Irresponsible parenting IMHO. Dad lets uncert. young son dive. (+link)

[Dive 'N' Dolphin]

I agree its the parents call. I have a 12 year old that is getting certified. This weekend is her check out dive. We played with her in our pool a lot over the summer to make sure she wouldn’t panic and could handle a lot of the skills before even deciding to sign her up. We did the 4 week national geographic class so she would have more pool time. She is very calm under water and is a strong swimmer. She chokes on water and doesn’t bolt to the top. I have been very impressed at how cool and calm she is. She scored a 90% on her written test not missing one RDP question and on her first lake dive did better then my husband and I did on our first dive. I also have a 16 & 17 year old and I wouldnt get them certified if they begged me. I know they would panic and couldn’t handle the skills needed. I think only a parent knows if their kid is ready. One could say I shouldn’t get my 12 year old certified but think it would be ok for my 16 old to be certified when I know better. There is an 11 year old boy I saw in another class being certified at the lake. He was down and had to flood his mask. Soon as he did he bolted to the top while holding his breath. YIKES.:11: Now I would say hey he is so not ready. I was talking to his mom (by the way neither parents are divers) and she said well he has all the other skills down he just needs to get past the panicking. So there are parents out there I think that don’t see the risk and you have to question them. For the most part I think it’s a parent’s call and what they feel safe with. This guy is an instructor so I would think he probably gave this kid way more training then he would ever get in any class.
My 2c
Stacy

 

[all4scuba05]

My son is 11 now. He wants to dive. I told him, "maybe when you're 16"
If he matures a little more before then, I will teach him myself. When I feel confident in his diving skills, only THEN will I let him go and get certified. NO WAY will I just let him walk into a diveshop and be Half-_ssed trained by someone else. Way too many instructors handing out certs to people who can't even descend or ascend correctly, let alone choose the right amount of weight to put on their belt.

 

[Bobbin-along]

I'm glad I'm not a kid nowdays, either I'd be put in jail or my parents would. It's sorry to see how Americans have changed so much in so little time. The threats to a childs welfare haven't changed over the years. We had moonshiners and pot growers in the woods, we had perverts and weirdos, and bless it all we had killer squirrels and raccoons to boot.

We'd take a week as kids and ride horses into the mountains during our holidays. WITHOUT grown-ups around. We'd jump off waterfalls and swim in mountain creeks without parents or lifeguards, we'd free climb cliffs without helmets, sail our dinghys without a chase boat, play with firecrackers, have our own .22's, and even could drive as soon as our feet could reach the clutch and brake. Dad never worried about showing us the gas, he always knew we'd find that pedal soon enough.

I'm glad the kid is enjoying himself with his Dad. Sounds like they are having the time of their life, I wish them all the best.

 

[adshepard]

Some interesting comments.

 

[JohnW]

I don't think this kid actually found an antique bottle, It must be a coverup.

I think the youngster is just enjoying a beer during his SI.


Seriously......I think it's great that this parent is taking an active role in his son's life and that they have scuba to bond over.

 

[scubavet]

My question is to adshepard..
Do you have any kids? And if you do what will it take for them to be able to dive?
I don't want to sound like a smart *****, but I'm a parent and have my opinion, and was wondering what yours was? Why is it irresponsible?
And to everybody else, don't blast him for what he has to say, I've seen enough of this board to know that can happen.

 

[adshepard]

My question is to adshepard..
Do you have any kids? And if you do what will it take for them to be able to dive?
I don't want to sound like a smart *****, but I'm a parent and have my opinion, and was wondering what yours was? Why is it irresponsible?
And to everybody else, don't blast him for what he has to say, I've seen enough of this board to know that can happen.

Yes I do, a seven year old and she snorkels and is a fish in the water. She'll dive when she is physically and mentally able. My nephew certified at age 12 when he met both conditions.

Why is it irresponsible? How many of you do New England bottle diving? Most likely few if any of those that responded to this thread is my guess but maybe I'm mistaken. The conditions are as follows: relatively cold water and low visibility are a given. You may also experience currents and other not so friendly dive conditions, this ain't the tropics. When you bottle dive you will eventually silt out and the visibility will go down to zilch. Should that occur the youngster can have something go wrong and then panic or just plain panic because he can't see dad. There is the possibility of panic in any diver no matter the age but a scared kid could be in worse shape.

People can blast away if they choose doesn't bother me at all. Some of the blasting just makes me laugh.

 

[Thalassamania]

something go wrong and then panic or just plain panic because he can't see dad. There is the possibility of panic in any diver no matter the age but a scared kid could be in worse shape.

I can't speak for this kid, or your kid, but I think that my 10 year old would be less likely to panic than I would, and I'm pretty hard to spook. When it's a split decision like this, leave it up to the Dad and just make choices for your own kid.

 

[adshepard]

... leave it up to the Dad and just make choices for your own kid.

Hey I just called him (dad) irresponsible never said he couldn't make the choice. I really could care less what happens to him or his child.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

My son is 11 now. He wants to dive. I told him, "maybe when you're 16"
If he matures a little more before then, I will teach him myself. When I feel confident in his diving skills, only THEN will I let him go and get certified. NO WAY will I just let him walk into a diveshop and be Half-_ssed trained by someone else. Way too many instructors handing out certs to people who can't even descend or ascend correctly, let alone choose the right amount of weight to put on their belt.

But what happens if you do not become an instructor? Does he have to wait til he is 18 and can do it on his own? And was your training half-assed? If not why can't the shop and instructor that taught you teach him?