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I would definitely encourage you to do it. My daughter was 10 (she is now 12 and will be 13) when we first got her certified. She and my husband are always buddies, we drill her a lot about emergency situations, talk about situational awareness in every day life and apply it to diving, ask her random questions to keep her on her toes. She understands we do it to keep her sharp, and her skills have grown. If they stay in their depth and don't dive beyond their certification, I think you can expect that the training is reliable. They learn the same information and take the same test as the adults--the only "jr." about it is their age on the card and their recommended depth limitations. My dd has had situations underwater where she has had to share air for real, lost her fin and had to get it back on, fogged mask, and various other little things, and she is honestly extremely calm and deliberate about things when they happen and doesn't panic. My husband dives with her because I'm more of a nervous Nellie and I tend to fret about every little thing. They work well as a team.
I suppose it depends on the kid and their maturity level, but if a 12 year old wants to do it and understands the risks and responsibilities, I say go for it!
@toriclum Thats not what I said but welcome anyway.
@Kelly Mine and @Fat Daddy it looks like there may be a number of teenage divers at this meetup.
We are wanting to do the cenotes trip on Friday and stay an extra day and do the whale shark trip on Saturday- then vacation over And fly back on Sunday.
We are excited our first invasion!