YD Scuba Diving Forums banner

Is 10 too young to learn to dive?

3K views 42 replies 27 participants last post by  frappawotsit 
#1 ·
My 10 year old son has always shown a great deal of interest in my diving and has been asking for the last few years, "When can I learn?"

He has now done a try dive at my local dive shop and I must admit he was a natural at it and really enjoyed it.

As I understand it, he can now do his Junior OW course with PADI, but is it expecting too much for a 10 year old to take it all on board?

He is very bright for his age and I have tried to explain the need to take it seriously, but I was wondering what other YD'ers experiance is, with diving with their kids.
 
#3 · (Edited)
My 10 year old daughter has just done the padi master seal team and she loved it .. and now is just doing here junior o/w pool sessions. The o/w dives will be done in the red sea in April. She wont be diving in the uk till 12 .
The theory is hard going, the tables are a bit confusing but we are getting there with her.but she is loving it....
 
#4 ·
I was obsessed with diving since the age of 8 (1971). I didn't actually dive for a few years after that but I feel sure that I could have managed it.

My son is 12 and will be doing his diver training in the summer. I have no concerns about the ability of the average 10 year old to learn a bit of diving. My only real concern would be that a child might have a go at diving to please a parent and not actually enjoy it.
 
#6 · (Edited)
My only real concern would be that a child might have a go at diving to please a parent and not actually enjoy it.
I know what you mean, but this is definetley off his own back. He used to read my old Dive and Diver mags when I got them and his hero is Monty. (I never said he was perfect!)
 
#5 ·
You just need to be careful about what diving they do. There are concerns over diving and the effect on growing bones - of course, whatever those are it will be a case of degrees, so a few shallow dives a year wouldn't be an issue, whereas regular deeper ones may.

Also consider how happy you would be to take them - you can't expect anyone else to, and the pressure of looking after them on a real dive might be more than you want.
 
#8 ·
You are right and I would only want to do shallow stuff with him until he is older. He would love having a pootle about under Swanage Pier and some fo the shallow stuff from Portland.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lou
#12 ·
Steve

He doesn't have to do the full Open Water course, start him off with Junior Scuba Diver, and then he doesn't have to worry too much about the tables and stuff and it won't be too intensive. Do JSD this year, JOW next year, JAOW the year after .. you get the pattern :). Not too much like hard work, hire the kit along the way (if it isn't included in the price, and while he's still growing), it gives him something to aim for, something to look forward too, and you get a bit of boy bonding stuff on holidays wthout it taking up all of the family time.

Oh, and there is nothing wrong with having Monty as a hero ;) :love:
 
  • Like
Reactions: DarkMatter
#13 ·
My lad did his first try dive at 8. He then did another on every birthday and somewhere around 10 did the PADI seal team. He did Ocean Diver 18 months ago and seems reasonably happy diving regularly and has managed at least one UK dive a month in 2011.

My only concern is buddy pairings - he dives with me or someone I trust implicitly and no-one else.
 
#15 ·
My son did his jnr OW when he was 10. he did his theory and pool work in the UK and then went to Dom Rep on a referal to do his open water dives. We found the best way for him to learn his theory was to watch the padi dvd over and over again. He sufffers with dyslexia and it took him 3 hrs to complete the exam but he did it in the end. TBH he only did his first UK dive last year as I had a dry suit that fitted him.

John
 
#18 ·
There was some kids that did their Open Water when I was doing my Rescue course and they put a lot of the adults to shame. The tiny little part of me that is maternal worried about them doing their open water dives though, they just looked so wee jumping in the murky waters of Strangford. They all loved it though. :)
 
#19 ·
I think it's great kids so young are enthusiastic about diving and should be encouraged. My only reservation concerns physical development and depth.

I'd be worried about young lungs and their development if over a few metres deep. Someone I know regularly took his kid down to 20m from about 10 years old. Every time the kid came up he'd be bleeding from the nose and ears - can't say I'd be happy if that was my child although it hasn't done the kid any lasting harm that I can see and he is 17 now.

Jurys out here.....
 
#20 ·
I'd be worried about young lungs and their development if over a few metres deep. Someone I know regularly took his kid down to 20m from about 10 years old. Every time the kid came up he'd be bleeding from the nose and ears - can't say I'd be happy if that was my child although it hasn't done the kid any lasting harm that I can see and he is 17 now.
Dear Lord that's worrying. Sinus problems? Ruptured ear drums? If it happened once I think i'd be reluctant to take them diving again, at least to that depth until I have got them properly checked out.
I know that some of the kids who learn in Strangford have severe problems with the cold and as a result it has had an effect on their breathing.
Then of course there was the one boy who's mother failed to mention was epileptic and somehow got her GP to sign him off as fit for diving. :confused:
 
#21 ·
Adam did his JOW when he was 10, . He took to it no problem in the pool, had a few issues when we went to Tenerife to do his qualifying dives, but eventually got to grips with it. When we went to Egypt when he was 12, he had a great time. He was always given the opportunity to stop if he wanted to. However, he has now decided that it is too much faff for 40 minutes underwater, and at the moment, there is a question over a health issue that means he won't be able to dive for a while anyway.
 
#22 ·
Children have been scuba diving for virtually as long as there has been scuba to dive.

In JC's book 'The Silent World' there is a picture of the Captain, his wife and two sons (12 and 13) on twin hose regs, no exposure suits and no buoyancy systems.
The picture was taken about 60 years ago and although one was killed in an air crash the other is still with us.
 
#24 ·
I started diving when i was 12 (padi standards then), done my AOW the year after, and was doing 25-30m dives by the time i was 15 ( bought a twinset at this time)

It took me a month to do OW and got pushed further than the standards state.
Forget the tables get the new ERDP the kids pick it up alot easier imo

Cant say any lasting effects on my body and done 20/25 dives a year at the start.
Only scare for my dad was when i had food poisoning and forgot to equlise my mask on thiseldorm but 5min nero exam found this out

Ian


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#26 ·
Me and my sister did our OW when she was 10 and I 12. Popped into aquanauts to buy a snorkel and now we have a shed full of twinsets and stages but I digress...

When we started we kept being told how naturally we had taken to it and that our water confidence was excellent. We both struggled with the tables but with help from a couple of instructors and parents we got through it.

She rarely dives now but when she does there is no apparant loss of capacity and she is excellent in the water.

Cheers, Joe
 
#27 · (Edited)
Hi.
I personally have no problem with youngsters diving as long as one of the parents does the actual diving with them including all the training, and does not shift the responsibility to others...

The only thing to be aware of as they hit their upper teens harmones start, then the inevitable kicks in with as my son, girls and they then have a few fallow diving years where they might come back to diving. Where as when your fruit of your loins has got over chasing sex full time and then does their training they may go on to take to diving properly.

But the main reason for your offspring dropping out is the bank of dad stops and all that diving gear which magically appeared when the sprog announced "I want to dive", and all those free trips out on boats etc stops and they realise all the drinking vouchers they have earned, would be swallowed up by 35 mins underwater..

Speaking from experience....
 
#29 ·
Hi.
I personally have no problem with youngsters diving as long as one of the parents does the actual diving with them including all the training, and does not shift the responsibility to others...
Why?

I agree that just shifting responsibility to another is wrong but for someone that is already diving a child learning to dive would mean the parent having to do their first qualifying course (e.g. BSAC Ocean Diver) again. I can't see that being a big seller.

Of course, for someone that is already diving twinsets etc a child learning to dive would mean the parent needing to go to a single and stopping doing any of their more adventurous stuff. Again not a big seller.

Personally I trust my child and his buddies (who are hand picked and not just put upon).
 
#28 ·
Steve I think most have covered what jnrs need but you have to ask yourself are they mature enougth to do the course, my girl is 11 now, i was going to teach her to dive but she was not ready, this year I am hoping she will be before she grows out of the kit i brought her!
 
#32 ·
My elder son was 14 when he started his training (on his birthday) and did 68 dives in his first year, including Scapa. That was 1991 and he's dived every year since. I did his training but not his assessments - I wanted someone else to check his capabilities just in case I was being too lenient (unlikely but I felt happier with a second opinion).
 
#33 ·
I think it depends on your son and his level of maturity. Your call, as his parent.

My daughter learnt at 11 and, as is common for the 1st child, is mature and I trust her in the water. My son is now 11, did his first try dive last year, and I would not trust him in-water for all the tea in china. He is just not yet mature enough in his attitude and diligence. I will get him to do a few more escorted try dives this year and wait until next year to see if it is right for him (or him right for diving).
 
#35 ·
I tried teaching my 10 year old niece earlier this year. Whilst I think she's pretty bright, she really struggled with the theory. It wasn't until she asked me questions like, 'what are particles?' and 'what's compression mean?' that I realised just how much of the training material uses language that's beyond a 10 year old's comprehension.

I ended up letting her dive in the pool but am putting off the theory for a few of years. I wouldn't rule out try dives in the open water though.

Overall, I'd suggest it comes down to your son's intellect and the time his instructor / you have to explain things in kids terms.
 
#43 ·
My own opinion (and i stress, this is just my opinion) is that 10 is too young. My14 year old daughter recently passed and loves it, my younger 11 year old daughter is very interested, and although PADI say she's old enough, my wife and I don't feel she is.

To qualify this, it is important to remember that while everything on the dive is going well, it's likely to be a great experience for her, however, we have to think about worst case scenarios, and with diving, you're heavily reliant upon your buddy for quick thinking, calm reaction and appropriate knowledge and help in an emergency situation.

While I may be perfectly confident looking after my daughter in the water, there is also the possibility that the child could find themselves in a situation where they are the emergency responder to the parent! To my mind, this is way too much pressure and responsibility to place on such a young child!

I can think of a number of emergency situations that i very much doubt my 11 year old daughter would be physically strong enough, or quick thinking enough to be able to suitably handle. I know this is all worst case, but lets face it, nobody plans to have that dive accident!!

We've set our own limit of 13 within our family, but as i said early in the post... this is just my opinion.... anything relating to parent/child decisions is very personal and there are a number of individual factors that affect the end decision.

My advice would be to think very carefully about possible outcomes, and consider if waiting just a little longer might alter those possible outcomes....

It's lovely to hear such your child has such a positive desire to dive, i wish you the best of luck with whichever choice you make.

(Be sure to keep us all posted, either way, with her progress, or her reaction?)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top