Preparing daughter for OW course

[TwIsTeD]

Not yet, I haven't wanted to push her into this. You may be right on track though. A youth course with some other girls her age would go well, I think.

[deepdiver47]

Originally Posted by Vercingetorix

PADI certs kids as young a 10 for Junior Scuba Diver. Child must dive with parent or guardian.

Didn't know that, teh question here is can she do the tables at that age?

[cummings66]

It's funny how as we age we forget what we knew early on. IE if you're 10 years old you're probaby in 4th grade. Most any 4th grader can do basic addition and subtraction, probably faster than I can by now.

I'm more concerned about other aspects than I am the academics, most 10 year olds can not handle stress well, I've seen lots of them fall apart under pressure. I personally think 10 is too young, but each person is different and it may well be this one is ready.

[cgvmer]

Oh I assure you I am as concerned about the stress. She and I have talked about diving shallow and going slow, she may not want to agree with me, but she realizes this time she must.

[Illini_Fan]

Not sure if you have other kids that dive, but if your experience is anything like mine (my son is 16) you may find that diving with your children is a double edged sword. Sharing an experience you both enjoy is priceless and makes some fantastac memories, but part of my mind is always focused on my son's safety.

Yes, I trust him as a buddy and he has proven himself a capable new diver, but my child's safety holds a different level of concern that what I typically have for a buddy. Hope that doesn't make me a bad buddy, just something to keep in mind regarding your dives with your daughter.

[Liv7301]

Originally Posted by TwIsTeD

My Girlfriends daughter is 10 now. She's been snorlking and swimms like a fish.
I'd like to get her to try scuba, but she doesn't always want to try new things. If she gets scared at all it's out. Any helpfull suggestions from you parents who's kids started diving at a young age?

What do you do about equipment? I haven't found any BC's sized right. She is a small framed girl.

They do make youth sized equipment. Since I don't have children, I can't give you any advice on fit. But I do know this great LDS that could probably help you find exactly what you are looking for...

[kevinj1]

I took my scuba test on my 12th birthday and got certified. It was the first possible day I was allowed to legally get certified back in the 80's.
What helped me a lot was having my older brother reading the scuba book with me an answering questions. I had a bit of a hard time with the dive tables back then--which my brother spent extra time helping me on as well.

[cgvmer]

Originally Posted by Illini_Fan

Not sure if you have other kids that dive, but if your experience is anything like mine (my son is 16) you may find that diving with your children is a double edged sword. Sharing an experience you both enjoy is priceless and makes some fantastac memories, but part of my mind is always focused on my son's safety.

Yes, I trust him as a buddy and he has proven himself a capable new diver, but my child's safety holds a different level of concern that what I typically have for a buddy. Hope that doesn't make me a bad buddy, just something to keep in mind regarding your dives with your daughter.

I have 2 sons (18 & 14) that are certified and yes, I dive with them, and I dive paranoid (if you ask them). But I enjoy the paranoid parent diving just as much as diving with others.

[itry2fly]

My 10 year old daughter and I are taking the OW together. Before we started, I sat down with her and we talked about the seriousness of the sport, and that it was not just advanced snorkeling. She has turned out to be a much better diver than I expected. She pays attention and has mastered the skills without a problem. She is even much better on clearing a completely flooded mask, which I still have a problem with. I am the constant dad when we are in the water. I am always a little worried that something will go wrong. But I think that may be the way to go. Always on my toes is a condition I can live with. I would hate to think that I ever get too comfortable, and become nonchalant to the inherent dangers. So I think diving with my child is an advantage to me since I know I normally have a short attention span! Equipment manufacturers make the kids BC's, etc., but all are a "one-size-fits-all" kind of thing. So we've found that not all kids BC's fit all kids. We did find that Scubapro makes a XXS BC that fits her better than the Aqualung Wave Jr. I'm sure other manufacturers make XXS too, and that may be an option for you.

[TwIsTeD]

Thanks for your replys to my questions.

esp the gear manufactures mentioned.