So you want to take your kid diving...

[EastTNDiver]

Also, to compare diving to other activities is to an extent, and in my opinion, not quite justified. I myself participate in shooting sports, the extreme side of snowboarding, and some other things. If something were to go wrong in those activities, of course it can be life threatening and time is certainly of the essence, but I think the hazards and time factor while diving underwater is exponentinally more of a risk than anything I can personally think of on land.

This attitude puzzles me. Have you seen the statistics on driving. It's perhaps THE most hazardous thing to which we can subject our children, but most of us do it routinely with little thought to the dangers. If I'm heading down the highway at 65 mph, there's not much little Johnny's gonna be able to do if I stroke out enroute. Driving is mainstream, so we are conditioned to see it differently...same with many other activities in our lives.

I agree with the point the article makes about having these discussions with your child relative to diving and its risks. I just disagree with the risks being elevated so far above many things we do in our everyday lives. It's a matter of conditioning and consequent perspectives.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

You can do the CPR class now, get certified, and have it for your Rescue class. Great idea for anyone.

Although I'm not holding a current CPR cert, I have gone through it 3 times in my past. What I think they should teach are things like how to safely bring an unconscious diver from depth to the surface and how to manage/treat them at the surface. But since you brought it up, I kind of think CPR should be required to even get your OW cert. I'm guessing in most accidents, this would be a crucial skill to have.

 

[Jaydubya]

No, we try to manage scuba safely and portray it as such, but it is still a dangerous sport - more so than driving. Anyone who refuses to accept that is pushing it.

It probably depends on the particulars. I know for a fact that some of my diving is way more dangerous than my commute to work. But I bet some of the other dives are less dangerous. I would not take my 12 year old in a cave but I might take her to the quarry.

I think this whole argumjent is specious anyway. If you extend the argument it would mean that we should never dive with anyone we care about because of the guilt we would feel if we were unable to save them. If you reject that argument because kids are different the I ask what is it that makes them different? Basically, its their physical, emotional, and mental maturity.

So we come full circle and the question becomes: when is someone physically, mentally, and emotionally mature enough peform the skills and to recognize and accept the risks inherent in the sport? I'll leave that as an open question that has been dealt with in many, many threads over the years.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

This attitude puzzles me. Have you seen the statistics on driving. It's perhaps THE most hazardous thing to which we can subject our children, but most of us do it routinely with little thought to the dangers. If I'm heading down the highway at 65 mph, there's not much little Johnny's gonna be able to do if I stroke out enroute. Driving is mainstream, so we are conditioned to see it differently...same with many other activities in our lives.

I agree with the point the article makes about having these discussions with your child relative to diving and its risks. I just disagree with the risks being elevated so far above many things we do in our everyday lives. It's a matter of conditioning and consequent perspectives.

I don't know the numbers, and I don't even care to look them up, but let's say there are 1 billion drivers in the world... now let's put 1 billion divers in the water and see how the stats change.

 

[DandyDon]

Make that 1 billion driving hours vs 1 billion diving hours.

I spoke with a park ranger at Grand Canyon a couple of months ago and he did confirm that they have about a dozen rescues and recoveries a year - usually heart attack, heat stroke, or stupidity. Man those trails get a billion a year I bet. Yeah hiking can have dangers but nothing like scuba. I'm really surprised at how many are trying to make it sound the same.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

Thanks Don! I mean, seriously, I'm sure there have been more people injured walking up or down the stairs than there are diving injuries.... are we now suppossed to assume that diving is safer than walking up a set of steps?

 

[Jaydubya]

Sorry I mentioned driving versus diving They are both dangerous.

One of the risks of diving is that of having your buddy die and not being able to save them. At what age are we ready to deal with that? If the buddy is a loved one, that age could be well north of never for some of us- but we dive anyway. It's a matter of recognizing risks and deciding whether or not to accept them. I'm glad you brought it up because it is a risk that we don't often think about.

 

[Cacia]

Teach them to freedive first IMO

 

[scubadobadoo]

I don't know the numbers, and I don't even care to look them up, but let's say there are 1 billion drivers in the world... now let's put 1 billion divers in the water and see how the stats change.

My guess is that recreational driving would still be more dangerous, especially in LA on the 101. :shocked2: You don't need a billion people on both sides to make the math work. Flying is still statistically safer than driving, for example.

Most divers I know have way more training after their cert than most drivers I know.

Yes, snorkeling is under rated for sure! BONAIRE!!!

 

[FuzzyNutz]

Well, this was my initial thought process:

Say I were hiking along the top of a mountain ridge, then just bombed down the open face of it on my snowboard and caught an edge and started tumbling down. Maybe I'll break both my legs, an arm, and get a concussion (for example). What now? I lay there in pain with the possibility of hypothermia. I know I'll have a few hours to live or find rescue. If someone found me, they can rig me up somehow and bring me to safety, and it might just be a painful ride... but I'll live.

Diving scenario: I black out for whatever reason at 100' depth. I can now drown in about a minute. A buddy sees me and decides to bring me up. If there's any air in my lungs, I'll probably have a lung over-expansion, which is deadly - and we'll both get bent - also severly threatening (possible lifelong paralysis) or deadly.

That's where I got my reasoning for things getting very bad very quickly while underwater. A car accident would be more like the snowboarding accident (unless it's an instant death, but I'm guessing instant death in car accidents is a relatively small percentage). You'll still most likely have quite a while to live, whereas in diving, you only have minutes... and you're already in the most foreign and harshest environments for humans.