Advice wanted for diving with kids

[Wants2divemore]

I'm looking for advice on diving with my two sons, ages 12 & 13.

We all just completed our PADI OW certification and are taking the AOW next month to get more dive experience while being supervised. I don't feel comfortable with just all 3 of us diving together being each other's buddies. I'm not confident that either of them could rescue me if something serious happens, and I couldn't rescue them both at the same time if needed. In our outdoor adventures together (we ski, hike, and bike a lot together) I always make sure I can handle the worst possible scenario.

Given that we live in southeastern Pennsylvania, the options for local diving are somewhat limited (especially since Dutch Springs is most likely closing). I imagine that most of our diving will be on trips (North Carolina, Florida, Caribbean, etc.).

I'm thinking the best thing for us to do for the time being is to always dive with someone else with much more experience. I anticipate that means hiring someone to go along with us. How would you advise locating someone? Contact LDS in the area before the trip, post on SB, or something else? Any other advice for me?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[rsingler]

My son works for a dive shop in Key Largo, FL. A big piece of his business is guiding dives. He is an instructor, and depending upon the clientele, that's the stressful side of his day. Guiding is the enjoyable part, where he can serve as an extra pair of eyes, your safety backup, an experienced monitor for you and your kids, and of course, a guide to the wildlife. His shop charges $25 per person to add a guide to a 2-tank boat trip for three people, but of course the employees don't make much and live on tips. If this fits in your budget, hiring a guide is easy through any LDS.
In fact, as an Instructor planning to use a new site in Monterey, I called an LDS for a guide myself, to learn the lay of the land. The morning I arrived, it was raining and miserable outside. The guide said, "You really want to do this?" But since all I needed was to learn the underwater topography and landmarks, I told him yes. And off we went! I hope this info is helpful.

 

[scrane]

I would arrange to team up with a private divemaster to accompany you and your kids until you can better define individual skills and patterns of behavior. You can do this by making advance arrangements with your chosen outfitter.

 

[Thunder Struck]

One word comes to mind after diving with the daughter (17) who recently got certified: "Squirrel!"

In short, be prepared to chase them all over the reef to keep an eye on them. They will be amazed at what diving presents to them and will be going this way and that, zigging, zagging, and otherwise skedoodling all over the reef checking things out. Checking air pressure? Not near as interesting as the angel fish, puffers, urchins, and everything else out there.

Keep a bolt snap in hand to bang on a tank to get their attention. I'd be leery about diving with two at once. Think about when they first learned to walk. Turn your head for a second and they are gone. I'd seriously consider having a fourth person come along that can pair up and keep eyes fixated on your other child. I'd take my eye of my daughter to briefly check on my wife and boom! Daughter would be off and gone again.

That having been said, try and let them lead the dive, as much as reasonably possible, so they can explore at their own pace and curiosity. My family was beach diving off Lauderdale by the Sea. Large flat reefs where for the most part you wont get past 25 feet unless you bring a shovel. In this case I didn't need to worry about her getting caught dropping too deep off a wall or taking off in a current. But I still needed to keep an eye on her air. Given everything that she was taking in I'm sure if you mapped our dive it would look like an old Family Circus cartoon that resembles when Billy would "came straight home."

As I suggested, bring a fourth. Talk to your LDS, I'm sure they have someone who may have also recently taken a class and is cert'ed as a Rescue Diver. As such, they will have in their mind certain things to look out for another diver who hasn't been through RD training might not even think of. They also will likely be familiar with the area and can serve as a guide. And possibly at no greater cost than taking them to a post dive lunch/dinner.

Many LDS do "fun dive" days or something similar. Basically a social dive day for patrons of the shop to get together and dive. Many shops will have this on their social media pages.

 

[TMHeimer]

You may try the local sub forums-under U.S. as I've found several buddies that way.
I do applaud you for being concerned about all of you being beginners, rescue abilities (no one has taken the Rescue course), etc.
Your situation is one I always bring up when replying on a "scuba kids" thread. According to PADI (and I assume most agencies), you have their blessing to just dive as buddies as long as you follow the rules for "Jr. OWs". Many of those parents who start these threads are already very experienced divers, perhaps instructors.

My opinion, having taught maybe a thousand kids exactly the same age as yours, is that 15 should be the minimum age anyone should be able to get certified. I base this on my knowledge of how kids 11-13 think, not on how easily many of them can grasp the academics, and even practical aspects of diving. But on that panic rescue situation and how they (or you as also a beginner) would react. And I base it on how I think I may have handled it at age 15 vs. 12 or 13.
My opinion is part of a tiny minority on SB. Good luck on your upcoming adventures.

 

[Angelo Farina]

In my family we are all divers. I and my wife are old-style Cmas instructors, and my wife is also certified for teaching to children above 3 years old.
We have two sons, and we introduced them to water before than walking.
We started at 6 months age, in a special pool in Reggio Emilia (Italy) where there was one of the few Italian diving instructors entitled to teach scuba diving below 3 years, named Roberta.
Both of my sons had their first air tank around 18 months, in that special pool.
But only around 4 years they started doing real dives in the sea, in Sardinia.
At that point, and up to 18 years old, they did always dive having as a buddy me or my wife, whilst the other parent and son did stay on our small Zodiac inflatable, providing assistance.
Only when we did make a trip to Australia we did dive all together, always in two buddy pairs (parent-son), and both parents being instructors, and with a local diving guide.
And at that time they were already grown up (12 and 17) and having already logged 100 and 150 dives here in the mediterranean, and having an Advanced Open Water cert.
I do not suggest that you dive alone with your two sons.
The minimum would be, at least for the first 50 or 60 dives, to have an instructor for each of them (as you are not an instructor). And if you are not self-reliant and solo certified, you need a third diver being your buddy.
If you have to hire three diving guides, this looks quite expensive...
However, after a number of dives (as said, 50 or 60), your sons will become proficient. At that point one can be your buddy and you will need to hire just one diving guide for being the buddy of the other son.
Diving with my sons has been for years one of the better things of my life, which cemented the bonds between all 4 of us.
But I understand that my family is quite uncommon, and our experience cannot be easily transposed to other families.
So the reward is very high, but if in a family the parents are not both instructors, with at least one being a baby instructor, diving together with sons is not simple, nor cheap...

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have no idea what your sons are like. Children vary so dramatically. I do realize that the best student I ever had (14 year old girl, but she was a competitive synchronized swimmer) is an exception as she had learned a lot of disclipline through her competitions. I certainly wouldn't do what JYC did and teach a 4-year old to scuba dive due to physiological risks.

The idea of hiring an exclusive guide who monitors one of your children while you monitor the other for the next number of years is prudent.

 

[Angelo Farina]

My opinion, having taught maybe a thousand kids exactly the same age as yours, is that 15 should be the minimum age anyone should be able to get certified. I base this on my knowledge of how kids 11-13 think, not on how easily many of them can grasp the academics, and even practical aspects of diving. But on that panic rescue situation and how they (or you as also a beginner) would react. And I base it on how I think I may have handled it at age 15 vs. 12 or 13.
My opinion is part of a tiny minority on SB.

I agree entirely that 12-13 years is THE WORST age for starting diving.
At that age children do not obey orders as they were doing at 5-7 years, and they often panic.
In my opinion, based mostly on my sons, children should be introduced to dangerous sports well before beginning primary school.
Depending on the sport and the self control of each individual, I think they should start between 4 and 6.
If they do not start so early, then better to wait they are at least 16, better 18.
We introduced our children to many dangerous sports at 4-5 years, such as scuba diving, motocross, alpin ski, mountain climbing.
But for the other sports we had missed, such as rafting, downhill, using rifles, free diving, etc. we did wait that they were grown up, as we were aware of the risks occurring when a child starts a new dangerous activity above 8 years old.

 

[Altamira]

I don't recommend diving with more than one child at a time unless you hire private DMs to monitor each son while you work on your own proficiency. At your level of experience, you are likely going to have your hands full taking care of yourself, much less trying to monitor a child, and staying a step ahead of what might go through his undeveloped brain. I had a lot more dive experience than you when I got my 12 year old grandson certified, and then became his dive buddy. Although he was a pretty skilled diver for his age and experience level, I had to work my ass off monitoring him, and trying to anticipate what he might do to get himself in trouble. Although I watched him like a hawk looking at a mouse, he still managed to do some weird things that evoked "holy crap" moments. Also, at your experience level, there is no such thing as a relaxing dive with a newly minted young son diver as a dive buddy. Unless you are the exceptional new minted, self-reliant and highly capable diver, trained by an exceptional instructor, you need to realize that you might not be capable of keeping your son safe. And you are spot on by understanding that he probably won't be much help to you in an emergency. Hiring a private DM for each child is not going to be inexpensive, but it will be the best money you could spend at this stage of your individual skill sets to give you all the most enjoyable, fun, and safe dives.

 

[MichaelMc]

+1 on a guide.

I'd study up on rescue diver skills, which has a heavy focus on reading the situation and avoiding problems before they develop, not just physically doing a rescue.

Diving with even just one of them by yourself, you are a solo diver with an additional person you need to keep safe, with less than ten dives. So in addition to your rescue knowledge, I'd look at self reliant and solo skills and mindset for you.

If you have non-diving trusted adults along, you might dive with one at a time. Them each one dive, you two.

I'd think shallow simple dives.

I think it is AWESOME that you get to dive with them. But tracking two squirrels underwater in scuba gear could be a big issue.

ETA: Around here, a guide for two shore dives with a group of up to four is $110. Not cheap, but not extreme given the cost of fills, driving and possible rentals for a group of three.