Minimum age for Scuba Diving

[Ana]

Not me. Are you concerned because you have read any studies on the bone density of young divers diving once every couple of weeks to relatively shallow depths, or because you tune into the general paranoia that kids are fragile and must be treated as such?

I also tuned into the general paranoia of the growing bones when I had to make a decision. In my case it wasn't going to be a dive every couple of weeks, but potentially every afternoon after school.

I wish there was better data, like you say a dive here and there can't be a life or death deal, but how about all those kids growing in the coastal areas, in the water pretty much everyday. Are the ones not diving missing out or is it the other way, and the ones diving are taking a needless risk?

 

[msg]

My oldest daughter got her cert at 12. My younger two are asking to go diving, they are 10. I haven't seen enough maturity in them to let them, yet. Hopefully at 12 they will have reached a more mature level.
I really think the parents need to determine if the kids can handle the instruction, and not push them into something that they cannot handle. Properly trained, I see no problems at age 12, or even younger, if they are able to handle the course requirements.
A physical age does not always spell out mature students.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Can a child truly understand the risk he is taking when he goes diving? Children may not understand their own vulnerability until it is too late. Even if a child says that he understands he can die, become crippled, or paralyzed for life as a result of a diving accident, does he truly comprehend what that means? In most cases it is unlikely. Is it ethical to expose a child to a risk that he does not comprehend and can therefore not accept?

Actually, I find that children (let's say between the ages of 12 and 16) do better at this than the typical 18-25 year old ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rhone Man]

Just for the heck of it, I ran through the last 3 publicly available DAN Fatality reports, and look at the bar charts relating to ages.

The good news for younger divers is that your odds of a fatal accident whilst diving are very low (particularly if you are a girl - in which case you are statistically immortal). The stats are actually slightly better than they look, because the two main categories of dead diver I like to refer to informally as "old buzzards" and "nervous newbies". You would assume that the 10-19 age bracket must contain a higher proportion of nervous newbies, but it doesn't translate into fatalities.

Yes, I do appreciate that that fatalities are not the same as diving accidents. But just making a broad and unscientific observation.

 

[*dave*]

The good news for younger divers is that your odds of a fatal accident whilst diving are very low (particularly if you are a girl - in which case you are statistically immortal).

The bad news is the data presented is virtually worthless for determining risk.

 

[Rhone Man]

The bad news is the data presented is virtually worthless for determining risk.

Hence the express qualification at the end.

... just making a broad and unscientific observation.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Just for the heck of it, I ran through the last 3 publicly available DAN Fatality reports, and look at the bar charts relating to ages.

The good news for younger divers is that your odds of a fatal accident whilst diving are very low (particularly if you are a girl - in which case you are statistically immortal). The stats are actually slightly better than they look, because the two main categories of dead diver I like to refer to informally as "old buzzards" and "nervous newbies". You would assume that the 10-19 age bracket must contain a higher proportion of nervous newbies, but it doesn't translate into fatalities.

Yes, I do appreciate that that fatalities are not the same as diving accidents. But just making a broad and unscientific observation.

The charts would be more meaningful if they has a bar showing the Total Number of Divers for each category. If 50 "Buzzard" die out of 5,000,000 divers the statistics are minimal. If 10 very young newbies dies out of 1,000 divers in that category, there's a problem.

 

[Jaydubya]

My son got certified at 15 which seemed about right for him. My 9 years old daughter wants to get certified when she is 10 but I'm trying to delay that for a couple of years (maybe 12). Comfort in the water and maturity or lack thereof are important considerations. So is size and strength. I think you at least need to be able to carry your own gear before you start diving

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Why doesn't DAN do a study or something. All we hear is that there are potential risks with children and at the same time certification agencies are dropping the minimum age and that we don't really know what the dangers and the statistics are. Well why the hell NOT!!!

If DAN starts NOW they won't have good answers for 15 years.

 

[divingtpapa]

I was certified as a Jr. Open Water Diver when I was 13 years old. As a bookworm, I read and reread every word in the Open Water Manual. I paid close attention to the instructor, and asked questions when I did not understand something. I was the youngest student in my class. I recall some students who did not pay attention to the instructor because they were being forced into diving by a family member. I felt that was unsafe. But my point is that scuba must be something that someone wants to learn, is willing to do, and is careful while diving. Personally, I would not recommend 12-14 year olds diving off the mid-Atlantic coast, I think they should get a bit more experience (25 dives- deep and/or wreck) before doing so. Just my humble opinion