Bubblesong
Contributor
We Mass students used our wetsuits in the pool, but maybe these Chicago kids have not found wetsuits, or the pool did not allow them?
10 year olds and the discover scuba class.
- Thread starter seeker242
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
For kids of non-diving parents, they don't have wetsuits and why would the parents shell out for a wetsuit for 60-90 minutes in the pool that the kid might not wear again? We had no idea if my goddaughter would even like the experience. The shop doesn't have kid size wetsuits in their rental fleet.
- Messages
- 5,141
- Reaction score
- 4,138
- # of dives
- 5000 - ∞
Marie,
The first impression is the lasting impression !
Your dear God daughter will always associate diving with cold =bone chilling cold!
And you have only your self to blame-YOU should have checked about the event and the availability of wet suits ....,I would ask --no --demand a refund in partial or whole of the cost
Run don't walk to another local shop that has juvenile wet suits and a similar program and repeat the process before her mind set is diving is cold and not for her.
You sure in the heck did not do her a favor
SDM.
The first impression is the lasting impression !
Your dear God daughter will always associate diving with cold =bone chilling cold!
And you have only your self to blame-YOU should have checked about the event and the availability of wet suits ....,I would ask --no --demand a refund in partial or whole of the cost
Run don't walk to another local shop that has juvenile wet suits and a similar program and repeat the process before her mind set is diving is cold and not for her.
You sure in the heck did not do her a favor
SDM.
I told her to bring a t-shirt and leggings. She chose to take them off before even getting in the water and wouldn't put them back on. Can't force a kid to do what they don't want, especially one that's not mine.
Her family doesn't have the $$ for her to get into diving. If she later decides she wants to do it, I'll pay for her certification class - after she graduates from high school. This was a one-time experience only.
Kid doesn't get cold in the pool at her local Y, which is probably heated to similar temperature, per mom.
And, no, I'm not going to demand a refund. I did my DSD last summer, same pool, same shop, no wetsuit either!
Her family doesn't have the $$ for her to get into diving. If she later decides she wants to do it, I'll pay for her certification class - after she graduates from high school. This was a one-time experience only.
Kid doesn't get cold in the pool at her local Y, which is probably heated to similar temperature, per mom.
And, no, I'm not going to demand a refund. I did my DSD last summer, same pool, same shop, no wetsuit either!
Not every shop has kid-sized suits. Keeping a stock of them for rentals is something that has to be looked at carefully from a business standpoint. I looked into the possibility of low-cost suits at one DEMA for my Girl Scout Snorkeling and Skin Diving Programs.
The best price I could get from a Taiwanese mfg was 25.00 per unit on a 2.5-3 mil shorty. Ok not bad. Now take that figure x 7 for the number of girls I might have in the water at one time. These sessions start with 8 yr olds and up through 18.
Then look at the different body types you now have to deal with. Short, tall, average, thin, stocky, etc. Each one of those has the possibility of being in a group. Then add the actual sizes in. XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL in kid sizes.
In the end, I was looking at a bare minimum of needing 50-60 suits. An actual total to be able to reliably fit an entire group was closer to 150. Some that may get used once and never again. Just so each one could have a suit that actually fit.
From a business standpoint for any shop, that is simply not good practice.
When you are talking about ten-year-olds and possibly investing in a suit for them, I would never tell a parent to buy a new one. Chances are the kid will outgrow it in 6 months.
Now the shop I teach SCUBA at does have some kid sized suits. Maybe a half a dozen suits that have accumulated over the years. They are not very fancy or high end but they are serviceable.
However, in the 8 years I have been teaching at the shop I have only had one student in an OW class that one fit. All of my other students have been older and could fit adult sized suits.
To jump on Marie for not making sure the shop had a suit to fit the kid is ignorant and uncalled for.
Many swimming pool based Discover programs don't require suits due to the water temp. Shops try to take this into account and work to see that the pool is suitably warm. However, when they don't own the pool they don't have a lot of control over the temps. Kids also tend to tolerate the cold better than some adults.
There are times I have to make my Girl Scouts get out of the pool when they are insisting they are ok because they don't want to miss out on something. The blue lips, shivering, and chattering teeth saying they are fine are kind of a giveaway they are not. Boys are worse. Their egos would see them actually hypothermic rather than risk the teasing of their friends for being a wuss.
The best price I could get from a Taiwanese mfg was 25.00 per unit on a 2.5-3 mil shorty. Ok not bad. Now take that figure x 7 for the number of girls I might have in the water at one time. These sessions start with 8 yr olds and up through 18.
Then look at the different body types you now have to deal with. Short, tall, average, thin, stocky, etc. Each one of those has the possibility of being in a group. Then add the actual sizes in. XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL in kid sizes.
In the end, I was looking at a bare minimum of needing 50-60 suits. An actual total to be able to reliably fit an entire group was closer to 150. Some that may get used once and never again. Just so each one could have a suit that actually fit.
From a business standpoint for any shop, that is simply not good practice.
When you are talking about ten-year-olds and possibly investing in a suit for them, I would never tell a parent to buy a new one. Chances are the kid will outgrow it in 6 months.
Now the shop I teach SCUBA at does have some kid sized suits. Maybe a half a dozen suits that have accumulated over the years. They are not very fancy or high end but they are serviceable.
However, in the 8 years I have been teaching at the shop I have only had one student in an OW class that one fit. All of my other students have been older and could fit adult sized suits.
To jump on Marie for not making sure the shop had a suit to fit the kid is ignorant and uncalled for.
Many swimming pool based Discover programs don't require suits due to the water temp. Shops try to take this into account and work to see that the pool is suitably warm. However, when they don't own the pool they don't have a lot of control over the temps. Kids also tend to tolerate the cold better than some adults.
There are times I have to make my Girl Scouts get out of the pool when they are insisting they are ok because they don't want to miss out on something. The blue lips, shivering, and chattering teeth saying they are fine are kind of a giveaway they are not. Boys are worse. Their egos would see them actually hypothermic rather than risk the teasing of their friends for being a wuss.
Bubblesong
Contributor
We did the try scuba as birthday parties in summer, so temp was ok
My 12 year old was certified in a family owned shop so they had small rental suits, possibly suits once owned by shop owners kids.
here in Boston and Providence areas, we have Ocean State Job Lot that has been selling thin wetsuits for a while, I bought an adult 3mm shorty for $20, and they had kid sizes too. But there must be some kind of discount place near every big city, that sells overstock basic ski diver stuff?
My 12 year old was certified in a family owned shop so they had small rental suits, possibly suits once owned by shop owners kids.
here in Boston and Providence areas, we have Ocean State Job Lot that has been selling thin wetsuits for a while, I bought an adult 3mm shorty for $20, and they had kid sizes too. But there must be some kind of discount place near every big city, that sells overstock basic ski diver stuff?
Whoa, that's being a little aggressive towards Marie13...she gave a really nice gift and the kid being cold isn't going to prevent her from ever doing scuba again. I can't even think of all the times I was freezing cold or got hurt doing things, didn't stop me or anybody else from trying again. Kids are very resilient.
And kids can sometimes be fine playing in a pool all day and Im sure some would be fine without a wetsuit in a pool. Same with adults, everyone is different. It's also not fair to assume the parents are able to buy a $20 wetsuit for their kid, not everyone is able to just spend money, especially for a one time thing.
And kids can sometimes be fine playing in a pool all day and Im sure some would be fine without a wetsuit in a pool. Same with adults, everyone is different. It's also not fair to assume the parents are able to buy a $20 wetsuit for their kid, not everyone is able to just spend money, especially for a one time thing.
Chavodel8en
Contributor
Yeah, folks maybe overreacting a little to a kid being cold in a 80 deg F pool. 80 deg seems like a reasonable temp - I wouldnt fault the shop. Nor would I fault anyone else. The kid is a bit cold intolerant. Its OK. She was still able to complete what was required.
One way to view it is that it gave the kid a good, initial insight into her cold tolerance. Better in a pool where she can get out than in the open water. Now she knows.
And if the cold will deter her from diving -- well, it wouldn't be the first time that happened to someone.
Hoping she continues with the diving.
And I wish I had a godmother like Marie when I was a youngin. Cold and all, I'd take it.
One way to view it is that it gave the kid a good, initial insight into her cold tolerance. Better in a pool where she can get out than in the open water. Now she knows.
And if the cold will deter her from diving -- well, it wouldn't be the first time that happened to someone.
Hoping she continues with the diving.
And I wish I had a godmother like Marie when I was a youngin. Cold and all, I'd take it.
Last edited:
KevinNM
Contributor
I saw a girl in Hawaii who needed two 7mm suits (layered) to be not painfully cold in 20 minutes in 70 degree water. Another diver was in cut-offs and a t-shirt. It really varies a lot.
Similar threads
