Is it dangerous?

[scuba41girl]

I have two boys that are interested in diving. The oldest is 9 and his mom can't wait to get him diving so he can go with us. The youngest is 7 and loves being in the pool snorkling around but hates a reg for now. Something for us to think about I guess. Wish that there were more information on this topic, as popular as diving is in some coastal areas that someone hasn't looked into it before.

Tatakai

6 months ago my 9 year old said he was never diving. Ever!! Now he can't wait. Kids change their minds every other day.

 

[ItsBruce]

For what its worth...totally and completely anecdotal and not statistically significant in any way whatsoever.

My brothers and I were all diving in excess of 60-70 feet at age 12 or so. My brother and I are both 6"8 without any bone/growth issues and my "little" brother is 6"3 and same...no bone/growth issues.

Matt, you guys blew an otherwise great career in the NBA had you grown to your full potential.

 

[ChrisA]

Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to try and keep him at 50 ft unless a really good opportunity arises. lol. It's very interesting to hear all of the different opinions. My biggest obstacle now is my 9 year old. He turns 10 next month and is counting the days until he can be certified. Can you imagine his tears if I tell him I suddenly decided he was too young because diving may effect his bone growth. Can you say meltdown lol

I think you can limit the risk by keeping the depth shallow.
But I always remeber a local 13 year old diver who died on his first post OW cert dive. He was in 15 feet of water, mask flooded and he paniced and bolted to the surface while holding his breath.
So even 15 feet is not safe unless you are there ready to grab a BC strap and force him to stay down.

I think the biggest problem with very yong children is providing proper supervision. How many parents are qualified to supervise novice divers? Also most 10 year olds are not ready for OW class. The PADI book is written more at a midle school level and the equipment is heavy. Few 10 year olds can cary a tank and weights in and out of the surf at the beach. But there are exceptions so I would not make a hard rule. I just would never bend the rules or help them to much. When they can do all the work and all the skills themselves just like the adults then they are ready. Mostly this means abit bit older than 10.

 

[Fotoz4FX]

For what it's worth (and you all are getting to know that I have some pretty argumentative responses)... the odds of getting struck by a car when crossing the street increase with the volume of traffic.

Does that mean you should limit your foot travel or tell your children not to go anywhere during peak travel times?

I guess what I'm saying is that it's all theoretical and certainly for now at least, not backed by any tangible evidence

One of my current dive buddies (I don't solo with him for those of you who have read my response to solo diving) is a 14 year old that I taught at the age of 12... he's taller than his Mother... I think he might be 5' 11" right now and I'm being called his Father by most (I'm 6' 6"). Long bone problems he may have but they are certainly NOT lack of length issues... he's growing like a weed. I don't know what his Father looks like as he's one of those dead beats but he's either tall or this kid is having pituitary gland issues.

ScubaGirl... don't base your decision on age either. I don't know why any organization would specify an age for a limitation on whether or not someone should learn to dive but that seems to be the trend and I remember the big arguments over those restraint seats for children up to a certain age - ultimately the courts decided it needed to be revamped to specify height and weight - age is not an issue with learning to dive so much as the ability to comprehend the physiology of diving (bubbles, nitrogen loading, tables, math and safety concerns), the discipline required for the sport, and the physical strength that age has NOTHING to do with. I have seen kids that had to use 45's because they were just so small (but certainly old enough) and even the kid's BC's barely fit them.

10 is PADI's criteria but the call is up to the individual Instructor as to maturity or ability and PADI will not challenge that decision.

 

[trucker girl]

If it makes you feel better... my sister went diving when she was 3 months pregnant. I didn't find out about that until after the baby was born- I thought she limited herself to snorkeling...

She insisted that her doctor told her "it's just one bar" therefore there wasn't anything to worry about...

Can you say "SMACK"?

 

[scuba41girl]

I think you can limit the risk by keeping the depth shallow.
But I always remeber a local 13 year old diver who died on his first post OW cert dive. He was in 15 feet of water, mask flooded and he paniced and bolted to the surface while holding his breath.
So even 15 feet is not safe unless you are there ready to grab a BC strap and force him to stay down.

I think the biggest problem with very yong children is providing proper supervision. How many parents are qualified to supervise novice divers? Also most 10 year olds are not ready for OW class. The PADI book is written more at a midle school level and the equipment is heavy. Few 10 year olds can cary a tank and weights in and out of the surf at the beach. But there are exceptions so I would not make a hard rule. I just would never bend the rules or help them to much. When they can do all the work and all the skills themselves just like the adults then they are ready. Mostly this means abit bit older than 10.

I'm not one to pamper my kids. They know their stuff or they dont dive. I wouldnt let them dive until they are mature enough. I agree its about maturity not age.

 

[Nik Wills]

My son was certified at 10 and is now 12. We will keep him at 60' or less other than for very brief trips lower. We will not allow him to go anywhere near the NDL limits and that often means that a second dive is cut short or skipped entirely. We stress the safety stops and make sure to take every precaution. We will soon be nitrox certified and he will be using Nitrox and diving the air tables for an added safety margin. I consulted my PHD (also a diver) and we discussed the potential problems and reached a consensus on what risks we were willing to take. Others have gotten away with a lot more and yet others have not been as lucky. We are happy with a more conservative approach.

This is an old thread I know ~ but really diving nitrox on air tables for an added safety margin ~ like oxygen toxicity isn't something to worry about ~ Darwin theory strikes again......

 

[drrich2]

Nik:

Well, if not diving over 60 feet, and keeping to air tables (or a computer set for air) & avoiding pushing NDL limits, I speculate there'd be very little risk of oxygen toxicity. Granted, the 'added margin of safety' may well be theoretical and very small if any...

Richard.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

This is an old thread I know ~ but really diving nitrox on air tables for an added safety margin ~ like oxygen toxicity isn't something to worry about ~ Darwin theory strikes again......

Unless you're pushing recreational depth limits and/or NDL's pretty hard, neither are anything much to worry about ... there's a lot of safety "padding" built into tables and dive computers. Of course, this would be dependent on the individual not having medical conditions, or being extremely out of shape, or being hung over, or a few other things that humans can do to themselves that should preclude diving at all ... but for the "typical" diver on a reasonable recreational dive profile, diving nitrox while using air tables isn't going to make oxtox something to be concerned about ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)