Kids and diving

[ZenDiver.3D]

SSI has scuba rangers at 8- a great program- my son went through it. SDI has future buddies- same and they must be one on one with an instructor. My daughter did that. My son took his jr open water at 12 with an all adult class. He was just one of them and had to pull all of his own weight. He was fantastic. My daughter went through the SDI open water at 10 in an adult class. She was able to explain physics and physiology concepts better than the adults. Both had to be independent divers adn pass on their own. They were rock stars. Now, Haley has 94 dives and Justin has 52. (he spent a year away at school, and they cannot dive without a parent..). Both are very careful and watch their depth limits. They will not break their rules. Kids are no different from adults, in that some train well and keep common sense about them, and some don't. The good thing is that kids who aren't ready can mature.
Each child is different. You and an instructor gauge where your kids are when the time is right and then give it a go. Just don't rush it. The wait is worth it. Here's Haley at 10 in the Red Sea.

 

[Diver0001]

SSI has scuba rangers at 8- a great program- my son went through it. SDI has future buddies- same and they must be one on one with an instructor. My daughter did that. My son took his jr open water at 12 with an all adult class. He was just one of them and had to pull all of his own weight. He was fantastic. My daughter went through the SDI open water at 10 in an adult class. She was able to explain physics and physiology concepts better than the adults. Both had to be independent divers adn pass on their own. They were rock stars. Now, Haley has 94 dives and Justin has 52. (he spent a year away at school, and they cannot dive without a parent..). Both are very careful and watch their depth limits. They will not break their rules. Kids are no different from adults, in that some train well and keep common sense about them, and some don't. The good thing is that kids who aren't ready can mature.
Each child is different. You and an instructor gauge where your kids are when the time is right and then give it a go. Just don't rush it. The wait is worth it. Here's Haley at 10 in the Red Sea.

The main difference I've seen bewteen 10 and 12-13 year olds has to do with learning the theory. A 10 year old is more inclined (although there are exceptions) to want to learn things by rote. They can often give you correct answers to everything but if you ask "control" questions that force them to "visualise" and to apply "lateral thinking" then you'll see (generally) a big difference is how easily kids from 12 do that as compared to kids from 10.

For example, you can explain Archimedes principle to a 10 year old and they can usually parrot back the answers to the knowledge questions but if you subsequently ask them to explain in words why an oil tanker floats and a paper-clip sinks, they *tend* to get tangled up in it. (at least this has been my experience to date).

Likewise with the tables. The tables seem like the perfect bit of theory to learn by rote, but try this. Show them an example and deliberately make the mistake of skipping over one column as you're reading the table and get the wrong answer then ask them to find your mistake. Most 12 year olds will logic it out. In my experience most 10 year olds don't make the link.

It seems to me (and I have absolutely no formal knowledge of child development) there seems to be a huge amount of cognitive development that happens from the ages of 10-13 or so. It also seems to me that a lot of that has to do with huge springs in the ability for lateral thinking.... Once again I don't have much to go on to say that but it's something I've noticed. Natrually there will be exceptions on both sides of this age span but just speaking generally, I generally think teenagers "get it" and 10-11 year olds "reproduce it", which makes me feel uncomfortable about teaching younger kids .... YYMV

R..

 

[gypsyjim]

When my children asked to join me scuba diving I looked around for quite a while and asked a lot of questions. Here on the board I got great advice, and through a fellow SB member was able to locate a Course Director who had earned the reputation of excellence in thouroughly and safely teaching young scuba divers. I was there every minute of their training too, watching and learning, always another pair of eyes. Picking the right people to teach my children how to dive safely was the single most step important in their exposure to this sport. Not just any certifying "factory" operation!!!! And not trying to teach them myself, even after years of diving experience.

My son was 10 and my daughter 14 when they did their OW. It's hard to say just how much scientific principal my son really understood at 10, but the Course Director (Thank you, Rich Morin!) made sure my son (and daughter) understood diving and diving safety! From day one they both became consciencious divers who never failed to let me know if they saw me cutting a corner!
A lot of scientific principal is taught in scuba class, but honestly, I've watched "grown up's" eyes glaze over during the more technical sections. It is not too dificult to show the effects of compressing and expanding air at depth to a student without giving a long scientific dissertation. Like wise it is possible to understand reasons for NDLs, how use tables, etc, without a great deal of scientific background. I know I've seen a lot of certified adults who really do not understand the "why".
Even after earning his OW at 10, PADI was not saying "go ahead, your a fully trained diver". The certification is designated "Junior Open Water", with the understanding that 10 year (10-14 I think it is) old kids should be supervised. Heck even now, at 15 and 19 I still watch them like a hawk, but am not afriad to let them dive with other adults we know who have come to respect my teenagers' skill and maturity.

The only times I've ever been really concerned when witnessing a young diver in action, was the few times I've watched a family of divers together, where it was clear to me that the controling adult either did not understand the basic safety "rules", or simply chose to ignore safe diving standards! In these cases I really was horrified at what I was watching, but it was obvious from the entire demenor of the adult involved that no outside interference was welcomed, period. All we could do was watch and say a short prayer for all the divers' safety.

 

[InTheDrink]

Thanks for all the thoughtful posts. Let me chew on them a little and I'll respond then. Given my kids are 2 and 5 and 10 seems like the youngest sensible age (altho I might try and stir that one up) it sounds like I've got time on my side.

Gypsyjim - I've seen scary families diving together too and it is indeed heart stopping. I'd paraphrase 'blind leading the blind' but that doesn't quite catch the scariness. I would hope that I never put my children at this kind of risk.

John

 

[gypsyjim]

I've seen scary families diving together too and it is indeed heart stopping. I'd paraphrase 'blind leading the blind' but that doesn't quite catch the scariness. /QUOTE]

I think worse than the blind leading the blind, in those families it's more like the blind deliberately blinding the ones who could have learned to see! Unfortunately the "responsible adult" in these cases is always have been the type that violently objects to any suggestions, as being "it's none of your business how I dive".

 

[goodive]

Hi JClynes,
Padi has the Bubblemaker program for 8 years old. It is an introduction to scuba for the kids. Max depth 2m/ 6 feet. Whatever you decide to do, make sure a training instructor you pick is a certified pro.

 

[InTheDrink]

Thanks for the posts. Everything said makes good sense. I like the sound of the bubble makers at age 8. I think I will try to work on them free diving prior to, unless that's a bad idea because of the breath holding learning exercise. Hell, they're free diving now so pointless trying to stop it.

To be honest, I'd really like to just get them kitted up and snorkling but with scuba gear on, and maybe descend a little (after training) just so they get more and more familiar with scuba, even if it's at 1m. I won't rush things, certainly. My objective isn't to get them into it too early, it's to make sure that they are are natural, safe and comfortable with it when the time finally arrives.

Diver0001, I do agree, the changes in a human from the age of ten to thirteen are almost incalculable on many levels. A thirteen year old is so much nearer being a man (or woman). I guess that's around the age when the desire for some level of independence arrives. Can't be coincidental. It's probably a good age too, just before the belief of invincibility sets in.

I already have just the instructor in mind. She's dynamite and hard as nails. Her name is Shrek but we have nasty ones for her too