively small body mass makes the child particularly susecptible to heat loss. All these factors conspire to make it more difficult for a small child to safely scuba dive, especially in the cold.

We live and usually dive in South Florida so we don't have all the issues with very heavy suits etc.

For my kids, i spent a ton of time tutoring them and making them very comfortable freedivers, before they were allowed near the scuba gear. This takes a lot of time and without easy access to warm water, it would have been impractical. I would NOT trust my kids to be adequately trained by a typical recreational scuba course. I learned at the age of 13 and I think that is a more responsible age. Here is some crappy video of our diving adventures.

YouTube - whatandwhen2's Channel

YouTube - whatandwhen2's Channel

YouTube - whatandwhen2's Channel

 

[Booyakasha]

My son who is 11 just finished his confined water and classroom with open water dive in 2 weeks. He did a great job and according to the instuctor did things better than a lot of the adults in the class. He also got the highest score on the test.

Anyway some things I noticed as he is a very skinny he had some dificulty with the equipment on dry land as it is very heavy for him probably 40% of his total body weight. He got cold much faster in the pool even in a full 3mm suit. The 10 min tread was pretty much that, as he has a difficult time floating he basically had to tread for 10 min which was not a big deal he was just a little tired. Of course weighting was minimal also I think he used 2lbs which was plenty. The equipment he used was rental and fit OK but I have bought him his own for his OW as it made me feel more comfortable that he would have the proper fit, great reliable regulator etc. Just peace of mind for me.

B.

 

[Jax]

Exactly the areas where I think he'd benefit most. But my fears are more based on the effects diving has on a smaller person with smaller lungs breathing compressed air at depth. A Mini Deep-6 if you will.

God is no slouch in body design.

I think you will be amazed and chagrined to find that he is a very efficient breather and will be doing the youngster roll-eyes thing because YOU ran out of air so early.



certified ours at 11.

 

[ScubaTigress]

I got my JOW right around that same age as your kid. I passed everything with flying colors (though I can't say I stuck to the 40ft rule o.0). Then again, i've seen some kids that just don't have the attention span for it. It all really depends on if you think he's ready for it or not. It is a great experience though! I remember being the only diver around in middle school, definately a good way to get your friends jealous