I wanted to take my 16 yo to buy a reg for him last night but he'd rather hang out with his friends.
Well, my son is not a daredevil at all. I suppose for that I should be grateful. I know him well enough to know that he really only likes warm water at this point. I took him to Roatan in April 2005 and next month we're going to Bonaire. Simple, easy diving.
We did go to Key Largo together in 2004 and both of us got our AOW then. But I never took him with me to the FG or to NC because it is deep diving and I knew he wouldn't be comfortable. I also didn't take him with me to Thailand because he would b$$% and moan about the flight time. Geeze, he complained about to flight to Roatan. The good thing about Roatan was, I met a group of friends there and he hung out with them because they were cool and his mom is not. In Bonaire, we'll be with other friends of mine, one of whom has a 16 yo son, so my son will have someone to hang with besides his uncool mom.
So I think what I'm saying is, it's great to share the sport, but you have to create circumstances where he will be comfortable and also be able to get away from you.
As for gear, well, he has rented up until now, except for my late husband's bc and reg. But I think I'll buy him a skin (pretty cheap) and let him rent a wetsuit in Bonaire.