Unbelievable video?

[ScubaSteve]

Were you taught to hold your breath underwater? I was not. Whenever the reg is not in your mouth, it is always safest to slowly exhale. The reasoning was explained why it was not acceptable and an intelligent person can reason that there is little to no chance of lung over expansion while sitting on the bottom (and thus steady in the water column). BUT, by not teaching the child the proper skills (go back to what is now being taught and how it is taught), what would have happened if there was a problem and the child had to perform an emergency ascent? We all know that answer....lung over expansion and perhaps worse even.

Why even bother to argue that it is a bad idea (you are arguing that it is OK in this case) to "teach" a child of what looks to be 7 or 8 that it is a good idea to hold your breath underwater?

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.

 

[Ed Palma]

For what its worth, I'd probably prefer to dive with this father and son than a majority of other divers out there. I doubt this was the kids first time underwater on SCUBA, because if it was, then his trim was Waaaaaaay better than a lot of freshly minted OW students out there. He didn't even churn up the sand behind him while swimming.

Was it risky? Sure it was.
Do I condemn the video? Nope.

But then again, what would I know, considering I don't constantly exhale a small stream of bubbles when I'm stable in the water column, practicing switching from primary to back-up...

 

[captain]

Were you taught to hold your breath underwater? I was not. Whenever the reg is not in your mouth, it is always safest to slowly exhale. The reasoning was explained why it was not acceptable and an intelligent person can reason that there is little to no chance of lung over expansion while sitting on the bottom (and thus steady in the water column). BUT, by not teaching the child the proper skills (go back to what is now being taught and how it is taught), what would have happened if there was a problem and the child had to perform an emergency ascent? We all know that answer....lung over expansion and perhaps worse even.

Why even bother to argue that it is a bad idea (you are arguing that it is OK in this case) to "teach" a child of what looks to be 7 or 8 that it is a good idea to hold your breath underwater?

I didn't say holding your breath is a good idea. But to say never is also a bad idea.
As is now typical just use the shotgun method of teaching. Instead of teaching the when and why something applies just shotgun it to apply to every situation assuming the individual is too stupid the learn the when any why.

And no I was not taught to never hold my breath, I was taught to not hold my breath during ascents. That fact is so ingrained in me that there is very little chance I would do it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I do not entirely disagree with you but we need to realize that we are watching a guy teach a child (I still say they look 7 or 8). I highly doubt that they have the intellectual horsepower to understand the physiological impact of holding one's breath in every possible situation. Nor do they likely (yes I am lumping this child in with most other children of that age when I do not know them personally) have the retention or attention that is required to understand the impact of holding your breath in every possible situation.

Quite frankly, even those with the intellectual horsepower would likely benefit less from knowing everything they would ever need to know about holding your breath underwater from their initial training.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with saying that one should never hold one's breath underwater. Quite frankly, it is a lot safer an approach than trying to cater each and every training session to how well the student grasps the implications of breathing and or holding their breath in the many possible situations. I personally think that would become overwhelming for the student. If it was unsafe to constantly exhale a small stream of bubbles while your reg was out of your mouth I would agree that we should teach them all scenarios. However, it is not so I believe it is the safest approach to teaching.

I do however, agree with some others that, while I am part of the Fuddy Duddy clan, this guy can do whatever he wants. He can teach his kid proper or improper skills. He can take an infant under if he wanted. It is up to him to make whatever good or bad choices he wants. I would never do it because I know of the risks and say it is not worth it. I know others have and it all worked out. I just firmly believe that he should, if he is going to it at all, teach them the proper skills as they will learn them when they take the formal training. Less confusion later in the training cycle.

Just my 2 cents.

I didn't say holding your breath is a good idea. But to say never is also a bad idea.
As is now typical just use the shotgun method of teaching. Instead of teaching the when and why something applies just shotgun it to apply to every situation assuming the individual is too stupid the learn when any why.

 

[Gombessa]

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.

Maybe I'm just an unsafe diver, but I don't adhere to the "never hold your breath, ever" line. I just keep an open airway, and try to maintain a regular breathing cycle when my reg is out of my mouth. Often, during a reg remove/replace or switch, that means I'm not actively blowing bubbles.

I recognize that it's a good rule for training though, as holding your breath is too easy to do if you're not paying attention.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Touche. I agree with you that keeping an airway open while not in the process of inhaling or exhaling is theoretically a safe practice. But how do you teach that? How do you confirm that the students airway is open? During certification, a student with poor buoyancy skills (shocker) - how does the instructor confirm the airway was open when the student starts to shoot to the surface before the instructor catches them? There is a reason why the training has gone to where it is. I will only say that I would be VERY surprised if any OW agency/instructor was teaching brand new students to simply keep an airway open during the CESA and reg replace. If they do, I am glad for once that I certified where I did.

This is simply a matter of an adult teaching a young impressionable child practices which are not suitable for most important situations. And some of the situations could prove to be fatal.

Maybe I'm just an unsafe diver, but I don't adhere to the "never hold your breath, ever" line. I just keep an open airway, and try to maintain a regular breathing cycle when my reg is out of my mouth. Often, during a reg remove/replace or switch, that means I'm not actively blowing bubbles.

I recognize that it's a good rule for training though, as holding your breath is too easy to do if you're not paying attention.

 

[diver 85]

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.???

By your self admittance in your second sentence, what part of 'problems' do you not understand???.....That's like saying when I taught my 8 YO to drive my car he did everything right except drive off the road and stayed in the ditches....How many wrongs--excuse me problems--does it take to mame or kill someone???......Wait, I'll answer that----ONE.....I'll give you a hint, when a person dies and is on the slab for a while, they are dead---no bringing that sucker back.......


And oh, you & you're kids have a Great Day......

 

[Guba]

Ya' just have to love SB...

It's so incredibly interesting to see what the responses will be. However, I never cease to be amazed at how diverse the answers are. One recent discussion centered around how lax agency standards had become, and immediately a few people jumped in, stressing that rigorous standards were absolutely essential in turning out competent divers. In this thread, a person displays an apparently opposite method, and a few folks indicate that a lack of standards is perfectly acceptable. It's truly fascinating to watch these polar opposites, and it's one of the reasons I appreciate the discussions on this board. The diversity is absolutely astounding.

Thanks for all the input, from everyone. I also thank the responders for staying civil while making their points.

 

[ScubaSteve]

.....I also thank the responders for staying civil while making their points.

We are all here to learn, help and have fun.

 

[Twistedarts]

Here's another one... From the info posted with the video, diver only followed a pool course. DM (ACUC instructor) was with a group of 6 at 100ft on a wreck, diver was OOA so they continued the dive this way for 5 min...

Don't try this at home...

apparently they are french, so who cares? joke...