All divers should be able to assist their buddy and problem solve. ALL. That includes children. If the child cannot be a full functioning buddy, they should not be certified. The same should be said for adults.I think perhaps you missed the point. It's not about the risk of the kid hurting the parent, but one of the kid being less capable of helping the parent in an emergency - as well as lack of claimed oversight for the kid when the parent is injured.
My daughter was 10 and my son was 12 when they certified, because they had to be able to bring me or my husband (6"1' and 225lbs), up from depth in an emergency. Haley was ready at ten and more than capable of problem solving. She was black water river diving at 10. She was ready. Some are, some aren't. The instructor and parents have the responsibilty of determining that.
Survivors guilt would be felt no matter what the situation, if the parent dies. Any adult would feel the same about their buddy. Don't let that keep them from diving if they are ready and capable. You cannot live in "what if's."As dark as this thread is, it raises a great point. My boys are 6 and 8 and I'd love to get them enrolled in a scuba rangers(or other child program) in the near future. However, when you weigh the risk, not only of the potential for death, but also for the unbearable guilt felt by the surviving party, I find myself pausing and thinking maybe I should wait another 10 years or so before even introducing them.
I agree. Even many adults cannot lay claim to the last. That is subjective and individual.It probably depends on the particulars. I know for a fact that some of my diving is way more dangerous than my commute to work. But I bet some of the other dives are less dangerous. I would not take my 12 year old in a cave but I might take her to the quarry.
I think this whole argumjent is specious anyway. If you extend the argument it would mean that we should never dive with anyone we care about because of the guilt we would feel if we were unable to save them. If you reject that argument because kids are different the I ask what is it that makes them different? Basically, its their physical, emotional, and mental maturity.
So we come full circle and the question becomes: when is someone physically, mentally, and emotionally mature enough peform the skills and to recognize and accept the risks inherent in the sport? I'll leave that as an open question that has been dealt with in many, many threads over the years.
Then I really have to question your diving practices and the people you dive with. I have thousands of dives all over the world and I haven't seen that many. Not even close. Something is very wrong, if those numbers are so.Well hell, I guess this thread is going to fail with so many under the delusion that scuba is no more dangerous than driving, hiking, hunting, etc.
I have less than 500 dives and I have seen 6 others leave by ambulance, 3 barely surviving - just does not compare.
Ditto. I even had lawn darts!I'm kinda glad I grew up when I did ... back then we were allowed to do stuff without some well-meaning adult wanting to stuff us in a box to keep us safe till adulthood ... maybe if we allowed kids to assume more responsibility for themselves these days, they'd grow up a bit more responsible ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
This is a whole other thread, to address all the problems with that.Not six from your own boat tho.
I absolutely agree. Don, please don't project your experiences and personal stats to the rest of the dive world.Well Don ... that post doesn't tell me that diving is dangerous ... it tells me your friends are dangerous.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Nope.Your kid did exactly as he should have and sounds like he was well trained and knew what he was doing. Good job.I had a sorta scarey dive incident this weekend with my 12 yr old kid. To make a long story short, I was not watching him closely enough and he could have been seriously injured.
He wanted to take his speargun on an 80 ft drift dive this weekend, but since the current was very strong (over 2 kts) I said "no, too much current" It is too easy to get separated and things can get out of control too easily.
He then begged me to carry my pole spear, to defend himself from sharks. I reluctantly agreed, but told him we never see sharks on this dive.
We were diving with another diver. I shot a smal fish that I had with me. Pretty soon an inquisitive 6 ft carribean reef shark shows up, he was kinda dogging us, trying to get closer etc. Eventually at the very end of the dive, the other guy slammed the shark really hard with hsi gun and it finally left us alone for the last 3-4 minutes.
We were out the whole day on the water and on the drive home in the truck, my 12 yr od kid asks me if i noticed that the back of the shark was a little tore up. I said "no, not really, why?" He said that during one point in the dive we were 20 feet from him and the shark came in on him pretty hard and he had to jab it with the pole spear and this ripped the skin up some.
I've taught him that if a shark comes in close enough to jab with a gun or a spear, defintely DO IT. Apparently he followed orders, thought nothing of it and waited 5 hrs to even mention it to me.
I had thought that I was keeping a good eye on the 90 lb kid and 100 lb shark the entire time, but apparently not. I never saw any portion of the incident (and it probably occured in 5-8 seconds) but I was pretty disappointed in myself; he was more bummed the video didn't come out.
I guess sometimes diving is more dangerous than driving a car.
Driving HERE is absolutely more dangerous. Real stats here - Kuwait averages 1.6 deaths per day from auto accidents per year. There are only 3 1/2 million people in the whole country.
It definitely can be. Location, location, location.Thanks but I didn't mean you. I was referencing the others suggesting that diving was no more dangerous than driving. Appreciate your input.
At the end of the day, if your child can take the full adult course alone and perform all skills, plus problem solve, then they are buddy material. Yes, you should have appropriate levels of respect and seriousness for this sport that it deserves. So should your child. And they should fully undertand what is and is not within their control. They would feel unbearable pain and loss with your death, no matter what the situation. And they would feel irrational guilt no matter what. It human nature and heartbreaking. Comfort them. Don't bubble wrap them.
Life is short, so go on and live it.