Youngest Certified Scuba Diver in PADI History

[ChimarraoMate]

I'm always amazed when I see individuals of this age (and even a bit older) getting certified. I don't care who does the training...........an individual of that age is simply not ready psychologically or physically for the stresses of diving. Seems only a few posters seem to get this.
As for PADI, they should be shot for promoting this crap. If people think I'm wrong, please show me the studies where it's ok to breath compressed gas with still developing epiphyseal plates for atarters.
Later,
John

Isn't that what I just did two posts up?

Edit: I misread your response. The injury related rates and statistics are there. But, what your asking for has not really been done with any sport. I spend a lot of time lifting weights, and There is a big divide about how old a child should be before they start lifting weights? Seems like there is no study to show if it really causes any growth development issues or not. Still, a lot of kids dive recreationally and I have not heard of any lasting side effects. Besides from an extremely low incident of injury to kids in diving. Much lower than many other sports related injuries.

 

[DepthCharge]

Isn't that what I just did two posts up?

Edit: I misread your response. The injury related rates and statistics are there. But, what your asking for has not really been done with any sport. I spend a lot of time lifting weights, and There is a big divide about how old a child should be before they start lifting weights? Seems like there is no study to show if it really causes any growth development issues or not. Still, a lot of kids dive recreationally and I have not heard of any lasting side effects. Besides from an extremely low incident of injury to kids in diving. Much lower than many other sports related injuries.

Trouble is you may not see the issues until 30-40 + years later. I do believe that there are studies on aseptic bone necrosis, and also a european study on increased incident of spinal cord lesions but that was on commercial divers. The point being, on a developing body the stress may not become evident for years. Nice gift to your kid.........total hip replacement.
Later,
John

 

[nimoh]

I'm always amazed when I see individuals of this age (and even a bit older) getting certified. I don't care who does the training...........an individual of that age is simply not ready psychologically or physically for the stresses of diving. Seems only a few posters seem to get this.
As for PADI, they should be shot for promoting this crap. If people think I'm wrong, please show me the studies where it's ok to breath compressed gas with still developing epiphyseal plates for atarters.
Later,
John

Why would you shoot everyone at PADI and not the kid's parents?

Trouble is you may not see the issues until 30-40 + years later. I do believe that there are studies on aseptic bone necrosis, and also a european study on increased incident of spinal cord lesions but that was on commercial divers. The point being, on a developing body the stress may not become evident for years. Nice gift to your kid.........total hip replacement.
Later,
John

well, you have convinced me that 8 is too young to be a junior commercial diver. We are not talking saturation diving here, just OW dives above 40'.

 

[diver 85]

Too young, IMO.........12 should be the minimum.....lol, how low should we go----4 YO???.......In fact, looks a year or so might be doable???????......

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...agnCwwMwxkt_LyDmzElr5bB9XSZ9jgAcbm-F2o2Xpz4kQ

 

[Wingy]

10-year-old girl make world record in Scuba Diving-TV9 Video by tv9maharashtranews-Watchonline

Turn down the speakers unless you are fluent in Hindi. IMO too young. Id hazard a guess this girl has family members in Mumbai's emerging upper class, her mother doesnt seem to look like a diver, shes obviously privileged for an Indian girl. She did her dives at Havelock/Nicobar Islands..not the place your average Indian school girl gets to go on holiday to. Note the padi marketing on her back
I dont think shes too young to physically dive or understand the basics, what I do question is having dived with a 14yo who was AOW and a very very good diver, will overconfidence over ride her brains development to process there are risks. The kid I dove with was a great diver..the 14 yo boy in him kept scooting down to 15m on a safety stop because something swam below...repeatedly making both himself and me miss stops. I had to eventually grab his arm and keep him at 5m. I hope this girl doesnt develop that sense of being limitless.

 

[jongles]

what I do question is having dived with a 14yo who was AOW and a very very good diver, will overconfidence over ride her brains development to process there are risks. The kid I dove with was a great diver..the 14 yo boy in him kept scooting down to 15m on a safety stop because something swam below...repeatedly making both himself and me miss stops. I had to eventually grab his arm and keep him at 5m. I hope this girl doesnt develop that sense of being limitless.

continually been distracted from successfully completing a safety stop and then been physically kept at 5m in order to finally do it. That to me would be an indication that someone is not a "very very good diver"

 

[Wingy]

Sorry, should have clarified his other skills were admirable in someone so young - his boyancy was brilliant, air consumption great, did everything right except not wanting to finish the dive ... but I do see your point

 

[ChimarraoMate]

I like these debates about SCUBA and kids. As a diver myself and a parent of two kids that dive Recreationally, I want as much knowledge as I can to help me know what is safe and what is not safe for my kids. So, here are some interesting studies performed on children that I pulled up. I'll include the conclusions, and link to the study.

1. Circulating venous bubbles in children after diving.
No circulating venous bubbles were detected after the children surfaced. The results showed that during a usual shallow diving session, venous bubbles were not detected in children.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19411713

2. Ascent rate, age, maximal oxygen uptake, adiposity, and circulating venous bubbles after diving.

Younger, slimmer, or aerobically fitter divers produced fewer bubbles compared with older, fatter, or poorly physically fit divers. These findings and the conclusions of previous studies performed on animals and humans led us to support that ascent rate, age, aerobic fitness, and adiposity are factors of susceptibility for bubble formation after diving.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12235035

3. Lung function testing in children before and after an age-adapted SCUBA dive in a swimming pool
The majority of the children (87.8 %) did not show any relevant lung function changes. Five children had a considerable reduction of FEV (1). Signs indicate the importance of bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) as a key factor. Children with asthma or BHR should not SCUBA dive. A detailed medical examination is recommended (including an unspecific bronchial provocation test) before starting to dive.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21294078

4. Effect of a single pool dive on pulmonary function in asthmatic and non-asthmatic divers.

A single, shallow, pool scuba dive to 5 metres' depth may impair function of small airways in asthmatic divers. More studies are necessary to estimate the risks when divers with asthma practise scuba diving. PFT results should be analysed after replicated dives in deeper pools and controlled open-water conditions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22828813

5. Body temperature and heart rate in paediatric SCUBA dives
SCUBA diving results in a decrease in skin and body temperature as well as in body heat content in children. The use of semidry dive suits appears to reduce the heat loss of the skin and should be preferred to wet suits. Heart rate declines during SCUBA dives, with the highest decline towards the end of the dive. These changes in heart rate are related to average depth and water temperature during the dives. With regard to this study’s data, the authors did not detect a factor that clearly influences heart rate. Most likely, a combination of several mechanisms contributes to changes in heart rate during paediatric SCUBA dives.
http://www.ismj.com/files/311417173...eart rate in paediatric SCUBA dives Final.pdf


Number 5 is of particular use to me, because my kids are tall and thin. Even in a 7mm wetsuit, my 13 year old does not like diving in colder than 75 deg water. I remember reading a story where, in 1992 in Lake Tahoe, a 13 year old girl passed out during the 3 min safety stop and later died, they later contributed hypothermia to her fatality. Her Father, whom was a doctor, also died that day. When she passed out, he rushed her to the surface. While she was being treated by the rest of the divers, they later discovered the father was face down in the water. He died at the scene. Later they found that his death was caused by a pulmonary embolism.

Here is the original article that I read, but I cannot remember where I found the information on the cause of death. I guess google was more friendly to me that day.

S.L. MAN AND DAUGHTER DIE IN SCUBA ACCIDENT | Deseret News

 

[Dan62]

Every child is different. No two are alike. This article tells us nothing about this little girl. I can only speak from my own experience. At 9 at summer camp my son did a
PADI Program, think it was Seals. Anyway, he comes home and for his 10th birthday, the following week, he wants to get certified. Now 40 years ago on my one an only scuba dive - I hated it. Fortunately my brother is a diver so I thought he could go with my son. My wife, on the other hand, had other ideas. She signed us both up for lessons. Thankfully the eqipment has improved a bit in 40 years so it wasnt as bad as I expected. My son, who was an excellent swimmer was at home in the water - too much so for my liking. He always did his buoyancy checks upside down because "your floating dad, doesn't matter which direction you face".

I will admit that after he got his OW and even his AOW, while I was his dive buddy - he really wasnt mine. But he decided he wanted to work towards his Jr Master Diver and he wanted to get it as close to his 12th birthday as possible. It was taking the Rescue Cert that I first saw a dawning in my son that what we were doing, while fun, was truly dangerous. After that class there was a remarked change in his attitude. I could see he was starting to dive as my buddy, not as my son.

At thanksgiving, we were planning dives to work on some specific trim issues and to get those dives needed for his JMD cert. A cold front came in and the water temperature dropped to 57 degrees. We had 5 mil wet suits with boots, gloves and hoods but it was cold. We had been diving at 63 but never below 60. Anyway we thought we would try it. It was cold but we managed our first dive without blue lips or chattering teeth so we thought we would do a second. About 10
minutes into the dive, my son signaled to surface. When we got there he told me he was too cold and was calling the dive. Now we always said anyone can call a dive - but had never been diving when one was called! But he called it. It was at that point I realized he would be OK. If he could call a dive he really really wanted to complete, he truly understood what it was to be a safe diver. I (and his instructor) was very proud of him. Subsequent to that dive we have had a couple of miscues, got separated once on a blue water dive and after counting my 60 seconds I surfaced - he was there waiting for me. He just counted quicker.

So yes, by 12 I felt he was a safe diver who understood the risks and the planning needed to make safe dives. But if we hadnt been diving he wouldn't have been ready. It wasnt his age that made him ready, it was his experience and his understanding of the risks. You am only truly get that, at any age, by experience. So it's true some young people are ready and some aren't. But to say everyone is not ready by a certain age may be an overstatement.

 

[ozzydamo]

I guess she didn't grow up in this part of town- Dharavi Slum

Disgusting place of disparity!