PADI Seal Team

[Phil_218]

My daughter will be turning 8 in the next few months and she is interested in Scuba. She has seen the PADI video for the PADI Seal Team and she wants to do this when she turns 8. I'd like to hear from any other parents whose children have gone through these courses.

Did the children enjoy it?
Did this class prep them for later advancement to Junior OW?
Were the children able to dive often at the LDS, or other pool?
Would you recommend it to other parents?

 

[SDiggy]

I'm gonna have to keep an eye on this thread. My first daughter is only 4, but she swims like a fish and is really looking forward to diving when she's old enough.

 

[HBO MD]

This is a contentious issue.
I have to admit that from the medical point of view I would not recommend scuba as a sport for children : the potential medical consequences are far too great.
The South Pacific Underwater Medical Society does not recommend children below the age of 14 present for training, but I would suggest that around 16 should be the earliest age.
There are numerous reasons for this :
Maturity - it's hard enough to tella crusty old diver like myself not to dash off after some fast moving critter and pursue a hazardous profile of sharp ascents and descents let alone a youngster,
Stress- while our kids are the smartest in the world, a mistake or misstep is unforgiving in this environment and can easily occur when a child is overwhelmed,
Medical- there have been no organised studies in kids to evaluate the risks of diving. This is not an invitation to therefore pursue it, in a vulnerable population, but to be thoughtful and circumspect
Further, the potential for microbubble injury of growth plates can impact growth, undiagnosed PFO's can contribute to neurological injury, underdeveloped eustachian tubes can contribute to middle/inner ear injury, and it is unclear what repeated microbubble loads do the brain. Is the risk benefit worth it?
While skeptics would say that there are no studies so to heck with it ; let's get them going, the truth is, the absence of evidence does not mean the evidence of absence in terms of minor subclinical injury with long term consequences that emerge in later life and are attributed to other conditions.
I believe that a child should be mature both physically and mentally prior to pursuing our sport. I realize that many will say, "my child is only 12 and the best dive buddy I have ever had. He/she is far better than divers 3 times his/her age". And I am sure that such divers are out there. I just cannot help but wonder about the prudence of putting kids at such risk when safety and resposnisibility should be our prime focus. Additionally, I can only feel a sense of cynicism at the commercial agencies that have found another potential market to tap into. This is not a criticism of those parents who wish to pursue this, but a moment of pause to fully consider the ramifications of what we do as adult divers. I can think of nothing greater than diving as a family....when the kids are ready.
Safe diving.

 

[PlayMore]

I have to concur with the medical concern, and here's my experience with my own 11-year old. Both Mom and I are divemasters and so there's a lot of visibility to the sport in the house, and accompanying enthusiasm to "get certified as soon as possible." So, at 8, we arranged a SEAL Team / Discover Scuba for him and his friends. We took it slow, but even he realized that it wasn't so easy. Ear clearing was and remains the biggest hurdle. We keep repeating this step each year, safely accompanied to a max of 12' in a heated pool. That's keeping his enthusiasm at bay for now, and gives him a respect for the sport. It's also a good barometer for seeing how ready he is. Time will tell how long we can fend him off, but SEAL Team is an excellent intermediary step.

Cheers!

 

[rstofer]

This is a supervised program taught entirely in a swimming pool; it's about as safe as scuba gets. If you daughter is interested, I would certainly recommend doing the basic program of 5 AquaMissions. If she is still excited (and she will be) there is a "Master Seal Team for Kids" for more time in the water.

You might check with the LDS about additional opportunities to dive in the pool. For a fee, almost anything can be bought.

There is no doubt in my mind that this time in the water will make the Junior OW program easier and a lot less stressful. I would think it would be worthwhile to spend as much time as possible in the pool.

Your daughter should also work toward the 200 meter swim requirement for Junior OW. This is simply an endurance swim where the student can't touch the ends, sides or bottom of the pool while swimming 200 meters using any stroke with no time limit. There is also a 10 minute tread water test.

Swimming lessons are a great help.

Richard

 

[Phil_218]

After reading HBO MD's post I contacted DAN to see what they had to say on the subject. Here is the reply I received:

"There is little research data regarding children and diving. This is primarily due to the fact that the number of children diving is far fewer than adults. Also children insist on growing up. What do know is that there is no evidence of any long term problems from diving itself. There is also no evidence that children are any more prone to decompression injury than adults. Diving activities involving children under age 10 are closely supervised in a confined water environment. The depth in the pools is not deep enough to produce a significant nitrogen tissue load. When children are old enough for actual open water certification there are recommended depth restrictions. The purpose is again to reduce the potential nitrogen tissue load to avoid any risk of decompression injury.

With correct supervision, proper training and adhering to recommended practice children are able to dive safely. It is the concern over still growing bones that raises the concern. Any injury to the growth plates of the bones can cause long term or permanent problems. Please remember that injury to these growth plates can occur more easily in other sports especially contact sports. This is why the recommendations regarding depth and proper training are important. Again simply participating in SCUBA diving has not produced evidence of long term problems. If we can be any further assistance do not hesitate to contact DAN."

Pool experience sounds like the best way for her to enjoy the sport in a safe and controlled environment while building skills.

Thanks to everyone who has posted their experiences.

 

[Rolodive]

I think the key issue here is that Seal Team is "pool diving" and not "open water diving". And since it does not lead to any type of certification, the children never gain access to diving in uncontrolled environments and depths greater than a few feet while attended by a professional. HBO MD's perspective is not really applicable to PADI's programs for children under 10. Between the ages of 10 and 12, an age at which they qualify for the "Junior Open Water" certification, they are only allowed to dive after certification when accompanied by a parent or a certified PADI professional, and only with a PADI pro if they hold the "Junior Scuba Diver" rating. That puts them in a supervised situation at any time they are diving, and they are limited to 40 ft - one would hope strictly enforced by any prudent parent or professional. 12 to 14 year olds, once Junior OW certified are only permitted to dive when accompanied by a certified diver of "legal age", meaning 18 in most jurisdictions. As you see, risks are raised along with age.

That said, we certified our daughter when she was 16, but that was only because she didn't know how to swim at 15.

 

[SteveAD]

I am a huge fan of the SEAL Team program as an entry filter prior to jr. OW certification. As Rolol mentioned, it is all pool, and therefore as tightly controlled as diving can be. There are radical differences in maturity level for kids, especially for the younger (10&11) students. So rater than signing a kid up for the jr. OW class, and then finding out they have the attention span of a gnat and are not safe to certify, I like having the chance to work with the kids in the pool, get to know them, and then invite them, as they become ready, to step up to full cert.

 

[still new]

My grand daughter wanted to dive. At 9 I enrolled her and just to see that faceful of smile after everytime she surfaced made it worthwhile. She is now 3 missions away from becoming a Master Seal. She will be 10 in the spring and can't wait to become a Junior OW diver so she and I can dive together. Go for it you and she will never forget it.

 

[Spg01]

I started looking into it for my daughter, but nobody offered it. I am going to have to get my LDS to do a discovery pool dive for her. She has already told me she just wants to try it in the pool, because she is scared of the fish and animals in the ocean.