It was a reply to the previous post.
The human accomplishments - and underlying sense of adventure, risk and challenge is an amazing thing.
To compare these endeavors (moon landings etc) with the act of taking a 10 year old boy (a minor) on a dive that breaks numerous industry standards/recommendations is ludicrous.
10 year old boys don't go to the moon, or build bridges. They are minors.... who are legally deemed unable to understand and calculate personal risk and consequences. This just isn't legal "You're gonna die!" naysaying.... it is a great deal of common sense.
Likewise... when astronauts went to the moon, or when Hilary climbed Everest.... every effort and intelligence was put into effect in order to maximise safety. Whilst embarking on novel and dangerous pursuits, those involved still made every effort to formulate and apply the most effective safety protocols and measures that they could.
Taking a minor on a dive that delibertely and willfully violates existing safety protocols and measures is not adventurous, it is just plain irresponsible.
It doesn't teach the child to 'be a real man'. It teaches the child to disregard sensible recommendations, to ignore prudent advice and to dive in a haphazard and dangerous way. In short, bad role modelling as a father and as a professional dive instructor.
I think some of the positive comments made in support of my posting the video were a little over the top: "being a REAL man" etc. but I do appreciate the sentiment and understand it. I don't view the dive outings as quite that macho, probably because I have seen so many people get killed while diving around me. I respect it and it scares me a little.
Never the less, the repeated theme that I must follow, Say PADI's guidlines is a little ridiculous as well. I no longer teach diving and would be more than happy if PADI "repealed my former certification" because it might reduce my liability when diving with other people (not necessarily my kids). But I doubt that would happen. As an aside, I rigorously follwed standards when I worked as a professional, the liability risk to breaking standards made not following the rules something I would never consider. However, for my own diving, I pretty much do what I think is reasonable.
Years ago, PADI (and others) set the minimum age for cert at 13. Anyone even thinking of taking a 10-yr old diving would be considered reckless by many divers. Now PADI says 10 is okay for some very basic diving. I disagree with the standard and think 10 is far too young for a majority of kids. However, there are exceptions when a child is highly motivated, and has well developed watermanship skills and unusal cognitive abilities.
I taught my boys to freedive and scuba and the scuba training they received from me was far more rigorous and extensive than any open water course on the market.
Both boys are comfortable in the water, actually they are so fearless that it scares me a little. I constantly show them reports of people getting killed and they have heard my "war stories" many times. However, they are comfortable removing their scuba gear underwater and think nothing of buddy breathing (NOT shairing an octopus) while neither of us is wearing a mask, while on an open water dive. In fact, a few years ago, I accidentally knocked my older son's regulator out of his mouth while we were
back inside the exact same wreck. (I've been going in there for over 20 years now) He thought I was just "testing" him again and shook his head in disgust as he ever so calmly replaced the regulator.
They are required to wear a pony bottle with a bungi around their neck and have developed the motor skills to immediately go to it in an emergency. They can both freedive comfortably below 30 feet.
I think PADI is EXTREMELY irresponsible for not demanding that 10 yr old certified divers carry an adequate, independent redundant scuba system for dives over 25-30 feet. People need to avoid blindly following a company that has commercial interests as it's primary goal. Additionaly over the last 30 or so years, I have seen the bar be set lower and lower for students (as well as dive professionals).
I do not casually push the guidlines, but try to make sure that the kids have a realistic understanding of the risks of diving. They dive when they want to, not because I force them.
You lost me on that one.
