Dive Buddies: Daughter or Son

[nurse H2O]

My daughter and i took the OW course together.we want to progress to Rescue diver(she is an EMT, and me ,well, a nurse) anyway,as it stands now, she will be my dive buddy for some of the time. I found when we were doing the OW class, i was especially cautious not to do anything dumb (you know, when you never dove before it can be scary at first) Does anyone on the board dive with their older kids, if you do, does it affect your diving, such as, are you more protective and cautious of them. I m hoping i will be a good dive buddy as i'm her mom. ftroest:

 

[H2Andy]

well, i have seen quite a few parent-child dive teams here on ScubaBoard, so I am
sure you'll be hearing from them as they find this post. it's actually fairly common.

i think i know how you feel (accepting a whole new set of responsibilities for your
child in an environment you are just starting to understand and worried that you
may not be able to protect her). imho, if you stay within your limits and are not afraid
to call a dive if you're in over your head, you'll be ok.

hopefully our diving moms and dads will chime in shortly

 

[sjx]

From what I've seen, parent/child pairs generally do look after each other well and make good buddies, as long as they avoid bringing in family arguments! Although sometimes they can be a little over-protective too, or try to do everything for their buddy (which can frustrating if they want to be independent, and may not really be a help as they do need to be able to manage themselves!). It can also increase your stress levels if you are having difficulties yourself and are worried about your buddy. Once your are both comfortable in the water it shouldn't be an issue, however. If you respect each other as responsible adults and get along as friends then you should make a good pair!

 

[scu_ba_doo]

Hi,
It is not uncommon to feel the way you feel, trying to learn and not look bad to your family/friends/daughter. As an instructor I see this in almost every class, sometimes I suggest to the family that I am going to buddy them with another student. It helps some of the time, my suggestion is to have fun and follow the lead of your instructor, and if you still feel uncomfortable have a talk with him/her and see how you are doing in their opion. As the class moves forward you will gain confedence and enjoy diving with your daughter.

A family that dives together stays together......

 

[Greg D.]

I think you two should be great buddies, but dont just dive with each other, get a few dives in with others and se how it compares to diving with family, As for bringing in family arguments as sjx said, it cant be any worse than diving with you wife/husband

 

[skeet]

My main dive buddy for traveling is my mother-in-law, I find myself constantly monitoring her on dives just like I tend to my children when swimming. Their to young to dive as of yet.

 

[SeanQ]

I think you two should be great buddies, but dont just dive with each other, get a few dives in with others and se how it compares to diving with family, As for bringing in family arguments as sjx said, it cant be any worse than diving with you wife/husband

I don't know, 45 minutes of silence is an attractive idea.

 

[Fly N Dive]

i dive with my dad sometimes, and although we both look after eachother there isnt any over-protectiveness.i think that the fact i'm a rescue diver while he is still ow, and that i have 3x the dives he has might have something to do with it

 

[ABQdiver]

..snip.. Does anyone on the board dive with their older kids, if you do, does it affect your diving, such as, are you more protective and cautious of them. I m hoping i will be a good dive buddy as i'm her mom. ftroest:

My daughter and I dive as a team when we dive together usually. She's a teenager and I typically have a close eye on her as she does on me.
However, I will admit to a real commardarie that diving has brought to us that is a joy to share. Mom will not dive, so when family trips are made the kid and I dive and dive a lot depending on the vacation. It's fun and something I hope we both share as long as I'm able......

 

[Sonicvalley]

Some of the best divers that are out there (or were) are families. just try to keep the argueing down to a dull roar i.e. the Rouses