PADI Junior Scuba Questions...

[pasley]

My daughter 11 is very interested in getting certified...

Aside from finding an instructor, there is another question that should also be addressed IMHO. Should you have your daughter get certified at this age?

While you are certainly in a better position to determine her maturity, I would ask you to consider the following: On another thread a parent wrote about their teen who just scared the beejeebers out of them with their nothing can hurt me attitude.

I will grant that in all probability your child is not displaying such behavioir;NOW. But the key word is now. When the other parents teen was certified, he did not either. But when the kids hit 13 or 14, things can change. A charming well behaved mature for their age child can become a rash, brash, knows no fear, but knows everhthing and you don't, teen (been there, done that, raised two daughters).

They calm down again once they hit about 16 or older. But that 13-15/16 ride is very often a rough one. So the real question is, this: Is your child ready now and in the rough teen years yet to come, to handle potentially life and death decisions underwater and under pressure (water and stress)?

There is of course a whole other discussion on the effects of diving on developing bodies and how little is known on this subject.

 

[DORSETBOY]

Pasley, you hit the nail right on the head.... her father's probably better placed to judge her maturity than you or I. Any activity which encourages responsibility for yourself and others has got to be a good thing for youngsters to get involved with.

 

[SubMariner]

Pasley, you hit the nail right on the head.... her father's probably better placed to judge her maturity than you or I. Any activity which encourages responsibility for yourself and others has got to be a good thing for youngsters to get involved with.

Hmmm... I'd have to disagree on that one. While parents MAY be good resources determining whether or not a child is mature enough to get into scuba, sometimes they are too emotionally involved in the issue to see the true picture as to whether little Johnny or Jenny is truly mature enough or physically developed enough to handle all aspects of scuba.

Not only must the Instructor weigh the input from the student and h/h parents, but also do an independent evaluation of the situation on a person-by-person basis.

An instructor is under no obligation to accept any student. Without a letter certifying a diagnosis of a learning disability, the shop was quite correct that a written exam would be mandatory for a student age 11. To treat the student otherwise would be a standards violation.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the LDS made any effort to even determine whethe or not the potential student met these requirements. They simply said "no". THAT is a violation.

 

[DORSETBOY]

We're obviously going to disagree Submariner, I cannot see how a stranger has better judgement of the maturity of a child than their parent.

 

[chrisc]

Thanks for all the input. I did speak with PADI on Friday and they were VERY interested in knowing one of their 5 Stars had that attitude. I even gave the LDS another chance on Thursday, bringing in the doctors note, with the same resulting NO, We won't teach her, and "Screw What PADI Says" (exact quote). They will be doing an investigation, this LDS has had several other complaints it seems.

We have decided to pursue private instruction, her instructor feels that this will give her the confidence and the instructor will be able to guage her progress better. Instead of the normal 4 days that the class usually runs she will have less intesive class hours spread over longer number of days (ie 4 hrs x 4 days, will have 2 hrs over 10 days). The instructor also advised that us, the parents not attend the pool training and stay on shore during the open water dives. She felt that the parents "hanging around" would be more of a distraction then a help.

Thanks-
Chris