Proud dad of my new dive buddy!

[Graeme Fraser]

This is fantastic!!! My little guy wants to get certified in the worst way. He just turned 11. He did a bubble maker class that my LDS held and did about an hour in the pool. I just got certified a few weeks ago and only have one dive under my belt so far (not counting the cert dives). I was originally all for him going to classes, until I went and saw just how involved it is. I'm honestly not sure he can handle all the skills yet, so I told him he needed to be a bit older. In the mean time, I think I might sign him up for some swimming lessons at the local Y to strengthen his swimming skills. He does ok, but definitely can use some work and confidence. And I would like to get some more experience before he comes out with me as well.

Excellent idea on the swimming lessons front! It's a sad fact that too many new(and not so new) divers lack basic sea survival skills. Also, if he's willing to put the work in, he'll be more comitted when it comes to learning to dive.

 

[GrafCanuck]

Lol, I hear that. Mine is a hockey player...and a goalie...so that says a lot about his judgement lol (sidenote, so am I, so i'm allowed to say that )

Well you know goalies are rumoured to be a little slanted or off centre. You would think good trim and buoyancy would remedy that. PS - my father-in-law just hung up his pads after 70+ years as a stopper. He's definitely slanted.

 

[Dubious]

That is so awesome. Thank you for posting. I hope my kids will want to get certified when they are older.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

She had no issues with equalizing, I taught her that in the pool before diving came up so she knew how to do it already. Some children do have issues with it as their Eustachian tubes are smaller and it may be harder or impossible as they may collapse shut before they are able to equaliz, in which case they just have to wait until they develop further.
Junior OW divers are certified to the same standards as OW divers, all the skills are exactly the same but the max depth recommendation is 40 feet. during her last check dive we went down to 40, well 39, for a couple mins so that she could see what it was like at that depth. I plan on keeping things 30 feet or less with her until she is older and has built up some experience.
I have never read anything about bone density issues in children and diving. maybe someone like @Duke Dive Medicine or @doctormike can weigh in on that.

@aviator8 there's really no data on how diving affects children. Theoretically, their developing bones (and brains, and nervous systems) could be more vulnerable to bubbles that would not affect adults, so depths should be very limited. Note that this falls short of an endorsement of teaching children to dive; their developing prefrontal cortices would make them more prone to panic in emergency situations (Dr. Mrs. DDM, who's a child psychologist, concurs with this).

Best regards,
DDM

 

[aviator8]

Note that this falls short of an endorsement of teaching children to dive; their developing prefrontal cortices would make them more prone to panic in emergency situations (Dr. Mrs. DDM, who's a child psychologist, concurs with this).

Understood, and thanks for responding. I know children and diving have not been largely studied and could not remember reading about any bone density issues. Shallow and conservative is my approach. Out of curiosity at what age does DR Mrs believe that a person is not as prone to panic?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

@aviator8 there's really no data on how diving affects children. Theoretically, their developing bones (and brains, and nervous systems) could be more vulnerable to bubbles that would not affect adults, so depths should be very limited. Note that this falls short of an endorsement of teaching children to dive; their developing prefrontal cortices would make them more prone to panic in emergency situations (Dr. Mrs. DDM, who's a child psychologist, concurs with this).

Best regards,
DDM

That's good to know. I didn't want to spread rumors. I'm not a doctor and I didn't know.

 

[homerdoc]

Outstanding, and proud of her for getting qualified at Jocassee, I had to take mine to the Glorida springs when she was 11. After many many aborted dives in her first year of Cert, she tested the can abort a dive for any reason, (including "I just want to talk") She got AOW certified at Jocassee a month ago.

The vis is a challenge to someone who has been to Bonaire, but I reminded her you need to be able to dive in many conditions.

If you didn't go dive the junk at Jocassee its really cool. There are guide lines everywhere to all kinds of neat stuff on the bottom.

My daughter is a very good diver now, but it was a slow process and a lot of patience.

I would also recommend a trip to a place like bonaire, it is so easy that you can take a lot of time practicing skills and making sure that she (and you get practice in also) knows what to do in an emergency.


JJ

 

[BoltSnap]

@aviator8 there's really no data on how diving affects children. Theoretically, their developing bones (and brains, and nervous systems) could be more vulnerable to bubbles that would not affect adults, so depths should be very limited. Note that this falls short of an endorsement of teaching children to dive; their developing prefrontal cortices would make them more prone to panic in emergency situations (Dr. Mrs. DDM, who's a child psychologist, concurs with this).

Best regards,
DDM

Thank you very much for responding and pointing out these facts. I was going to respond and state that I do not encourage or condone younger children to dive even if training agencies allow it but decided that somebody like you should respond. Personally, I don't accept anyone under the age of 15 in my diver training program for many reasons but especially for what you have mentioned above and also because of maturity levels. Dr. Larry Harris Taylor wrote several articles many years ago when the debate concerning allowing children to dive was going on and he was against it. As much as I want my teenage son to learn to dive, I won't have him or pressure him into doing it until he is at least 15 years old and he is the one that says he wants to do it.

 

[aviator8]

If you didn't go dive the junk at Jocassee its really cool.

do you mean the john boat and graveyard? I went out with the instructor and DM and we found those. I thought there was a bus and vending machine but thye may have been on the other side of the lake.

I would also recommend a trip to a place like bonaire

Yes we want to get to a place like Bonaire with good shallow easy access reefs, there are some florida sites in driving distance as well. She wants to do clear. After Jocassee then Lake Lanier (worse visibility) she wants to know when we can dive somewhere where we can see better. Her fist logbook comment was "visibility sucked"

Mine has called a few dives as well both before and during a dive. It happens and it is no issue for me to say ok quit for the day.

 

[aviator8]

I do not encourage or condone younger children to dive even if training agencies allow it but decided that somebody like you should respond.

Although I made a different decision, I do respect and value the input of others that differ from my opinions. I thought long and hard about whether she was ready. I knew there would be some that cringed a bit when reading my post as children diving can be a touchy subject that sends everyone into their corner to defend their positions.