packrat12
Contributor
My 13 year old son is finishing up his jr open water and the lds is offering his nitrox certification for $75. Will this be beneficial for him since his depth limit is 60, or something we should wait to do until he has his open water cert? LDS Is recommending it, but not pushing it, so I have not asked them many questions. They have been great to work with but want to get others thoughts, to make sure it is not just a sales pitch.
1 - He already has his Open Water Certification. The Jr automatically is removed (you will need to purchase get updated cards if you want) when he reaches 15. By 13, there are no other "limits" placed by the agency other then diving with an adult when compared to a standard OW cert.
2 - The Jr Nitrox becomes Nitrox at that age also.
3 - The depth limits are only recommended at age 13. Based on yours and his maturity, skills and experiences, only the standard scuba recreational limits apply, although boats can set different standards. You are the main judge of both of your skill sets. I have seen many youth divers have better skill sets then the adults on the boat. At 13, my daughter was Jr rescue with Jr Nitrox doing 120' dives regularly enough. My wife and I were very skilled and she came up to speed rapidly from her OW at 11. She is now 17 and a Semi-Closed Rebreather diver and planning to start full CCR training this year.
As others have said, drill safety into his mindset from the beginning. Always analyze your tanks, both air and nitrox. My daughter from 11 on always had to do all of her tasks, from setting up the gear to getting it back to the car. She always wore 80cf tanks even though she weighted 90# wet. Youth are quite capable divers.