Eight Year Old Diver

[Tom Winters]

My kid is 11 and she's been certified for 1 year but has been diving for three years. She knows the skills, but diving with her is still a working dive since she gets so wrapped in what she is looking at that she loses track of her air and depth.
I started when I was 9 - I bought the NOAA book and did all the skills over and over until I had the hang of it and went in the ocean and never really came back.
I'm not sure she will stick with diving - her mom and dad were both instructors who might have pushed her too much into diving. Boys seem to stick with the diving a little more than girls do.
We'll see how this goes. All the stuff on depth and stunting growth is all nonsense - I hit 6'2". I have talked with diving neurologist parents about this - they're not all that thrilled with a lot of the medical literature out there now either.
Your kid wants to dive - let them. I would not place ANY restrictions on my kid wanting to dive with me - only her own abilities. Deep deco dives on the Hydro Atlantic? No problem when she knows what to do and I'm comfortable with ehr skills level. Watch them like you'd watch a priceless family heirloom though. Your own dives will suffer though - it's a working dive all the way.
Then they'll grow up and those dives won't be possible again. So grab the brass ring this time around because most time, you only get one chance at it.

 

[Firebrand]

I agree with Tom, but since I don't have kids yet, I can't really draw from experience. Would I have wanted my neices and nephews to dive with me when they were 8? No, because they weren't ready. If your daughter is asking, she's probably ready. Kids are a lot smarter, and more responsible than what we as adults tend to give them credit for. But, as Tom said, kids are easily hooked on watching things, so you will be working to watch their air consumption and depth. (If you don't think they don't get "glued" to whatever they're watching, try to separate them from their Sat. morning cartoon. You might get a response during the commercials, but only if your lucky!)

 

[CIMI Diver]

After following this for a while, I put in my 2 cents. I don't remember these points being covered.
There have been recorded incidents causing injuries breathing air under pressure at depths of 4 feet.
There are recorded incidents causing death breathing air under pressure at depths of 15 feet.
The GREATEST pressure differential in scuba happens between 0 feet & 15 feet. Review your diving physics laws.
There are medical papers on the maturity (or lack of) in the lungs of children. Some of these papers relate that there may be a marked difference between boys & girls with the progression of lung maturity, with the boys lungs being more prone to injury as thier lungs "lag" behind those of girls. Case in point, the noticable body "thinness" of boys may be a sign of Marfan's syndrome.
I have noticed on multiple medical forms of diving teenagers whom were released to dive with asthma being noted & most were being treated with asthma medication including inhalers. ASTHMA IS A CONDITION THAT COMPLETELY PRECLUDES DIVING ON COMPRESSED AIR!!!! But it happens regularly. If you take the time to study the disease of Asthma you will find it absolutley precludes that person to diving because it can lead to lung overexpansion injuries, even microscopicaly, such as pneumothorax, subcutaneous eymphasema, & gas embolism (not a complete list). I have a sick feeling the doctors releasing these children to dive are NOT familiar with the sport of Scuba & the physics laws governing those breathing air at pressure.
Another factor for children diving is PADI has "rules" on just who these children may dive with as a diving buddy.
In my years of diving I have seen cases where a ten year old had more diving savvy than a 40 year old & was more capable of diving safely than the adult. Many times these children are better prepared than the adults. But then I have seen adults dive that are 50 to 75 pounds over weight, smokers for over 30 years, & somewhat more than "social" drinkers, if you know what I mean! Is it safe for this person to dive? I think not, but it happens all the time.
Conclusion: A frank talk with the childs doctor about the doctors experience level in dealing with children's diseases, & they must be familiar with SCUBA & all assorted facets of SCUBA, points that should be on the short list when deciding on your childs physical ability to Scuba. If the child's doctor is NOT extensively familiar with & trained in hyperbarics, find one that is!!! I get somewhat "uneasy" when I review medical records of children showing up at camp ready to scuba. Especially when I see "ASTHMA & THE LIST OF MEDS THEY ARE TAKING AND ARE SUPPLIED WITH ONE OR MORE INHALERS FOR ACUTE EXACERBATIONS OF THE DISEASE PROCESS!"
Is the chance of death or severe life altering injuries worth a day on scuba? I don't think so!
My 2 cents.....
Grady
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor 1978
Paramedic since 1973
Remote Environment Medical Care Specialist 1983

It looks like the ASTHMA IS A CONDITION THAT COMPLETELY PRECLUDES DIVING ON COMPRESSED AIR!!!! rule in no longer an absolute rule. From DAN's web site, under medical FAQ's.

a consensus of experts at a 1995 workshop held under the auspices of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) proposed more liberal guidelines. Essentially, the UHMS workshop panel felt that the risk of diving is probably acceptable if, the diving candidate with some asthmatic ‘history’ demonstrates normal pulmonary function at rest (FVC, mid-expiratory flow, FEV1, FEF 25-75) and then again after strenuous exercise. It was also concluded that the degree of competency in making a medical assessment of diving fitness is enhanced if the examining doctor has relevant knowledge or experience of the diving environment and its associated hazards.

It is important to note that asthma severity can wax and wane. Symptoms may worsen for 4-6 weeks after a "cold" or during certain seasons (for example in response to high levels of pollen in the air.) Therefore, even if a person with asthma fulfills the criteria listed above, diving is not recommended unless the diver is free of respiratory symptoms before each dive.

Reference:

Elliott, D.H. (1996) Are Asthmatics Fit To Dive?, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) – Annual Scientific Meeting, 21-June-1995

 

[2Dive4fun]

Just a quick post to send interested people to view my post in the classified section. I have some small 6.5 mil dry suits for small kids or small adults. Size will fit a diver of 4' - 10 with weight of 70 - 85 lbs and one for someone 5' 2 - 5'-6" and under 115 lbs.

 

[H20Bubbles]

Our son is 8 years old (on his way to 9) and is incredibly excited about the possibility of diving. He spent most of the New Years weekend working through Lesson 1 of the PADI OW classroom. Having sat next to him, and helping explain concepts... I can honestly say that he has a firm understanding of buoyancy, pressure, volume, and density, and the basic gear. Even after a couple of days, he was able to complete the Lesson 1 review questions and explain.

Does that mean he is ready to be OW certified... of course not. But we are definite looking to find a Scuba Rangers program for him. I would love to be able to share this passion with him - even if it is only in confined water pool dives.

 

[Cacia]

yea, Tom Winters is so right.

My parenting philosophy:
Getting them out there early is an esteem builder and that goes further to making your kids "safer" in life than worrying too much about all the things that "could" happen. The time you spend and that love of diving you share with them will shape their characters! Want to save the oceans? Make your kids love the oceans.

 

[caribou]

I thought the main problem with diving young is the potential PFO. It might be closed, it might be still trying to close, or it won't close. At 11 years old, most kids are in the second category. So even diving well within the tables doesn't provide a low enough risk compared with the same dives being an adult. Even if you know 10 kids who did it, that's not statistically representative.

Unless you have your kid tested for PFO, don't you think you're playing with fire ?

 

[Cacia]

I would like to read that article. Do you have that? My impression is that PFO can be easily ruled on by non-invasive measures.
What does DAN say about this?

I bet kids that jump horses, surf, skateboard, etc would probably be more at risk of death or injury. "playing with fire" is what raising active kids is. Very interesting point assuming you are correct. I will ask my kid's dad pronto. (pediatric surgeon, but I bet he won't know)

 

[caribou]

I actually read that on scubaboard a while ago. They were saying the PFO was not an issue most of the time even under strenuous exercise at sea level, but could become critical even in "not so strenuous" exercise while under pressure.

Again this depends on the size of the PFO.

I don't have a DAN link. To me, I thought that what the reason behind not allowing kids under a certain age to scuba dive was.

I started intense physical exercise (24 hours of tennis per week) when I was 4. Before doing so, they tested my heart, how it beats, how fast it slows down when exercise stops, and tons of that stuff, but nothing (to my opinion) that could detect a PFO.

That's why I think pressure has something to do with it.

any doc or doc moderator around ?

If you happen to find an interesting link, please post.

 

[Cacia]

well, yes, pressure is the problem with PFO because the microbubbles that would be otherwise benign (of no consequence) in the venous (R side) of the heart get shunted backwards into the L side which is the arterial side and gets pumped into the arterial circulation. They get shunted because the hemodynamics are not entirely normal when there is an opening between the atria. (Blood would not normally flow from low pressure to high pressure). But the real question you pose, a legitimate one, is, is the risk significant? And this is really the point I would like to make regarding managing risks we assume.
If there is indeed a risk, but your child is more likely to be killed in a car accident, for example, or by the flu, then do you really want to prohibit them from the experience? Anyway, that is the way I always gauged these things, with my kids. Their dad is a physician and I am a trauma nurse.(used to be) Whenever significant safety issues came up I try and put it in perspective by comparing the risk to some known risk. Like car fatalities.
Still, this is an area that more data is becoming available on and the type of thing that could be a legitimate concern. Maybe some people who know more will post. Most physicians are very reluctant to comment on things like this especially if it is out of their specialty.