I'm not nervous, my mom is.

[Bullswan]

Have you asked your mom specifically what she is nervous about? It might be something that isn't what you'd expect. My wife had difficulty with my son (was your age at certification) getting certified as well. As much as we have tried, she won't get into scuba because she is afraid of the stuff down in the deep dark ocean. She likes going to aquariums and seeing the marine life through 6 inch glass but the idea of something touching her under water freaks her out.
My biggest concern as a Dad is being able to watch out for BOTH of us. We got into Scuba as a team, my son and I. I have always looked for things we could do together for a lifetime and share experiences and this is certainly one of them. My son is very responsible. I agree with the earlier posters that you need to DEMONSTRATE to your mother that you are taking this seriously and show her that, while there are risky parts to this sport, they are reduced with proper training and proper equipment and redundancy.
Promise your mom that you will NOT DIVE ALONE EVER. That you will always dive with good equipment. That you will let her know when you are diving and when you are out of the water. That if something doesn't "feel right" to you that you won't dive. That you will ask questions when you don't understand something. That you will be a responsible diver.

After all of that, I'll bet she will still be nervous but she will feel better. You are growing up. You need to understand mothers operate on emotion. That never changes.
Good luck pal.

 

[nwNemo]

Have you asked your mom specifically what she is nervous about?

No, no I haven't. I'll do that today!

Promise your mom that you will NOT DIVE ALONE EVER. That you will always dive with good equipment. That you will let her know when you are diving and when you are out of the water. That if something doesn't "feel right" to you that you won't dive. That you will ask questions when you don't understand something. That you will be a responsible diver.

I already have many times! But she needs to hear it a lot.

After all of that, I'll bet she will still be nervous but she will feel better. You are growing up. You need to understand mothers operate on emotion. That never changes.
Good luck pal.

Thanks so much for all of the help!

 

[Crush]

...my mom is incredibly nervous about me Scuba diving. What can I tell her? Raw statistics that won't scare her away?

Great to hear that you are checking out diving! I regret that I did not do so when I was younger, but it is still good at 40.

FYI - not to be insulting, but at your age you are likely not going to be scared of diving, even when you perhaps should be. If I can offer some advice, use your enthusiasm and youthful fearlessness to continue your training well beyond basic OW - please proceed at least to rescue diver, if not to Master Diver (the latter being the highest general training you can attain without having to pay a maintenance fee of some sort to keep your standing). Not only mothers, but also non-diving partners/spouses are afraid of the diving person's underwater activities. In my experience, the more you train yourself and better yourself through courses and practice, the more the non-diver learns to relax in the knowledge that you are well-trained and can "handle it."

 

[adurso]

Have your mother get certified with you. That way her fears are allayed and you have a dive buddy.

My kids were certified at 10; my wife finally decided to get certified whilst watching how much fun the kids were having.

 

[TheSmoothDome]

Have your mother get certified with you. That way her fears are allayed and you have a dive buddy.

My kids were certified at 10; my wife finally decided to get certified whilst watching how much fun the kids were having.

Hehe...great plan unless you have my mother. I was DMing when my mother finally took the plunge. She earned her C-card, but never dove after that. Nearly 20 years later, she still thinks I'm nuts.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Having your mom certify with you may not be the best idea depending on how comfortable she is in the water. My wife and I certified together. She was a wreck during most of OW because she simply was having a hard time with everything based on how comfortable she was at the time.

A few dives later and a trip to a reef, and it finally 'clicked' for her. She's now a very accomplished diver in her own right and was just fine with our kids getting certified. She's continued onto professional certifications and can't imagine a life without diving. And she plans all of our vacations now with an eye towards the diving available for both us and the kids.

But I can easily imagine a very different outcome had we brought the kids into those first OW sessions.

 

[BKP]

Having your mom certify with you may not be the best idea depending on how comfortable she is in the water. My wife and I certified together. She was a wreck during most of OW because she simply was having a hard time with everything based on how comfortable she was at the time.

A few dives later and a trip to a reef, and it finally 'clicked' for her. She's now a very accomplished diver in her own right and was just fine with our kids getting certified. She's continued onto professional certifications and can't imagine a life without diving. And she plans all of our vacations now with an eye towards the diving available for both us and the kids.

But I can easily imagine a very different outcome had we brought the kids into those first OW sessions.

I agree, and had a very similar experience. My wife loves it now, however, was *very* apprehensive until that first reef dive flipped the switch...

You've already taken the proper steps, nwNemo -- best of which is having her read the thoughts and responses of divers in this community. You'll find plenty of debate on this board concerning approach, equipment, etc.,, however *everyone* here takes the responsibility of training, and application of that training, very seriously. Questions, and possible issues are shared, and everyone learns from them...

Do what you need, in terms of training and repetitive practice, until the skills are second nature. Then do them again, and often... Diving is as safe as you want to make it... entirely up to you. And, as you'll find out for yourself, the rewards are priceless...

 

[tight rope walker]

Hi Ben, Congratulations on wanting to be a diver. I started at 13 also. I hope you have as much fun diving as I have. You have received some excellent advice in this forum, so I would ask you to humor me as I give you mine. I can only speak for myself.

I am 56 years old and have 2 grown children, a boy and a girl. If you want to get the quickest response from me, try laying a hand on either one, because that act is going to result in blood shed.

I am a parent, and it is my job to protect and look out for their welfare. I do this because I love them. And this love doesn't stop at the end of the day, I do not shut it off when I go to bed, or on weekends or holidays, it doesn't matter how old they are, or where they are. It's twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. These are the rules as were handed down from my parents, and I imagine that every parent has their own set of rules.

I know sometimes this can be over bearing, but a simple glance at any newspaper and you will quickly realize it could be a lot worse.

But now, the purpose of this message. I am going to share with you a technique that "NO PARENT" wants you to know. I know first hand it will get you results , as my daughter was an expert at it. One simple word........................BLACKMAIL!

Let me explain how this works. First you'll need a few things,
1) Child
2) parent
and 3) audience, crowd, or, after my daughter was done with them, an angry mob.

This is how it works. My daughter wants to do something that I am dead set against. This is how she shows me the error of my ways.

First, she needs an audience, supermarket, mall, department store. Now this is what happens next,
Daughter: Thanks for taking me along with you today DADDY, YOU'RE THE BEST DADDY A GIRL COULD EVER HAVE.

MOB; oh you must be so proud of her, she's a little angel.

dad: ( under my breath ) if you only knew. Now, she has the mob eating right out of her hand, when she drops the first of two bombs.

daughter: Dad, how old am I ?

Dad: there is no doubt in my mind that this child is evil. Ben, every parent with in earshot of that question is now Starring at me! And they are not happy!

dad: sweating, choking getting ready to pass out,

Why, you're ten years old, ah right? Now it's interesting to point out that at no time did she try to signal me of her age,for that would not have gotten the result she wanted. For example, two fingers and five are seven, or four fingers and four are eight. NO, no no, she just let me stand there and sweat.

daughter: oh daddy, you're so silly, you know I' m twelve. Now she has the mob primed for what's going to happen next, she drops the final bomb.

Daughter: Daddy, whens my birthday? Now I have to act quickly, as I value my life. I feel like I am in court, and I'm approaching the bench to make a deal. I approach her very defiantly so as not to show weakness. But I also have to be humble, because it is painfully obvious who is in charge.

Dad: OK what is it you want to do?
Daughter: I want to bungy jump.
Dad: are you outta your min.....
Daughter: in a very loud voice, when's my birthday Dadddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Dad: alright alright you win, now call off your goons!
Daughter: you're right dad, my birthdays May 6.

Ben, you can see how close that was. And you would think I would have learned what she was doing as it was not the first time she did this to me.

Now Ben, I'm sure if you practice this time tested technique it will Surely get results. I only hope they are the results you want.

Nowwwwwwwwww,if that doesn't work, my son, when he didn't get his way, used to make like he was dead and I would have to drag him through the whole store. But you might be a little to old for that one.

Happy holidays,

 

[Jax]

TRW, you are a hoot!

Your daughter was well-trained early on how to make a man sweat!!!

 

[tight rope walker]

Thanks Jax, the problem is she's...,she's......, well she's old, and she's still doing it.


But you know what....I think I let her do it.

I'm just not going to tell her.

Many thanks and happy new year!