Kid only Scuba classes

[tddfleming]

I am looking for anyone that has put their own kid in the kid only class or who has taught them. I have a 12 yr old daughter that was jr OW cert, this past Sept. She will be 13 in a couple of months. She is not a tiny kid by any means, she is taller than me. She has 14 dives. She wants to move through with the training and I thought that the kids only class might be good for her. Her and I got cert together. I don't know if I am holding her back from learning or she holding me back. I worry just like any parent when we are under water. She can run circles around me while scuba diving. However, my worry being with the kids only class, the horror story of a kid getting lost and dying UW for some reason, buddy seperation, as a parent I can think of many more horror stories. But she is interested in meeting up with some kids that scuba. I am also looking into the Scubafest for her this summer at the quarry. I would almost have to follow behind, as until I know I can trust the person teaching, I would not want to leave her to just anyone. We were practicing at the pool a couple of weeks ago, she was watching the Dive Master class that we were sharing the pool with. Well, she approached me wanting to ditch her gear at the bottom, surface, dive down to the bottom and put all her gear back on. Well, I let her do it while I and her father laid at the bottom of the pool to keep any eye on her. To my amazment, she did it and faster than the 2 guys from the class that we were there with. She actually became pretty good at it. Her goal in life right now is marine biology. Please anyone share any thougths, concerns about approaching her training using the kids only classes.

 

[tbone1004]

If finances aren't a concern, check SeaCamp out. I worked there this summer and plan on going back this coming summer.
It's website is junk, but if you're on facebook it's a lot better
Welcome to Seacamp.org located in the beautiful Florida Keys

It is teenagers only basically, and a fair chunk of the kids are in the scuba classes. Emphasis on marine biology with scuba, and all scuba classes are done with instructors and at least 2 rescue divers with them. No major incidents in 40 years or something, and one of the only camps of its kind. It's actually pretty spiffy, i had a lot of fun. Not a parent, but I can see where you come from, and the classes are heavily supervised. Shoot me a PM if you want any more info, but calling them is really the best idea. Leslie Scarborough is the scuba director down there.

 

[tddfleming]

That is sooooo cool! Can adults go??

I will look into that and see if we can swing it. It looks really fun and right up her alley. I can see why you enjoy this. Thanks again!!

 

[matts1w]

I worked several years for a company called Broadreach. They run AMAZING scuba/sailing trips for teenagers. If I had a kid and the means (it ain't cheap, but there are scholarship opportunities), I would send him/her without hesitation. One learns diving, and so much more about being a leader, a friend, the environment, and being a traveler (not a tourist). It really is a special experience.

Broadreach teen summer camps. Scuba camps, Caribbean sailing camps, marine biology, teen travel, wilderness summer programs

 

[Twiddles]

Minimum age for PADI open water cert. was 15, may have changed. I put my son through at 12 for the jr ow cert. He was not confident and frankly I would not trust him to dive without supervision even after a dozen dives. He had "focus" issues. Risk assessment is not high on childrens list of priorities.

I would suggest you keep diving with her and maybe add some exercises to add to the fun and improve her "awareness". Try having her lead on dives and make her responsible for the dive plan and finding the ascent point etc. All these things will help her improve and still allow you to be part of the fun while maintaining control. Lead from the rear or pretending to be lost can be lots of fun if shes confident enough to take the lead. You can check her stress level by her air consumption, my sons nearly doubled when he was leading, but gradually dropped as he became more relaxed after a few dives in a familiar area.

 

[tddfleming]

Minimum age for PADI open water cert. was 15, may have changed. I put my son through at 12 for the jr ow cert. He was not confident and frankly I would not trust him to dive without supervision even after a dozen dives. He had "focus" issues. Risk assessment is not high on childrens list of priorities.

I would suggest you keep diving with her and maybe add some exercises to add to the fun and improve her "awareness". Try having her lead on dives and make her responsible for the dive plan and finding the ascent point etc. All these things will help her improve and still allow you to be part of the fun while maintaining control. Lead from the rear or pretending to be lost can be lots of fun if shes confident enough to take the lead. You can check her stress level by her air consumption, my sons nearly doubled when he was leading, but gradually dropped as he became more relaxed after a few dives in a familiar area.

Yes, min age for PADI AOW is still 15, but I am referring to Jr AOW. Even if I put her in an all kids class I would still tag along to make sure that she was OK and did not get left behind. As for her skills, I almost always allow her to lead the dive, she tells me the goals before we decend and we try to follow that plan, her nav is better than mine, and since we are in a quarry there are no worries as far as getting lost. However, I almost never, unless we have to, go in a single file, as I find it hard to keep any eye on her. If we have to go into single file, we make contact before and again after the single file to prevent seperation. We have developed a system that feels good to us and we know where to look for each other. She is always on my right side and we swim side by side. Every few seconds or so we make eye contact and signal the OK sign. By being so rigid, it relaxes me a bit, and I don't fear seperation so much. Decending and Ascending we are looking at each other, she leads the ascending, as she likes to follow her computer, and I create the look out, as to not over tax either of us. She controls our rate via her computer. She also controls the descent, as she can be slow with clearing her ears. As for the risk, I do agree. We dove with an inst, someone new to us, he commented on our ascent and how nicely it was done and how he would not have any issues with diving with either of us or her going though the Jr AOW. He was ready to grad us if we started to go up too fast, but we handled it fine. His comment inflated her head a little and I did try to bring her down a notch or two. My hesitation is that this is not like basketball camp, where I feel that I can just drop her off and come get her at the end. With diving there are many things that can go wrong.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I would not allow a parent to drop off a kid for any training. Even if the parents do not dive one must be present during all training classes. Pool, classroom, and ow dives. You are doing the right thing with her now. I know she is excited and wants to see everything but it is not a race. Keep her at your pace. Impress on her that this is not to slow her down but to make sure she is in position to help you. I don't like or encourage single file swims where it is not necessary. At the ow level with a junior diver it should never be necessary. Places or environments that require single file swims should be avoided at this level of skill and training. One concern from your post is the doff and don exercise. If no one told her how to do this I sincerely hope she remembered to exhale on the way up. If not she ran a very real risk of blowing a lung. The skill is not hard and is part of my ow class but it does need to be done properly and my students only perform it after a thorough briefing. I also accompany them to the surface. If I don't see them exhaling they get stopped or a nice nudge in the stomach to help them remember. You or your hubby really should have ascended with her. Not your fault but I'm just saying this as a caution should she want to try it again.

 

[Garrobo]

If I had a kid that young I would not put him/her in a CLASS with other trainees. I would go to the extra expense of hiring an instructor to teach him/her solo. Period.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Why? I have taught a number of kids age 10-16 and for the most part they are more attentive, skills come easier, and in all but one or two cases when I was assisting as a DM I'd dive with any of those kids as soon as dive with their parents. Some I'd dive with before I'd dive with mom or dad. Had a recent OW class with a 12 yr old and her 16 yr old sister. I'd trust either one of them before most of the adult OW divers I've seen on many boats. And in groups with adult divers the kids usually show up the adults.

 

[Garrobo]

Why? Most kids have the attention span of a nute, have no concept of danger or safety and to get a group of them to do anything unless under a threat of immediate violence is like herding cats. Individually, they will pay attention.