Success teaching younger divers????

[MikeFerrara]

My bad, I checked the PADI website and it also says 40ft. Maybe I misunderstood. So did you have any experiences with teaching younger divers. I am a firefighter, so safety is my utmost concern especially where she is concerned. TY for your input.
WYDOIN

When I started teaching the minimum age was 12 and I think my youngest student was 13.

Early on in my teaching career I decided that I didn't want to train young children. By the time they decided they would allow 10 year olds to dive I was dead set against it.

My concern is this and, of course, I'll leave it to you to determine if it applies or not....

Children often master the physical skills quickly. However they are required to dive with a pro or a parent. I know what, in theory, qualifies a pro to supervise them but many of the parent that I've had approach me about training their children are new and/or poorly skilled divers.

The child trusts the parent whether or not that trust is well placed.

I guess it's not any different than any other decision that a parent makes for a child except that I don't care to take part in it.

When I had a shop one of my customers wanted me to train his 10 year old. We had dived with him and he did a series of really stupid things one of which was abandoning my wife who waqs diving with him because he hit 750 psi at 35 ft. When he first approached me I told him that I wasn't interested unless he furthered his own training which he didn't.

When he next approached me I just told him that I wasn't interested.

I ran into him a while ago and he told me that he got her certified at a resort some place and how I missed out because she did great. He still didn't get it. I again tried to explain that it wasn't her I was worried about. I have no doubt that she could learn to dive and I'd bet I could have her looking like a fish in the water in no time. The fact remains though that he can't dive for beans and I wouldn't let any member of my family dive with him.

I can't stop him from diving with his daughter but I won't sign off on it.

 

[Lightning Fish]

I'll be facing the same question in about 10 years. So here's another perspective to think about. I was talking to an instructor a few weeks ago, he was taking his son out for one of the son's AOW dives. (His son looked to be about 15-16). I started talking to him about my kids, he said wait until the kids are 12. One of the big differences between 10 and 12 is imagination. This instructor has found that 10 year olds have a more 'uncontrolled' imagination which can get them into trouble underwater.

To try and illustrate, this particular dive was a night dive with poor visibility. We had a seal join us for most of the dive. A lot of the time you couldn't see it was a seal, just a dark object swimming around. Now think back to when your kid was younger and was convinced that there was a monster under their bed....

Bill.

 

[Walter]

10 & 11 year olds aren't mature enough to dive. Few younger than 15 are actually mature enough to dive. It's a mistake to teach diving to small children. Most agencies agree with this point and will not certify anyone younger than 12. Do you child a favor, tell her to wait.

 

[mattiamike]

I am a newbie to diving myself. I have 2 daughters 11 and 12. They were both certified Padi Junior diver this July. They took the class very seriously and had no problems doing the tables. They scored very well on the tests without my or mom's help.

They did their certification dives at Millbrook Quarry and did very well but didn't like the cold water (thought I should take them to Bahamas like mom and and myself for cert dives). We did a follow up trip to Lake Rawlings as well and my oldest daughter humped her own gear from the parking lot all the way down to the lake with full size tank and back. I carried the 11yo's bc and tank to the gearing area and she did the rest.

I agree with a previous post, I will be very cautious with them as me and mom both are newbies and probably not the best buddies for them but we are continuing our diving without them right now for more experience. We are doing a full week in Roatan in November. Just from the whining the kids are doing about not going I can tell how much they want to get back in the water. I guess you will get both sides of the story on this one, but I have no regrets getting them certified and look forward to many years of diving with them both.

 

[Xanthro]

Your daughter would likely master the physical skills faster than you. Childern learn physical skills very quickly.

If she can free dive down to 25', I have no doubt she can learn to scuba.

The big question isn't your daughter, it's you. Are you prepared enough physically and mentally to be the dive buddy your daughter needs? As people have posted, your daughter will trust you explictly. Do you have the skills needed if something does go wrong?

Childern can do dangerous things, because they don't really understand the concept of their own mortalitity, this can lead to serious situations even when the child is very skilled physically. It would be up to you to correct that situation.

If you feel comfortable in handling a possibly lethal situation concerning your daughter, then have her certified, if you aren't comfortable, then improve your training and let her know you need improvement first.

I don't think anyone other than you can answer as to whether you are ready to track responsiblity for you daughter underwater.

Xanthro

 

[Gary D.]

10 & 11 year olds aren't mature enough to dive. Few younger than 15 are actually mature enough to dive. It's a mistake to teach diving to small children. Most agencies agree with this point and will not certify anyone younger than 12. Do you child a favor, tell her to wait.

I agree with you but let me clear up what I'm doing with our 9 year old. He won't leave the pool or my arms reach until he gets certified. If I'm not there he doesn't touch the gear.

Gary D.

 

[ScubaFreak]

Wydoin,

Mike brought up a very important point regarding a bad situation and how an 11 year old would deal with it. All can be great until one day there may be a problem, and it may upset a child and have more of an impact than it would somebody older. From experience of the few children I have taught, my opinion goes both ways.

Good points include the fact that they're real eager and will normally have no problem learning the skills etc. They have no fear(although this can also be a bad thing!) and will pretty much try everything. They're also fast learners and sometimes catch out their elders which can be really funny too

Bad points, some of em in my experience have trouble with the final exam in the OW course- possibly because 50 questions can be a lot for an 11 year old- Hell it freaked me out and i was 21!! I have found that sometimes the final quiz can be a bit of a downfall, and if they dont do well, they can take it pretty bad n stuff.

I reckon its really down to you. The discover scuba course is a great idea. By the sounds of things she sounds like she was born to be a diver- what with her snorkelling down to you n stuff!!

Best of luck whichever route you choose- let us know!

SF

 

[Ks Bob]

Great thread. I have an 11 year old daughter that is very enthusiastic about learning to dive with me. She has done the discover scuba through our LDS, but something has held me back from letting her do the Jr OW. I think this discussion nails it right on the head. I am a newbie myself. While I don't have any doubt about her being able to succeed in the test & skills, I'm not confident enough in my abilities to safely watch over her. I'm letting her read this thread as a way of explaining to her what I have been unable to verbalize. The other thing I have heard discussed in young divers is the unknown effects of Nitrogen on childern (possible neurologic)? Anyone know anything about this? I haven't seen any solid information.

 

[Xanthro]

Great thread. I have an 11 year old daughter that is very enthusiastic about learning to dive with me. She has done the discover scuba through our LDS, but something has held me back from letting her do the Jr OW. I think this discussion nails it right on the head. I am a newbie myself. While I don't have any doubt about her being able to succeed in the test & skills, I'm not confident enough in my abilities to safely watch over her. I'm letting her read this thread as a way of explaining to her what I have been unable to verbalize. The other thing I have heard discussed in young divers is the unknown effects of Nitrogen on childern (possible neurologic)? Anyone know anything about this? I haven't seen any solid information.

Personally, I wouldn't allow my 11 year old, if I had one, to dive with me until I was certified as a rescue diver. I don't think at this point I'd have an issue with non-related divers having a problem. If it were a relative or someone I cared deeply about, assuming I was totally responsible for the person, I think that would add to the stress of an emergency situation, and that's never good. I'd want to be more qualified than I currently consider myself.

My brother is now going to get certified, I'm sure he can take care of himself, so we'll buddy up. He isn't dependent on my judgement as a child would be.

Others may feel more confident in their skills, based on time and training, and feel perfectly capable of watching over a child.

Xanthro

 

[Ks Bob]

Personally, I wouldn't allow my 11 year old, if I had one, to dive with me until I was certified as a rescue diver.

Certification in rescue diving is certainly a goal I have. But more importantly, I think I need a lot more experience. Darn, it looks like I'll just have to dive more .