4 year old Diver?

[Riger]

Interesting.

 

[tech24]

I have been Diving for four years now my son just turned 10 he has been through PADI Bubblemakers and loves it.he asks me everyday when he can Dive for real I think 12 is a good age with Supervision.

 

[belairbrian]

My son was certified as a PADI Jr Open Water diver last year. His instructor decides if he will certify based on more than age. You have to consider there emotional age and maturity along with physical strength. In my sons case, he is very mature for his age. He had been snorkeling for 3 years. Straight A's since he started school, and has attended Space Camp. In his case we determined he was ready for diving within the Jr OWD restrictions.

The PADI rules are:
10 years old 40 ft with Parent or Instructor
At 12 they can go deeper and get advanced, also they must dive with a certified Adult
At 16 the certification becomes the same as an adult cert.

One issue I've seen with young divers is parents buying gear for them to "GROW INTO". It can be difficult to find gear for kids. But gear has to fit properly. And yes they will outgrow it but that is no excuse for putting your kid in ill fitting gear.

 

[NeedABiggerBoat]

This is a very interesting thread. It seem many people on here take great offence to the idea of children using scuba gear, even in shallow swimming pools. They seem to think that there is no chance a child could manage the intelectual and emotional requirements of scuba. The fact is that casting aspersions on a stranger based purely on their age is a fallacy. There are vast numbers of children under ten that have I.Q.s that rival most adults. And I personally know an 8 year old who's muturity level is far beyond many of the armchair divers on this site. Obviously a childs rate of progression in scuba needs to match their ability, and be closely monitered by parents, but for someone to tell a total stranger thousands of miles away that their child isn't ready for something is proposturous. All the people trying to be net heros around here need to calm down and stop tring to save the world. Additionally, there are countless adults who loose their lives through poor judgement or lack of knowledge. What of them?

 

[Riger]

........ And I personally know an 8 year old who's muturity level is far beyond many of the armchair divers on this site. Obviously a childs rate of progression in scuba needs to match their ability, and be closely monitered by parents, but for someone to tell a total stranger thousands of miles away that their child isn't ready for something is proposturous. .........

Almost as proposturous as someone thousands of miles away claiming that many armchair divers on this site have a lower maturity level than an 8 year old child.

Sorry, it cuts both ways.

Best Regards

Richard

 

[jswantek]

To the original poster: Great pics! Looks like your son is having a GREAT time!!!

FWIW, my son is 11, just got certified Junior OW a few months ago. He's a good, safe diver and an excellent dive buddy. It's a great way for us to get in some fantastic father-son time.

 

[simmonsjr]

This is a very interesting thread. It seem many people on here take great offence to the idea of children using scuba gear, even in shallow swimming pools. They seem to think that there is no chance a child could manage the intelectual and emotional requirements of scuba. The fact is that casting aspersions on a stranger based purely on their age is a fallacy. There are vast numbers of children under ten that have I.Q.s that rival most adults. And I personally know an 8 year old who's muturity level is far beyond many of the armchair divers on this site. Obviously a childs rate of progression in scuba needs to match their ability, and be closely monitered by parents, but for someone to tell a total stranger thousands of miles away that their child isn't ready for something is proposturous. All the people trying to be net heros around here need to calm down and stop tring to save the world. Additionally, there are countless adults who loose their lives through poor judgement or lack of knowledge. What of them?

To be fair, most of the objections were more based on physiological concerns than on emotional or physical readiness. A very valid point was made that the effects of breathing compressed air at depth are not all that well understood in adult divers and the issue becomes even more murky when you consider that young children still have a lot of growing left to do. It's a very valid concern, and all that they are doing is erring on the side of caution. There is nothing wrong with that in the least. Scuba in general is a sport that rewards caution.

Jason

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

The fact is that casting aspersions on a stranger based purely on their age is a fallacy.

Not really. The transition to formal operational cognitive development happens between ages of 12 and 15 I believe (I'm not a psychologist, so this is second-hand knoweldge).

Additionally, possible physiological concerns correlate almost directly with age.

You're right that not everything can be judged with age, however it isn't all just arbitrary: there is science behind most of the arguments. And our society does this all the time: whether it's drinking age; driving age; or whatever. Besides, if you can't make judgments based on age, why have any minimum age? Shouldn't PADI train any diver if their parents feel they are ready?

There are vast numbers of children under ten that have I.Q.s that rival most adults.

Well ignoring the fact that the main arguments about diving have little to do with IQ, do you have any stats to back this up? I have trouble believing that a vast number of children under 10 have higher IQs than most adults. In other words, where is the proof that there are these vast number of children who have an IQ that would fall in the top 50% of adult IQs? Because it seems illogical to me.

but for someone to tell a total stranger thousands of miles away that their child isn't ready for something is proposturous.

Okay I'm just going to come out and say this, I'm sure it will be controversial, but I don't care if people get mad: parents, your 10 year old should not be consuming vast amounts of alcohol or smoking cigarettes.

 

[NeedABiggerBoat]

Wow! struck a nerve did I? I think perhaps that scuba diving in a pool might be a shade less dangerous than getting your pre-pubescent child drunk, and giving them a pack of smokes. But thats not really what I was getting at.

 

[Walter]

There are vast numbers of children under ten that have I.Q.s that rival most adults.

IQ has nothing to do with age. Someone who has a low IQ as an adult most likely had a low IQ as a child. Someone who has a high IQ as an adult most likely had a high IQ as a child. Proportions of high/low IQs will remain fairly constant for all ages. Having a high IQ does help in some, but not all aspects of learning to dive. Also, I have no doubt that children much younger than 8 can learn to dive. I question the wisdom of allowing them to do so. I further support a partent's right to make those determinations for their own children.

Additionally, there are countless adults who loose their lives through poor judgement or lack of knowledge. What of them?

Adults have every right to make poor choices. I believe it is morally wrong to try to save adults from themselves. Give them the facts, then let them make their own choices.