My 12 yr old son just rec'd his swimming merit badge yesterday in order to take a Scuba merit badge class through Boy Scouts. in 1 week. They are supposed to have 2 practice dives in Morro Bay harbor and the final dive in Monterey. I have VERY mixed feelings about this. Boy scouts is something that is a Father/Son bonding activity for my husband and son and I really try to stay out of it. They are both really excited about this and I don't want to spoil it because I am so worried. I was certified when I was 15 but I was an extremely strong swimmer (5-10 miles per day) and very mature and responsible for my age. My son is not what I would call a "strong" swimmer. He can swim 200 yards but is pretty fatigued. I was in an auto accident when I was 22 and broke my neck & back. I haven't been diving since. So I am the only one in my family who has been diving and I know how risky it can be. I guess I'm asking for advice- am I insane for letting him get certified? After the course I have made it clear that he will be snorkeling for awhile, take another course, etc until his swimming abilities and instruction have improved. Meanwhile my husband is going to get cert. soon so he can go with him. I am not comfortable letting him go on dives without a parent until he is older. I just can't tell if this is me being sensible or overprotective. I wanted experienced divers input to help me decide. This tragedy of 2 young boys in Monterey literally 2 weeks before my inexperienced 12 yr old dives there has really hit too close to home for me. My deepest condolences to the families. Thanks.
Worried mom asking advice
- Thread starter Slosmurf
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Hi Slosmurf. Sorry you cannot dive with your family but hope you can be supportive of their training, and I hope you can all agree to hiring a private DM to go with your hubby & son on the first few dives after certification.
Lobzilla
Contributor
I think you should talk to your husband and make him understand that he has to think and might have to act for two. He needs to be absolutely comfortable to take care of himself and your son - like on the surface.
Unless your husband is exceptionally skilled and has an exceptional instructor he will not be at that point upon receiving his OW certification. If he is lucky, he may be able to take care of himself at that point.
He and your son should go into a pool or on very easy dives together and work on buoyancy while your husband does additional dives with an instructor who introduces failures and rescue skills into the curriculum. Your son could participate in the latter if he likes.
I am in a similar situation as I will be diving with my 12 year old nephew in August. In preparation for this, I alternate advanced training dives and outings with very novice divers to increase both skills as well as 'parenting' awareness underwater.
tincan715
Registered
I was a Boy Scout leader for a long time, and assuming you feel your son's troop is well run - some are, some aren't - and the leadership shows due consideration for safety and BSA rules I actually don't think you are insane
BSA recognizes all the major scuba certification agencies and the training will be to agency standards by properly certified instructors. I'm not an instructor but I think a 12 year old will earn something something "Junior Open Water" which is considerably more restrictive than OW. In other words, your son's program is no more or less risky than any other 12 year old in a scuba program. I wish I had done it with my son when we were in scouting, but the opportunity never came up. Fortunately, even though he's past Scout age we're diving together now.
You can read the BSA Scuba merit badge standards at Scuba Diving Merit Badge
Slosmurf
I'm a BSA Venture Crew Advisor and my youth (2 are my Eagle Scout sons) are taking scuba at this time. This whole thing has hit me hard also. My best advice is to go talk to the instructor about your concerns. If they are a good instructor they will talk frankly with you about the risks and how best to reduce them. I have done this myself and believe the relevant issues will be well covered. You have two things within BSA diving. One, all BSA diving is under the supervision of at least a current Divemaster. Second, if the training is PADI then at 12 years of age your son must dive with a certified parent/guardian OR dive professional even outside BSA activities.
If your son is associated with either troop 68 or 464 you will know who I am and we can talk if you like.
I'm a BSA Venture Crew Advisor and my youth (2 are my Eagle Scout sons) are taking scuba at this time. This whole thing has hit me hard also. My best advice is to go talk to the instructor about your concerns. If they are a good instructor they will talk frankly with you about the risks and how best to reduce them. I have done this myself and believe the relevant issues will be well covered. You have two things within BSA diving. One, all BSA diving is under the supervision of at least a current Divemaster. Second, if the training is PADI then at 12 years of age your son must dive with a certified parent/guardian OR dive professional even outside BSA activities.
If your son is associated with either troop 68 or 464 you will know who I am and we can talk if you like.
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dumpsterDiver
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I dive with my 12 yr old frequently and started taking my kids scuba diving when they were 9 or 10 yrs old (before even being certified). I taught them myself and put them through a much more rigorous training than they would receive in a normal class.
My youngest, now 12 has probably done 75 dives and has been at night, deep below 80 feet, high currents, spearfishing etc. He is pretty good. However, there is no freaking way I would let him scuba dive with anyone other than me. Do you think I am being over-protective?
12 is just way too young to be scuba diving without someone you trust the kid's life with. If/when your husband completes a basic open water course, he (in my opinion) will NOT be anywhere near qualified to be responsible for the son. It just takes experience to get the skills to be able to handle a 12 yr old and all the potential problems. Face facts, most 12 -yr olds are not viable buddies and the father will essentially be diving solo, when with the kid.
I think it is great that the kid is getting certified, I wouldn't be too worried about the certification dives, but afterward,you need to somehow find an adult that you trust this kid's life with to dive with him for a couple of years (and have the dad come along too). Getting the son involved in additional training is a great idea.
If you can afford to pay a dive master or instructor to be a mentor for an extended period, that would be the best bet, until the father has done enough dives to really feel confident about diving with the son.
Another huge factor is where will the boy be diving. If there are opportunities for shallow, clear water, calm seas, low current, close proximity to shore in your local area,then inexperienced father and son can probably handle these kinds of dives wihin a relatively short period of time.
My youngest, now 12 has probably done 75 dives and has been at night, deep below 80 feet, high currents, spearfishing etc. He is pretty good. However, there is no freaking way I would let him scuba dive with anyone other than me. Do you think I am being over-protective?
12 is just way too young to be scuba diving without someone you trust the kid's life with. If/when your husband completes a basic open water course, he (in my opinion) will NOT be anywhere near qualified to be responsible for the son. It just takes experience to get the skills to be able to handle a 12 yr old and all the potential problems. Face facts, most 12 -yr olds are not viable buddies and the father will essentially be diving solo, when with the kid.
I think it is great that the kid is getting certified, I wouldn't be too worried about the certification dives, but afterward,you need to somehow find an adult that you trust this kid's life with to dive with him for a couple of years (and have the dad come along too). Getting the son involved in additional training is a great idea.
If you can afford to pay a dive master or instructor to be a mentor for an extended period, that would be the best bet, until the father has done enough dives to really feel confident about diving with the son.
Another huge factor is where will the boy be diving. If there are opportunities for shallow, clear water, calm seas, low current, close proximity to shore in your local area,then inexperienced father and son can probably handle these kinds of dives wihin a relatively short period of time.
I'm a scuba instructor. I started diving with my daughter in the pool when she was 10 and will probably do the same with my son. I also train young people on a fairly regular basis.
My daughter is now 12 and she has been "diving" on a fairly regular basis in the pool and I now feel confident that she could learn how to scuba dive if she wanted to. However, she still doesn't show much interest in learning the theory, so I will wait. When she's 14 I may give her a push.
In fact, my experience with my own daughter is similar to what I notice with youngsters who are dragged to scuba lessons by their parents.
Children from the age of 10 are *all* (not most, but all) not ready for it. They are physically too small. Most have trouble man-handling the gear and most have trouble clearing their ears, as well as with several skills. As an instructor I believe that 10 is simply *too young* to learn how to dive in a normal diving course and I would advise against it.
Children of 12/13 are usually able to learn diving fairly well... in fact, I would say it's not hard for them, on the whole. The in-water part is usally pretty easy with kids of this age but most of them still don't have the cognitive ability for lateral thinking that would allow them to understand the theory on a level that I would find acceptable.
After the age of about 14 most people can be taught to dive as adults (both theory and practice) and find it fairly easy. At this age I wouldn't ordinarly suspect significant problems.
R..
Once your son is qualified he has to dive with a responsible qualified adult (your husband once he is qualified for one), and there is a major difference between diving with your child and somebody who is not related.
I taught my daughter to dive when she was 10 years old, she then took the PADI Junior Open Water when she was 12 she passed easily as she had experience. As years have gone by she has become a stronger swimmer and more mature especially now she has left home and studying abroad.
I look forward to our annual dive trips during the summer.
I taught my daughter to dive when she was 10 years old, she then took the PADI Junior Open Water when she was 12 she passed easily as she had experience. As years have gone by she has become a stronger swimmer and more mature especially now she has left home and studying abroad.
I look forward to our annual dive trips during the summer.
Thou I commend your swimming capability of 5-10 miles a day that does not make you a better diver then someone else. Diving can be dangerous but it can also be very SAFE . We work with kids all the time and some are better then others but everyone always has a great time.
As a Father and a Divemaster I would say you are being a mom and thats a good thing but don't ruin it. Let your son and husband dive. I assume that the Scuba Merrit badge is not a certification???? If not then you are right about him "taking another class" to get certified but if so then why hold him back? Snorkeling and swimming abilities DO NOT make you a better SCUBA diver. SCUBA diving does.
As someone else said after certification go on dives where a divemaster will be present or hire a guide.
. We work with kids all the time and some are better then others but everyone always has a great time. As a Father and a Divemaster I would say you are being a mom and thats a good thing but don't ruin it. Let your son and husband dive. I assume that the Scuba Merrit badge is not a certification???? If not then you are right about him "taking another class" to get certified but if so then why hold him back? Snorkeling and swimming abilities DO NOT make you a better SCUBA diver. SCUBA diving does.
As someone else said after certification go on dives where a divemaster will be present or hire a guide.
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