How young is too young?

Okay, I'm not trying to open up a can of worms here. I'm looking to parents of young divers, and I'm wanting to know their thoughts on young divers and maturity levels. I do not have children.

My sister's family, my wife and Iare discussing doing a Hawaii vacation in the next couple of years. My niece is currently 9, and is still in the 'silly' stage. I expect she will be 11 or 12 when the vacation happens. She is very much a fish for swiming in the ocean, and currently snorkels. She has expressed interest in scuba, and her mom (my sister) is open to talking about it. My sister and her husband do not dive, and neither does my wife.

If I were to get her signed up for the PADI Junior OW, what kind of maturity level should I be looking for so that she would get the most out of the course, and be safe for herself? Additionally, when diving with a Junior diver, should there be 1 or 2 adult divers present to buddy each other?

I don't know if I should consider diving with a Junior diver to be a solo dive for the purposes of self rescue?

I'm open to thougths and discussion.

I think you should ask a PADI Junior OW instructor



Honestly, I wouldn't trust a junior diver as my buddy, at unless they're 15 or older

It depends on the child ... at that age, their ability to process information and make reasonable decisions varies wildly. I know some kids I'd be comfortable teaching at 10 ... others I wouldn't want to teach at 12, or even 15.

Girls tend to be a bit more restrained than boys ... but that's really a generalization. I had a kid last year who, at 12, was probably one of the best students I've ever had ... of any age.

When I train a child, my "maturity test" is to explain at the very beginning that I expect them to do everything the adults do, and not to rely on someone else to set up or take care of their equipment. They are to participate in the discussions, pay attention, and ask questions if something gets said they don't understand. Both the child and parent know before the class starts that I am the final arbiter of whether or not this child is ready for scuba diving ... and if I feel at any time that they're not mature enough to handle the responsibilities that come with the activity, I will say so and we will make arrangements accordingly ... whether it's rescheduling the class at a later time or issuing a refund based on time and expenses incurred up to that point.

I have some friends with a nine-year old daughter who are anxiously awaiting her 10th birthday so she can sign up for the class. Knowing this child, I think she'll do fine. But it will only be once the class starts that I'll know for sure ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Although training can start as early as age 10, not all kids are ready at that age. I've had 14 yo twins in the same class, 1 was ready & serious, the other was too much of a clown and dangerous underwater. I advised the parent, only 1 got certified at that time.

1-The kid needs to be there because he/she really wants it, not just to go along because a sibling or parent is doing it.
2-As stated above, the child needs to understand they need to do everything themselves. If they are whiney from the get-go about gear, dressing out in a wetsuit, or whatever, then this child is not ready.
3- The kid should be ready to pay attention, complete knowledge reviews & log dives, etc. as well as participate when called upon, etc.
4-Understand that diving is fun, but safety is the most important thing to pay attention to.
5-Take into account your child's ability react/respond in emergencies.
6-Kids under 15 (Jr. Divers) must dive with a certified parent or DM/Instructor. Once the child is 15, they can dive with anyone as a dive buddy provided they have parental consent.
7- Consider the child's size and rental gear availability issues: XXS BCDs, short tanks, etc. You might have to invest in adequate well fitting exposure protection.


When considering training for your child, talk to several instructors before choosing one whose teaching style/personality will mesh your child's. Due to attention spans and fatigue levels of youngsters, also consider a slower paced class. Children need to understand that "anyone can call a dive at anytime for any reason" regardless of what Dad paid for the family to be on this boat today. Do not pressure your child to meet the schedule. Some kids tend to have more ear/equalization issues. If necessary be prepared for some reschedules if needed & associated costs.

Parents and kids will need to read together and understand all liability releases.

I recommend taking Rescue Diver class to every parent. I ask them to consider themselves as solo divers since you don't really know how a child will react to a real emergency and if they will physically be able to rescue you especially if they are tiny. Most parents had never even thought about this aspect.

Good luck!

My 9 y/o niece and nephew are scheduled to come to Hawaii next summer, after their 10th b-day. Their step grandma is footing the bill and scuba certification is a main reason for the trip. My step mother brought her son (my half brother) out for his High School graduation present, to get certified.

Even though my family knows I am a crazy solo diver, they also know I am really good with kids in the water. This trip is a really nice compliment from my 'mom, that she still trusts me with her 'grand kids. I spent 6 weeks interacting with these kids when they were 8; the girl is the jock/fish and the boy is not as focused, but as stated above, can't say until we step on the brass tacks.

The entire family also knows our real mom and dad taught my sister (these kids mom) and I to dive around age 7 (no certification), so waiting until age 10 is conservative in our family.

As the others have said, it depends on the child. Maturity is not a chronologic number and you can't just go by the age of the child. I've meet kids who are very mature for their age, I've met more adults who have still not grown up!

My daughter is 13 and just certified as Jr. PADI OW diver last month while we were on vacation. She took the class at the resort with her best friend. The instructor allowed me to go along for their first dive. The previous night my daughter and her friend were reading through their PADI books and doing their questions in addition they played the DVD in the room. I guess the rule never hold your breath really made an impression on her and her friend. While the students were making their ascent by going hand over hand up the anchor line, at about 10-15 feet I saw my daughter making this gesture with her hand, essentially making a sweeping motion to her friend to "breath." It was really cute, but I knew then that she fully understood basic scuba principles about gas expanding and knew that she was really paying attention to all the instructions.

Talk to your neice, and interview instructors with your neice, and if you are all comfortable then have fun!

My oldest daughter and I got certified this year. She was 12 when certified and I hate to say that after 20 dives she is as good or better than her dad underwater. My youngest is 10 and I have serious doubts that she will be mature enough at 12 to be certified. She taught herself to freedive in the pool and is very good at snorkeling, but it takes a lot of maturity to handle even minor situations underwater. My oldest got me out of a dive flag tangle on our third dive without missing a beat. It definately comes down to the maturity and decision making capabilites of each child.

Not much to add here other than my daughter was certified about two weeks after her 10th birthday. She was very nervous on her first checkout dive, and we aborted. I put no pressure on her at all and the next day she had a resolve that warmed my heart. The instructor took her on a shallow beach dive, then later that day we did a boat dive. She absolutely loved the experience. Now, two years later, she's logged about 30 dives and just got her Jr. AOW. She is simply amazing at assessing situations, reacting calmly and can pick out interesting features and life that I tend to blow by.

O'yea, and on her FIRST boat dive, after we descended down the anchor line, she used her hands to stabilize. I didn't think much of it, but later she told me that she knocked her own reg out of her mouth at 30'fsw! She calmly remembered her training, did a reverse sweep of her arm, located the reg, cleared and went on her way like nothing had happened! I don't think I would have been that calm! Now at 12 I am proud to call her a competent buddy that I can rely on if the going gets tough.

She and I both want to get our Rescue certs soon too. She's a little nervous about having a full grown 'panicked' instructor pulling her reg out and mask off, but she's got resolve and wants to do it. Cool beans IMO.

As an Instructor, I have never dropped a student 12 or older. Most 10 - 11 year olds still lack the emotional maturity to give feedback when encountering a problem during training, and tend to "shut down". It's a good idea to incorporate a parent in the process, certified or not , to provide emotional support whenever possible. Bottom line: Be patient. If it is truly something that child wants to do, right now may not be the time. There's always tomorrow.

I don't like training 10-11 year old kids to dive outside of a swimming pool. Somehow they still lack the lateral thinking ability to become what I would consider safe divers and many of them don't really get a good enough grasp of the theory. The clever ones can parrot back the right answers to the theory but if you ask them to explain "why" then the blank stares start.... Furthermore, most kids this age are simply physically too small to man-handle the gear. To me it's simply too early except in highly exceptional cases.

At 12-13 I've had mixed results some are good and some still give you blank stares and do things because they get "confused" (especially when task loaded) that adults simply don't do. Somehow adults seem to be able to prioritize things in their minds a little better. It's certainly not because the kids are dumb, but maybe it has to do with life-experience... don't know really. I just know what I see.

PADI would apparently agree that these kids are too young to become competent divers because these youngsters are not certified to dive except under direct supervision of a certified adult.... and frankly, that adult had better not be a beginner themselves.

After the age of 13-14 you can teach almost anyone to dive on an adult level and fully expect them to become competent divers. I can't speak for anyone else but my kids will wait until they're 14. At this age the problems I encounter most often are with kids who are timid, insecure or self-conscious, sometimes to the point of not being able to concentrate on the task at hand... but some adults are like that too

R..