Question At what age can a kid start diving

[tkaelin]

Ours were 13 and 15 and were perfect ages for them. Still diving today, 14 years later

 

[PatW]

I think the question is worded slightly wrong.

In my Open Water class, all of the adults I saw seemed to regard OW certification as a credential that allowed them to rent tanks, get on dive boats and dive. They did not see it as a set of skills that really needed to be learned for safe diving.

And most of them did just well enough to pass the course. There was a 12 year old in the class. He was highly motivated especially when he was out performing the adults. I did fine. Being an old academic, I know how to learn a body of material quickly. The “kid” easily outperformed the adults.

A motivated youngster can really focus and do well, And they can understand risks (not all of them do and not all adults do).

 

[TMHeimer]

Every kid is different. It is impossibly to generalise.
For some, definitely it is wise to suspend their diving activity until they mature enough.
Someone NEVER mature...

Agree for sure. My only possible disagreement with you is I don't think anyone (barring the one in a million) has the brain development (concrete vs. abstract) to be safe enough in a true emergency before the age of 15. Not a matter at all of "maturity" or being at the "odd" age. I base that on all my years teaching both mature and immature kids aged 11-12, and on what I recall I was like at 14 vs. 15.

 

[Belzelbub]

Agree for sure. My only possible disagreement with you is I don't think anyone (barring the one in a million) has the brain development (concrete vs. abstract) to be safe enough in a true emergency before the age of 15.

I don’t disagree with that. Depending on the definition of emergency. Minor problems or full blown rescue of another diver. Minor problems can be handled by some, but certainly not all under 15. Full rescue? Unlikely.

But, I’d expand that to most adults as well. When faced with an actual emergency. Most adults just don’t know what to do. Not including events with my kids, I’ve been involved in at least 6 emergency response situations in the past 10 years or so. Two in the water, one involving a diver. Except for the diver, every other one included witnesses and onlookers that were effectively paralyzed, and utterly no help.

The diver situation was unique, and the odds were definitely stacked in her favor. Of the 5 people involved in the rescue, at least 4 were trained in EFR, CPR, and at least one (possibly two) was an EFR/CPR instructor. It went so smoothly that another instructor actually commented to his students that we were doing a Rescue course. I don’t expect things to go that smoothly in any emergency situation ever again.

It’s not just young kids that are effectively useless in emergencjes.

 

[TMHeimer]

I don’t disagree with that. Depending on the definition of emergency. Minor problems or full blown rescue of another diver. Minor problems can be handled by some, but certainly not all under 15. Full rescue? Unlikely.

But, I’d expand that to most adults as well. When faced with an actual emergency. Most adults just don’t know what to do. Not including events with my kids, I’ve been involved in at least 6 emergency response situations in the past 10 years or so. Two in the water, one involving a diver. Except for the diver, every other one included witnesses and onlookers that were effectively paralyzed, and utterly no help.

The diver situation was unique, and the odds were definitely stacked in her favor. Of the 5 people involved in the rescue, at least 4 were trained in EFR, CPR, and at least one (possibly two) was an EFR/CPR instructor. It went so smoothly that another instructor actually commented to his students that we were doing a Rescue course. I don’t expect things to go that smoothly in any emergency situation ever again.

It’s not just young kids that are effectively useless in emergencjes.

I agree with you completely. For sure, some "not so dire" emergencies could be handled by a lot of young kids. I also agree that a full blown one is another story, and that many adults would freeze up as well. I am no expert on panic, being lucky so far in 18 years to have not come close to that myself. I do get concerned when a 12 year old panics when buddy mom or dad needs help with the result being fatal. That kid has to live with that forever. And both the kid and parent could be new divers, certified in the same course.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

Most adults just don’t know what to do.

Except for the diver, every other one included witnesses and onlookers that were effectively paralyzed, and utterly no help.

How much of that is a matter of training and instruction, though? It reminds me of something I saw on TV news many years ago. Someone had fallen through ice, and you saw at least ten people, one by one, walking out to try to save them and of course falling in themselves. It just flabbergasted me -- many years earlier than that, I had seen the illustration in my Boy Scout Handbook of Scouts belly crawling as a human chain, each one holding the ankles of the one in front. I was yelling at the TV!

That was when it really hit home for me just how pervasive incompetence is. Boy Scouts are kids. Kids can learn this stuff.

 

[Belzelbub]

How much of that is a matter of training and instruction, though?

Without a doubt that is a lot of it. Most humans have the capacity to learn. That was largely my point. In the case of the diver rescue, the deck was most definitely stacked in her favor. I’m uncertain on the EFR training status of one of the other divers, but the rest had at least done some EFR training, and at least one was an EFR/CPR instructor. One of those trained was a kid.

That was when it really hit home for me just how pervasive incompetence is. Boy Scouts are kids. Kids can learn this stuff.

Exactly. Kids can learn this stuff. I won’t say that I would prefer a trained kid over a trained adult, but I would definitely prefer a trained kid over an untrained adult in an emergency situation.

 

[TMHeimer]

Without a doubt that is a lot of it. Most humans have the capacity to learn. That was largely my point. In the case of the diver rescue, the deck was most definitely stacked in her favor. I’m uncertain on the EFR training status of one of the other divers, but the rest had at least done some EFR training, and at least one was an EFR/CPR instructor. One of those trained was a kid.

Exactly. Kids can learn this stuff. I won’t say that I would prefer a trained kid over a trained adult, but I would definitely prefer a trained kid over an untrained adult in an emergency situation.

I agree in preferring a trained kid oven an untrained adult, but that may be a somewhat obvious choice. Best thing of course is a trained adult.

WeR-- I see what you say about the ice thing. But I'm not crazy about comparing learning things in Boy Scouts compared to reacting in a true scuba emergency. I figure it's not about kids being able to learn things. Of course they can. I've read of parents saying how their 10 year old aced all the scuba skills like a piece of cake, and I believe that. But you're not likely to get into a panic situation on the trail in Boy Scouts.
Back to my idea about brain development and abstract thinking. Parent buddy goes unconscious-- will they react?

 

[kinoons]

Actually, more so than how will a child or teenager react in an emergency, I worry more about the adolescent’s inability to understand abstract danger and impulsive decision making.

There is a reason that teenagers have a higher rate of accidents when driving and why trauma in general is the leading cause of death for teens.

Ensuring that an adolescent understands why all safety procedures exist, that they are to be followed, that a general rule of conservative diving should be followed, and showing off or hotdoging is completely unacceptable plus watchful oversight to verify that safe dives are executed is what I think youth divers need. As far as what age is right for the above, that can vary widely, and may change as a child ages (for better or worse). A 13 year old may be very diligent to safe diving and may become much less so at 17 if diving with friends.

 

[Angelo Farina]

But you're not likely to get into a panic situation on the trail in Boy Scouts.
Back to my idea about brain development and abstract thinking. Parent buddy goes unconscious-- will they react?

Well, boyscouts in reality often face truly dangerous conditions.
When my son was doing a boy scout camp at age of 10, they started in 6 guys in his group.
During one week, 5 of them finished at the hospital: one had broken ribs, one broken teeth, two with severe intestinal diseases and one went literally out of his mind.
My son was the only "survivor" of his sextile group, but went home with a number of minor bruises and with a partial intestinal blockage which required a couple of clismas to be resolved...