Unbelievable video?

[snepdiver]

Darwin, Here we come. That really bothers me as it is the ADULTS job to protect the child. The child is probably too young to understand the dangers of what they are doing.

Add me to the fuddy-duddy list.

 

[ScubaSteve]

...........
btw- these two guys have better weight trim than 80% of the divers I see on vacation.

First of all, I still maintain my membership in the Fuddy Duddy clan, however you make some great points here. Yes, the way we look at life nowadays has changed tremendously from the 50's. My father was a diver who took my brother diving and I am sure he was not shown all the skills and forced to demonstrate them. So, for the most part, I do agree with you that we are all now a bunch of Fuddy Duddies.

However, I would like to think that most of the standards etc. are in place because makes the sport a safer sport (queue the posts about how all the divers that are diving but uncertified are better....). Whether we turn out better and safer divers now is a HUGE topic for discussion which is not to be had here. So, the standards are in place for a good reason but how effective they are....different discussion.

Finally, I wholeheartedly agree that your comment about their trim in the water is SPOT ON!

 

[sabbath999]

I used pretty much the same set up to begin training my young sons at the age of around 8 yrs old. Other than not blowing bubbles from the mouth when the reg was out, what problems were observed?

Is it necessary for a child to wear his own tank and BC? I used a 6-ft hose for my kids and they pretty much were under my arm or holding my hand when we were swimming. In some respects the child is easier to control when he is dependent on you for air. Not having to mess with the tank and bc also provides some benefits in my mind.

The only real additional danger that I see is that if they have a first stage failure, then they don't have a redundant system to share.???

Although I am a NOOB, I could see the things they were doing wrong for myself.

I am not in a position to question whether your equipment choices for you and your children are appropriate, I will leave that to more experienced hands...

Having said that, the difference between your situation and this guy is that you are a trained instructor and have a ton of experience in diving, and are able to handle things immensely better than this obvious NOOB.

 

[captain]

I used pretty much the same set up to begin training my young sons at the age of around 8 yrs old. Other than not blowing bubbles from the mouth when the reg was out, what problems were observed?

Is it necessary for a child to wear his own tank and BC? I used a 6-ft hose for my kids and they pretty much were under my arm or holding my hand when we were swimming. In some respects the child is easier to control when he is dependent on you for air. Not having to mess with the tank and bc also provides some benefits in my mind.

The only real additional danger that I see is that if they have a first stage failure, then they don't have a redundant system to share.???

I did the same with my daughter at the same age. I have a feeling that boy in the video will turn out to be a better diver than most who are so critical without the slightest idea about who the father is and what is his diving experience is. They seem to have developed a very good system of communications.

 

[Gombessa]

While I would never do this myself if I had my own kids, I just wanted to say that I could not see from the videos how good of a diver the dad was. Obviously he's not the single greatest diver that ever lived, but I gotta say, he looks much more composed and comfortable in the water than a lot of people I've dived with, and he performs basic skills just fine. I also can't tell what (if any) instruction was given before the dive, if they've done this before, or if the kid in fact has some junior cert? Who knows. I'm glad it turned out OK and hope the kid goes through a real certification program when he gets older.

 

[Blazinator]

This is the kind of formerly acceptable American process that got us to the moon~ not just going to Space Camp. I think I'd rather be that kid than the one who goes to Six Flags for his thrills. Life is a risk..

I do understand the basic premise of those here who disagree with this video, but not to the extent of ridiculing the guy.

Yes, the absolute FIRST thing I would do if I ever had a newbie on my octo would be to train them to constantly breathe and never hold their breath, then do constant exhale upon reg removal - all this would be overstated constantly on the surface before submerging. Then upon submerging, immediately (after getting comfortable breathing) do a number of reg removal drills from shallow depths while showing exhale bubbles.

Hell, in my OW training and checkout dives, I was only required to do this only once (in the ocean)!

How do we know that the guy in the video did not already do this "never-hold-your-breath" training with the kid? Why do we assume that this was the kids first time underwater in scuba?

What about the fact that it is good to practice breathing on an octo?

If we knew for certain that this filming took place at the very moment that the kid ever used SCUBA equipment, and we were certain that he never had the non-breath-hold training, then I would sympathise more with the majority views.

My wife and I are going to Hawaii in the spring, and she is considering a discover scuba course, but her issues are the clausterphobic feeling of the equipment. While I do not plan to have her try my octo in a few feet UW just to get her comfortable (Discover course will be way better for her psychologically under an instructor), I would not be against the idea if she is willing.

My and RoatanMan's view might be polar opposite to the majority here, and we may very well appear be too extreme simply to provide a counterpoint view, but you have to admit that we are a society that is self-crippling because we are taught that we will die if we step outside the rulebook for even a moment.

I love it when old school divers show up and shake us back into reality - Thnx RoatanMan.

(putting on my asbestos suit right now)

 

[ScubaSteve]

......he performs basic skills just fine..........

Actually he does not. He Fails in a big way on one of the biggest rules in diving.....Never Hold Your Breath. It is not 100% clear with the father but the father definitely give the "OK Good Job" sign when the son holds his breath. Other than that, while I disagree with doing it, he seemed OK from a skills standpoint.

 

[captain]

Actually he does not. He Fails in a big way on one of the biggest rules in diving.....Never Hold Your Breath. It is not 100% clear with the father but the father definitely give the "OK Good Job" sign when the son holds his breath. Other than that, while I disagree with doing it, he seemed OK from a skills standpoint.

Since when does the "never hold your breath" apply when kneeling on the bottom. Seem the never hold your breath when ascending now applies to all situations.

 

[tkdgodess]

I'm joining the fuddy-duddy group. My children with learn to dive when they are big enough and if they want to, and they will have their own equipment independant of mine. That kid is an lung overexpansion injury waiting to happen.

 

[Dr Neil]

Assuming that this is the child's dad, just remember.....

You have to have a license to be a hairdresser, plumber, etc. but anyone can be a parent without any special training or qualifications.

Unbelievable!