Diving depths - with kids

[Jim Lapenta]

At such a early age,,,10 up to maybe 13.How do kids do on the classwork,,,such as learning the dive tables and calculations. My son is 12 and would love to learn to dive but I'm concern on the textbook part of the course

Does he have a computer or video game system? If so he will probably make you look like you are mentally challenged when it comes to the math and theory stuff. As for programs directly targeted for kids they are great but we have found that in this area where they really want to learn something it's best not to talk down to them. There may be a lttle more humor thrown in to hold their interest but for the most part kids today are light years ahead of where we were at the same age. Give him a chance and see. My first suggestion would be to have him do a discover scuba to be sure he really likes it. If so then there really is no reason why he can't do a regular class. We have two boys now ages 12 going thru open water together. one with his dad. That may be another option for you. sit thru the class that your son is taking. Most instructors will allow this as long as you keep your mouth shut. I'm finding that most parents today don't give their kids enough credit and are way too protective. Years ago we used to get a few guys and play sandlot baseball. No coaches, no parents, just having fun. Kids got beaned, scraped up knees, and into fights. Nobody died, nobody went to the hospital and most important nobody got sued. You got a bat glove and ball and told to get out of the house and play. Today there are leagues, hitting coaches, pitching coaches, and protective gear and a bunch of people living their lives of fun thru their kids. And this is just TeeBall. Now diving is not the same as baseball but the principal is the same. Get mom and dad to keep their mouths shut, let a competent instructor train them, and let them have some fun. Restrictions on depth and type of dives? Absolutely! But it's all about relaxing and having fun. And kids today need that more than ever with the stuff they have to deal with.

 

[ETnScuba]

Laserdoc - at the LDS we're using for PADI Seal Team, the first five "Aqua-Missions" are $150. After successfully completion they are "Official" Seal Team members and get a certificate from PADI. For some more cash, they can continue through additional aqua-missions (navigation, fish ID, boyance, etc). All of this is in a pool. The biggest benefit is the kids get a lot of pool time to learn at their own pace, with other kids, in a low stress environment.
The certification camp I mentioned at another LDS is about $400. Pretty expensive, but I am willing to pay a little more for a quality program designed for kids.
I assume other agencies have similar programs but my LDS's are PADI and SSI, so I concentrated on their programs.
More information for these kid's programs can be found at:
www.PADISealTeam.com
www.scubarangers.com
Ken

 

[creekland]

Let's see... for the tests my 13 year old got 100% on all the 4 quizzes, then a 98% on the final test. My 11 year old got 2 wrong on one of the quizzes, one on another, then two 100% along with a 98% on the final. My 10 year old also got two 100%, another one with one wrong, and one he had to take twice to pass (with 100% the second time) as he didn't understand the wording on a couple questions. He got a 94% on the final.

To compare with us adults... I got one question wrong on one of the quizzes and 100% on everything else including the final. Hubby got 1 wrong on two of the quizzes, 100% on the other two, and 98% on the final. I honestly don't remember the scores of the other 12 year old or the other teen taking the class with us, but all passed.

Our kids all read the book on their own, then we would quiz them (and each other) in the car on trips and other such times. The nights before the classes we would go through the book tests together - AFTER they had answered them on their own. During our class the instuctors went around the room asking questions of everyone. I don't recall our kids missing any of the questions then. They did have to do all the classwork, quizzing/testing, and pool/open water (in the ocean) work totally on their own - and I think - did well. We still quiz them on safety and other such things now too - to keep all of us fresh.

They did not start as newcomers to swimming though... they had been swimming for years - and snorkeling - before we "advanced" to diving.

As to whether or not we are "foisting" our preferences on our kids... when they were younger (toddlers - early elementary), of course, every parent does. That's sort of a parent's job to introduce their kids to life. Now that our kids are older, pretty much ALL decisions are family votes - where we travel, what we do (hikes, etc) - and of course, scuba. If anyone wasn't interested, they never would have been forced to do it. As parents, we were interested in homeschooling much earlier, but our kids wanted to stay in school, so we let them. This past year we did one of our family vote deals and opted to pull out of school for a month for our trip to HI (by the way, I got outvoted on that one, I wanted China - in Sept/Oct). During that time our kids kept up with their classmates and teachers via the internet.

Since then, we've given them the option of staying in school (same option as before) or homeschooling and traveling off season. They've now all switched their minds to wanting to homeschool - at least - trying it for a year. Then there will be another vote. That's just the way we work. Our kids are most definitely old enough now to have a voice in what the family does.

My 14 year old collects coins - nothing the rest of the family does. My 12 year old reads - and reads, and reads - did I mention he likes to read? My 10 year old loves bugs - REALLY loves and studies bugs. That's all on his own too. He sure didn't get that from me! They are their own selves, but they did inherit our love of nature and traveling... for which I feel fortunate! We've never had to drag our kids anywhere - and we never hear the "are we there yet?" question either! Our kids get jealous when we take our one trip a year without them (for our Anniversary) - and that's with them staying at Grandma's and doing fun things with her for the couple days we are gone.

 

[creekland]

Oh yes, with regards to the calculations, etc, I should probably mention that our kids are all top of their classes (at school) with math, etc, so this sort of thing comes rather easily to them. It might not for all kids so one should know their own kid's capability. Ours picked it up quite easily though and did all the calcs themselves using the table, etc.

 

[garyfotodiver]

Creekland's Hubby here. As mentioned earlier

Reminds me of another quote I find myself using when trying new activities, foods, events, meeting new people, etc. "That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!"

We have also noticed that having our kids "doing things" does make them more confident, competent, and capable.

Friedrich Nietzsche