freewillie
Contributor
I briefly reviewed the DAN 2008 Annual Diving report that is available online. Just the basic facts, the most common cause of death related to scuba was drowning at 85%. Contributing factors that may have led to the drowning are cardiac disease (38%), hypertension (11%), and obesity with the percent victims significantly overweight (38%) and simply overweight (38%). Interstingly the peak month was July, and the number of years dived was most significant at over 10 years certified. I will quote Ken Kurtis, "state only what you know." We can speculate to the cows come home but they are simply opinion not fact.
In regards to my kids scuba diving, I personally don't think that it is any more dangerous than other strenuous activities or other sports that have an inherent risk of injury. Yes, being underwater and the potential hazards and injury are inherent to scuba diving, but are really any different than say motorcycle dirt bikes with your kids? I love to snow ski as well. The lift ticket clearly states skiing is a hazardous sport. Then again, so is driving. As previous posters have indicated there is a possibilty of dying in a fatal car crash. National Transportation Safety data is 90,000 deaths/year on average related to fatal motor vehicle accidents. Should we not drive with our kids?
Getting back to snow skiing, what about the affect of altitude, cold, and exertion? If cardiovascular disease is clearly the most common non-scuba related conditions contributing to death then should I not ski with my kids because I might have a fatal heart attack on the slopes? And let's be clear, you may be on land and not in danger of drowning, but trust me, the time delay to get down the mountain with ski patrol and into and ambulance and then the hospital can also be the difference between surviving and dying.
Overall life itself is a terminal condition. As parents we should expose our kids to various activities but never forget each activity has its own inherent risks. The trick is to get the kids to understand and respect those risks. I alway wear a helmet when skiing and always ski in control. I can't ask my kids to do the same if I don't set the example first. I will let my 8 year old try the bubble maker class when we go to Turks and Caicos this summer, but only if she wants to try it. And only then with proper supervision and training. My 13 year old really wants to try the introduction to scuba class. We will talk about safety, and she will be exposed to scuba under proper supervision and training. For our purposes, staying in 20-30 feet water is just fine. When organizing scuba deaths per depth on the DAN article, this had the smallest percent, while depths 65-100 had the hightest death occurences. And with her certification, I wouldn't expect her to my 'buddy' the same way I would look at diving with another adult diver. We can teach her to share air with an octopus, but she is in no way able to handle other more serious problems should they arise. Come to think of it, neither are some adults! She will accompany me and another adult diver who is also and experienced diver.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. I would like to pass this on to my kids and yes, some of those activities have risks. I will also tell them to buckle up and drive safe because everything we do has risk, it it more a question of perspective.
fun and safe diving. sorry if this is a little long.
In regards to my kids scuba diving, I personally don't think that it is any more dangerous than other strenuous activities or other sports that have an inherent risk of injury. Yes, being underwater and the potential hazards and injury are inherent to scuba diving, but are really any different than say motorcycle dirt bikes with your kids? I love to snow ski as well. The lift ticket clearly states skiing is a hazardous sport. Then again, so is driving. As previous posters have indicated there is a possibilty of dying in a fatal car crash. National Transportation Safety data is 90,000 deaths/year on average related to fatal motor vehicle accidents. Should we not drive with our kids?
Getting back to snow skiing, what about the affect of altitude, cold, and exertion? If cardiovascular disease is clearly the most common non-scuba related conditions contributing to death then should I not ski with my kids because I might have a fatal heart attack on the slopes? And let's be clear, you may be on land and not in danger of drowning, but trust me, the time delay to get down the mountain with ski patrol and into and ambulance and then the hospital can also be the difference between surviving and dying.
Overall life itself is a terminal condition. As parents we should expose our kids to various activities but never forget each activity has its own inherent risks. The trick is to get the kids to understand and respect those risks. I alway wear a helmet when skiing and always ski in control. I can't ask my kids to do the same if I don't set the example first. I will let my 8 year old try the bubble maker class when we go to Turks and Caicos this summer, but only if she wants to try it. And only then with proper supervision and training. My 13 year old really wants to try the introduction to scuba class. We will talk about safety, and she will be exposed to scuba under proper supervision and training. For our purposes, staying in 20-30 feet water is just fine. When organizing scuba deaths per depth on the DAN article, this had the smallest percent, while depths 65-100 had the hightest death occurences. And with her certification, I wouldn't expect her to my 'buddy' the same way I would look at diving with another adult diver. We can teach her to share air with an octopus, but she is in no way able to handle other more serious problems should they arise. Come to think of it, neither are some adults! She will accompany me and another adult diver who is also and experienced diver.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. I would like to pass this on to my kids and yes, some of those activities have risks. I will also tell them to buckle up and drive safe because everything we do has risk, it it more a question of perspective.
fun and safe diving. sorry if this is a little long.
Much of keeping your children safe, comes from an intimate knowledge regarding how they make decisions, and then impacting how they think through preventing an accident. (When I would leave the house, I'd tell my son: NO FLIPPING off the pool chairs! etc) Because I knew neck injuries, diving, are right up there probablity wise for pre-teen boys, etc. Both of my children grew up in Hawaii, ocean kayacking, surfing dangerous neaches.....trust me, there is tons of speculating in effective parenting around the ocean.
