A DISTURBING FATALITY THIS WEEKEND - They're all disturbing and there's much we still don't know about this latest one but what we do know is that a parent died while diving with their young-teen child. And it brings up a lot of issues (for me anyhow) about minimum certification age. Because it's not just about whether a child is physically able to handle the gear, or intellectually able to deal with concepts of physics when they haven't even had algebra yet. The big thing I discuss with parents who want to get a young child certified is diving safety. The knee-jerk reaction from the parents is almost always, "Don't worry because I'll be there all the time and will not let anything happen to my child." That's not it. If your child should die diving while under your care, the guilt you'll dredge up and will carry with you for the rest of your life is far more powerful than anything I could say. My concern is the opposite situation when it's the parent that dies on the dive and the child/buddy is unable to prevent it. Is the type of guilt that you want your child to possibly carry with them for the rest of their lives worth it? And I bring this up because my understanding is that in this particular case, the child was heard to say with some alarm, "I just killed my father." And while we can offer counseling and tell the child that it's not so, it's a pretty heavy burden to carry around (and a fairly natural instinct at an age when death is just some sort of an abstract concept). There is no right or wrong answer here. There is no easy answer. But all I'm suggesting is that if you're a parent with a young child who is either a diver or wants to become a diver, this is a discussion you MUST have with them, the same as you'd tell them not to ascend while holding their breath. It's an important issue that is often overlooked in this industry, especially as we lower the certification age, but it's something that needs to come out of the shadows.
- Ken
