That explains it. I started age 50!
9 year old diving?
- Thread starter djmatl
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That explains it. I started age 50!
3 strikes you're out on this one. In fact in the case of diving it may be very much the opposite. The mental/technical side of the activity far outweighs physical prowess.
At 48 I picked it up with ease.
As to the question of the OP.... No good can come from it. Between age and a resort setting risk is written all over this one.
If having the child dive now means that much to you find the right instructor and start down a progression of local training and diving.
Also consider that at this age any suitability is very dependent on the individual. Asking an internet chat board for assistance in the decision is a plea for an unqualified free pass.
Pete
Glenn08
Contributor
When I started diving there were many hard and fast rules. Diving has changed a bit since. So a 9-years-and-364-days-old student is too young, but a 9-years-and-366-days-old student is okay. That's a lot of maturing in two days. What happened in those two days ? Other than crossing the arbitrary date threshold of the certifying agency for liability purposes ?
CathyE
Contributor
I don't see the specific age as the issue. I think most agree that some 9y olds would be fine and some 10 y olds would not.
I see it this way, 10 years is a required minimum for the program. The OP would have to request that the certifying shop breaks the rule for them.
For me, it brings up the question, if they agree to break this rule, what other rules are they willing to break? Is this really the shop that you want to entrust the safety of your child?
Same for the shops at the cruise stops, what other rules do they disregard?
I see it this way, 10 years is a required minimum for the program. The OP would have to request that the certifying shop breaks the rule for them.
For me, it brings up the question, if they agree to break this rule, what other rules are they willing to break? Is this really the shop that you want to entrust the safety of your child?
Same for the shops at the cruise stops, what other rules do they disregard?
I say some TWENTY year-olds would not! Just look at the people driving on the highway as an example. Every licensed driver presumably understands how to drive and what the risks are, and for most of their time on the road they put on a good show of driving safely. But people, especially younger people, seem to have their moments when they believe they can break the speed limit or weave in and out of traffic, etc., with what they probably deem an acceptable level of risk. I think that for quite a few people it isn't until they're well into the 20s that they start to give serious thought to the real possibility of being killed on the road and start to correlate actions with risks and risks with consequences.
I can appreciate that some people are more conscientious than others. But I still don't think that most young divers really "get it" as far as what the risks are and what the consequences might be. In scuba, we're talking about breathing underwater! One can recover from a broken leg from skiing and promise to slow down next time, but drowning is some serious stuff, and the causes of fatal diving accidents are rarely simple. Seems to me that while many young divers might give the appearance of diving safely and exhibit knowledge of what to do if X happens, many of them really can't grasp the seriousness of the environment. How will they react if it's not quite X that happens per their training but a combination of X and Y? They need to, without panicking, be able to solve a problem underwater that may not be quite as straightforward as their training. (The Stop Breathe Think Act admonition from Rescue Diver training comes to mind.)
Also, with a youngster, isn't every dive a "trust-me" dive? We hear again and again on SB that each of us needs to independently evaluate every dive and be responsible for our own safety and not rely on a divemaster to take us on a safe dive and save us if something goes wrong. So that's true unless one is a kid, and then it's okay to rely on someone else? Sure, every parent feels they are worthy of their kid's trust, and they "know" they can keep their kid safe, but I suspect many divemasters feel that way, too.
I know the agencies set 10 as their minimum age, but I just have a hard time imagining any 10 year-old giving diving safety the kind of introspection we do here on SB.
Again, silly.
Is an 18yr old more qualified to vote than someone who is 17yrs and 364 days?
Can a 21yr old better handle drinking alcohol than someone who is 20yrs and 364 days?
Is someone 64yrs and 364 days old less entitled to a pension check than someone who is 65yrs old?
The answer is "of course not... but them's the rules."
What training agency are you talking about? Like RJP, I am not aware of any hard and fast rules in these examples, except that PADI says that if you are going to have a student use a dry suit in the open water dives, you have to have a confined water training session first.
I can only speak for PADI "rules," but there are no rules or standards related to swimming on the surface without a mask and breathing through a snorkel, either. It is not even mentioned. On the other hand, a lot of instructors have students do this in the beginning of the class because it does an excellent job of teaching good airway control. It's a good teaching technique. What is your objection to good teaching techniques?
The ages have to be set somewhere. If a bar serves liquor to someone who is 20 years and 364 days old, they can still lose their liquor license if caught. Similarly, if an instructor decides that a student two weeks shy of his 10th birthday is extremely mature and tries to certify him anyway, that instructor will be in a world of legal hurt of something happens to the student during the class.
Not only that, if you pay for the entire class and the student gets through it all just fine, how will the parent feel when the agency refuses to issue the certification because the child was too young? We had a thread on that a year or so ago--the parent was out the entire cost of the certification class, and the student was not certified. (I can't remember the details as to how it happened.)
freewillie
Contributor
So why have limits in the first place? According to your logic why not let them certify at 8, heck maybe even as young as 7? I'm sure two years doesn't make a big difference in maturity.
And while we're at it, I'm sure the DMV will understand if my kid wants to get their driver's lisence a week early since how much can they mature in a week. And let's let kids buy alcohol a few days before they are actually 21 since they won't be that much more mature in a week. Heck, maybe since a month doesn't make a big difference they can start drinking a whole month before their 21st birthday. After all, those limits are just arbitrary.
After all, hard and fast limits are for those who don't want to think.
It not really the fact that a 9 year old might be able to dive. I'm sure there are kids out there with the maturity and capabilities to scuba. They would likely be very good at it. The real question is how will they do when something goes wrong? It's not a question of can they do it, it's a question of can they get themselves out of trouble.
Lets not lose sight of the fact that if you don't do this sport right you will drown. For some there are no second chances to get it right the next time. Just go to accidents and incidence forum. And if your the parent, are you willing to put your child in that situation? At 9 years of age, what is the big rush to certify a child that young? You can always wait a few years when it is safer. They have their whole lives ahead of them and there shouldn't be any rush to hurry them along.
Let's also not lose sight of the fact that there is no enforcement when it comes to who actually goes diving, just to who will underwrite the certification of those who choose to take a class. If a parent is convinced their nine year old is ready, there is absolutely nothing stopping them from buying gear and dragging that kid into the ocean. The fact that no one but the parent thinks it's a good idea might resonate with some as a red flag...
Ironically, someone posted earlier "Hard and fast rules are best for those who don't want to think." Upon further reflection... I think that just might be accurate.
:d
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