I've got an 11 year old neighbor who has seen my diving pictures and talked with me and others about diving. I have learned in PADI OW class that a person has to be at least 12 to get certified. Is that a rule of thumb or a law? The boy's parents are fine with it and he's anxious to get in the water. Should he still wait?
Diving Age Limits?
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The lower limit is 10. The 10-11 year old junior diver may only dive with a parent, legal guardian or rated instructor.
Rick
Rick
Junior,
How about the SSI Ranger or PADI Seals programs? Might be an alternative until he get a little older.
How about the SSI Ranger or PADI Seals programs? Might be an alternative until he get a little older.
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Hi junior,
The Aug '01 upcoming issue of "Undercurrent" http://www.undercurrent.org/ will feature an extensive piece on the various scuba programs for children down to age 8.
It covers the requirements imposed by each program & the reasons for them (BTW, these are industry standards, not laws). It also discusses in detail the medical & psychological considerations of scuba for young teens & children. IMHO, any parent or guardian would want to be aware of these issues.
Hope you find it helpful.
DocVikingo
The Aug '01 upcoming issue of "Undercurrent" http://www.undercurrent.org/ will feature an extensive piece on the various scuba programs for children down to age 8.
It covers the requirements imposed by each program & the reasons for them (BTW, these are industry standards, not laws). It also discusses in detail the medical & psychological considerations of scuba for young teens & children. IMHO, any parent or guardian would want to be aware of these issues.
Hope you find it helpful.
DocVikingo
Steve Warren
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Hi
With Andrew Pugsley I researched a five page feature on the decision to lower age limits for certification for the British magazine "Diver". This appeared in the June issue and the August issue carries some interesting viewpoints from readers.
There are, I think, a lot of negative aspects to reducing the age limits. These don't seem to have received much coverage in US dive magazines. However almost all of my information was sourced from the States because young divers have not been encouraged in the UK. This includes child fatalities.
I think the article is now posted on the Divernet site (www.divernet.com). I'd be grateful for any feedback. My e mail is optics@oceanoptics.co.uk
Thanks!
Steve
With Andrew Pugsley I researched a five page feature on the decision to lower age limits for certification for the British magazine "Diver". This appeared in the June issue and the August issue carries some interesting viewpoints from readers.
There are, I think, a lot of negative aspects to reducing the age limits. These don't seem to have received much coverage in US dive magazines. However almost all of my information was sourced from the States because young divers have not been encouraged in the UK. This includes child fatalities.
I think the article is now posted on the Divernet site (www.divernet.com). I'd be grateful for any feedback. My e mail is optics@oceanoptics.co.uk
Thanks!
Steve
crabman
Guest
Gee- You learn something every day. I thought the age limit was 14 or 15. My 5 year old daughter will be happy to learn that she won't have to wait as long now.She wants to dive with dad sooo bad.
PADI accepts 10 year old students, but most agencies require a minimum age of 12. There are many instructors who refuse 10 year old student even though their agency allows them to teach divers that young. There are lots of issues to consider before allowing your young children to dive.
WWW
WWW
terrydarc
Guest
Sometimes responsible adults are not so responsible when encouraging their kids into trying what they should not.
April 11, 1996: Jessica Dubroff, a 7-year-old pilot attempting to set a record for youngest to pilot a plane across the United States, died when her plane stalled (due to too much weight) and crashed shortly after taking off from the Cheyenne, Wyoming airport. Her father and the pilot-in-command were also killed. They had been flying into a thunderstorm at the time of the crash. Earlier in the week, in a London Times interview, she said, This started off as a father-daughter adventure, and it's gotten wonderfully out of hand...I'm going to fly till I die.
April 11, 1996: Jessica Dubroff, a 7-year-old pilot attempting to set a record for youngest to pilot a plane across the United States, died when her plane stalled (due to too much weight) and crashed shortly after taking off from the Cheyenne, Wyoming airport. Her father and the pilot-in-command were also killed. They had been flying into a thunderstorm at the time of the crash. Earlier in the week, in a London Times interview, she said, This started off as a father-daughter adventure, and it's gotten wonderfully out of hand...I'm going to fly till I die.
crabman
Guest
Believe me I wouldn't do anything to hurt my kids. I will not push them to do anything till I and they feel ready to do any sport or anything except getting good grades in school. I'm not a person with a ego problem trying to make my kids to do things they are not ready for. But if she is ready at 13 or 14 we will see. That is a long wait. She sure has fun with her Mini Mouse mask and snorkel though.
bcfrench
Guest
I have a 13-year-old niece who has wanted to dive since we brought her into the shop for a Discover Scuba class a year ago. She has been waiting until her braces come off because they hurt her mouth with the regulator. After that, though, she wants to become a certified diver.
In the shop we've noticed that some kids get an initial idea of how great this will be and quickly lose interest. We've made a deal with our niece about her dive career and will see how it goes. (Her parents do not dive and are not interested, but support their daughter's interest).
We told our niece that we will pay for her education if she can first purchase her own fins, mask, snorkel, weights, and weight belt from her savings from her paper route. She has almost finished saving up the money; by the time the braces come off in early fall, she'll have the funds.
We will first pay for a snorkeling class and a skin diver class, and if after successfully completing these classes she's still interested in diving, we will pay for her certification class and see to her transportation to and from class and the training quarry (she lives about an hour from us). Although we have not told her because we don't want this to be a factor in her decisions, we have planned to take her on a long weekend trip to the Florida Keys after her successful certification and will probably take her on other dive trips as appropriate.
My husband is a divemaster and I have almost finished my own divemaster certification, so even as a junior diver she will be able to dive with us. we will probably rent her gear until she has stopped growing; knowing her determination, she probably will have saved for her own dive gear by then.
We did want her to purchase some of her own equipment so she has some investment in it. SHe has two sisters and a brother who were also enthusiastic after taking Discover Scuba, but she was the only one who seemed to have continued interest after hearing our proposal about purchasing her own equipment. My brother-in-law says that she's checked and re-checked out every book in their library on diving and underwater life. I think we might have a new diver in the family soon!
But do something to gauge the child's real interest before you invest. It may seem like something cool to do, but once they realize certification is a lot of work, you may have misspent your money.
...Barb
In the shop we've noticed that some kids get an initial idea of how great this will be and quickly lose interest. We've made a deal with our niece about her dive career and will see how it goes. (Her parents do not dive and are not interested, but support their daughter's interest).
We told our niece that we will pay for her education if she can first purchase her own fins, mask, snorkel, weights, and weight belt from her savings from her paper route. She has almost finished saving up the money; by the time the braces come off in early fall, she'll have the funds.
We will first pay for a snorkeling class and a skin diver class, and if after successfully completing these classes she's still interested in diving, we will pay for her certification class and see to her transportation to and from class and the training quarry (she lives about an hour from us). Although we have not told her because we don't want this to be a factor in her decisions, we have planned to take her on a long weekend trip to the Florida Keys after her successful certification and will probably take her on other dive trips as appropriate.
My husband is a divemaster and I have almost finished my own divemaster certification, so even as a junior diver she will be able to dive with us. we will probably rent her gear until she has stopped growing; knowing her determination, she probably will have saved for her own dive gear by then.
We did want her to purchase some of her own equipment so she has some investment in it. SHe has two sisters and a brother who were also enthusiastic after taking Discover Scuba, but she was the only one who seemed to have continued interest after hearing our proposal about purchasing her own equipment. My brother-in-law says that she's checked and re-checked out every book in their library on diving and underwater life. I think we might have a new diver in the family soon!
But do something to gauge the child's real interest before you invest. It may seem like something cool to do, but once they realize certification is a lot of work, you may have misspent your money.
...Barb
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