Giving an 8 year old a "taste" of scuba.

[adurso]

I have to speak as a parent right now. I saw a lot of benefit in my kids doing team-related sports when they were youngsters. Teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, and learning how to win or lose were all good lessons from sports. At age 7, any boy can get on the soccer team, but if he starts the sport at age 17, it may be difficult. And most boys have more fun playing "king of the hill" on a big pile of dirt than anything else.

Tree house fun is special to a youngster, but you may not regularly visit one yourself. BB guns? Stickball? That's fun for kids.

Diving can be fun and enjoyable at any age. Kids can have fun at it too, but parents should leave plenty of room for those fun parts of childhood that a kid will outgrow.

All children are not as yours. There are any number of children who have zero interest in soccer, stickball, or dirt climbing.

Denying a child an opportunity to experience something they want to experience (safely and securely with other parameters met) because it may take time away from "team sports" is not fair to the child.

As an aside, you may live in an alternate dimension of Florida if children are "learning to lose" where you are....rec sports generally give everyone trophies and do not start keeping score until they are older.....the lesson the children come away with is "everyone is a winner"....which creates problems later on in life

 

[g1138]

Sorry, but I just don't agree there. I think there are just as many kids that age who are capable. I teach kids from age 10. They take the class with adults and they are usually right there with pertinent questions and right answers faster than the adults. These kids know the rules and understnad them. Better, they can explain Why the rule exists. They can because I teach them. I don't just tell them to do it. I do, however, carefully interview them and make sure that they are capable of being an independent student/diver before they are allowed in the class. Those who have not worked out have been made to hold off until they are ready.

Kids, like adults, are individuals.

To the OP, as an instructor, I will tell you not do that because it is against my standards. But you can drop them in a Future buddies or Scuba Rangers class. They will love it. My own kids did. In the meantime let the little one snorkel.

I agree completely that it depends on the individual. But not knowing the kid I have to generalize. Keep in mind that the kid in question is 8, not 10. Further more you agree that you have to turn away some 10 year olds.
And the father is not an instructor.

You do good telling the kids the rules and why the rules exist, I like that. But for someone who doesn't teach scuba, there's a lot they can miss or forget to mention.
Things that seem "common sense" for an experienced diver often get left out in an explanation when someone without teaching experience gives the lesson.

 

[belairbrian]

My son was 10 when he got his JOW. In his case he is very mature for his age. Sometimes anoyingly so. When he certified the instuctors son was also 10 but he decided his son was not ready.

Jump ahead 2 year and my daughter was going through JOW. Instuctor decided his son (now 12) was ready to do his as well.

Point being kids are different.

Understand also, that as students go through the class instructors are assesing there progress and mental condition as they go. If neccessary the instructor should make a call on taking a diver below the surface. Yeah, I know they paid there fee they get to graduate. IMO that's a problem out there.

Point being, a GOOD instructor can tell if a student is ready to go through the class, where a parent might not understand the assesments that are really going on.

Both my kids started snorkeling at 8 and found it enjoyable, thus they decided to go forward with JOW.

 

[Jax]

kazbanz, I would not do what you suggest for one reason - it sets a precedent.

If you were to tell your boy that you won't let him try your scuba because (list the reasons, 'I'm not an instructor, injury could happen, 'it's not the right thing'), then he will have the view, "It was important to Dad that I don't do this."

If you let him "cheat", and some time down the road the kids decide to take gear to the local pond, and hey, dad let you do it, c'mon, or friends in place of siblings . . . He has a viewpoint, "Well, Dad thought it was okay."

So - tell him why you won't do it, then throw 'im in a Scuba Rangers class. He's involved, his abilities are recognized, and he can study scuba until he's 10 . . . what a buddy!

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

As has been stated many times already in this thread; the advise on ScubaBoard is limited by many parameters.

My dad and his dive buddies, none of them dive instructors, knew I was ready when I was 6 years old, but my swim team and baseball team schedules "forced" us to wait until shortly after my 7th b-day.

Clearing ears was learned by age 6; continuous breathing, ascending slower than slowest bubbles and exhaling during CESA were the sum total of my instruction.

On my 8th b-day, my present from mom was a vest she made herself. I never thought much of Flathead Lake as a dive site, but I was jazzed on my first dive in my new vest!

​

 

[Frosty]

Hey thanks a million guys n gals for the feedback. I seriously apreciate it and that on the whole you werent flaming.
I thought I was being really clear in my OP but I guess I wasn't . There is NO intention of the lad being taken to 4 feet deep -the intention is to surface swim -Perhaps best to say snorkle with a regulator is a better way to put it. and in 1.0m of water (3 feet) drop his feet on the sand and walk on the bottom with his head under water. Apologies if it came across otherwise.

I did think to give him a taste of what diving scuba was about that I could take him out and he and I surface swim and he breaths using my octi then mayee a sink to the bottom when its 1.0m .The very reason I'm asking the question is that I don't ever want to put my kids in undue risk.

I don't ever want to be "that " parent who is pushing his kid in sport. The whole point of this thread for me is to see what he thinks. If he's really excited by it all and wants to go somewhere with it then heck the facilities and staff are there to do so and I'll do the same for him as I have with his older siblings If he's not then hey thats life.

 

[Frosty]

As an aside, you may live in an alternate dimension of Florida if children are "learning to lose" where you are....rec sports generally give everyone trophies and do not start keeping score until they are older.....the lesson the children come away with is "everyone is a winner"....which creates problems later on in life

heck dude that is a whole other discussion.
Here in NZ education has become very touchy feely. Lets not hurt the poor little fella's feelings. This is also going onto the sports feilds and kids are being told their team came second. as you say everyone is a winner.
I had a rather spectacular arguement with one of my 15 year olds teachers during a parent teacher interview.
Her view was that he should accept just passing her class and I made it clear I expected him to strive to be top of class.
To be 100% clear here I don't expect him to be top of class I expect that that is his target.

 

[Stu S.]

As an aside, you may live in an alternate dimension of Florida if children are "learning to lose" where you are....rec sports generally give everyone trophies and do not start keeping score until they are older.....the lesson the children come away with is "everyone is a winner"....which creates problems later on in life

Orlando youth sports are super-competitive, even for the little kids. The captain of the Boston Red Sox grew up around the corner. Baseball, softball, and basketball feature year-round heavy travel. High school swimming is six hours a day. Folks move here so boys and girls can learn from the great golf teachers. There are professional expectations.

Ever heard of Pete Murray? A heart-of-gold guy, he set up a high school SCUBA club, right here. My kid was not good enough for high school softball Orlando-style, and joined the dive club. It was a healthy activity with kids her own age.

SCUBA came along at the right time.

Happy diving!

 

[Thalassamania]

For what it is worth, when I turned 8 I'd been diving for a year and a half and had made close to 100 dives, all rather shallow.

Here's my son at age 7 (or 8) gets hard to remember. At the end of his first pool session:

 

[Kiwi303]

Thanks!, but an attitude like this could DESTROY this place.

This place is already quiet as a morgue compared to Rec.Scuba newsgroup where I hung out online during my training back in '03...
Mandatory safety equipment there was to don an asbestos suit before logging into Usenet! A day without a flame war was a day wasted