On  Wednesday, March 13, 2002 9:09 AM, Reef Fish wrote:

> This is to help get the subject properly threaded and give Tim a chance
> to meet some of us on a topic that interests him.

> >>(2) Name a topic
> >Certifying 10 year olds, not just maturity but growth plates and the
rest..

Since it's a topic in which many of us hold strong views, I'll throw in some
burley!  :-)

First, I'm cynical enough to think that the programmes aimed at kids as
young as eight, are nothing other than a ploy to attract the parents into
diving.  But leaving that to one side, my main objections to teaching sprogs
to dive are varied. :-)

(As I'm not qualified to talk about any physiological problems, I'm going to
ignore that aspect.)

The restrictions placed on where they can dive may prove frustrating and
either, by the time that they're old enough to participate properly, serve
to put them off diving altogether; or else encourage them in the belief that
they *are* divers; to the point where they take themselves off to dive in
areas and conditions in which they have no experience.  (The very last thing
that the diving industry needs is a Coronial inquest into why a child died
while diving!)

Most children lack the physical stamina to properly handle the equipment in
an emergency situation.  (The fact that some manufacturers are producing
specially sized cylinders; BCD's' regulators, etc.is, to my way of thinking,
immaterial.  Because they should be diving under supervised conditions with
an adult, it's not unreasonable to assume that a situation might arise where
the child has to render assistance to that adult.)

For all the fact that diving is often referred to as a, "safe; fun; and
enjoyable sport", it's an activity that requires a great deal of mental
discipline.  To borrow one of Bob's favourite sayings, "Know your
limitations and dive within them".  Most young children regard limitations
as very arbitrary things that deserve to be challenged.  (I know that, in
that regard, there're a lot of adults who also lack the necessary mental
discipline, but the line has to begin somewhere!) :-)

Having said that, I'm guilty of having taken my own kids diving when they
were very young.  I did so under tightly controlled and supervised
conditions.  But I wouldn't have trusted them to anyone else - no matter how
well qualified that person might have been.  Mastering the basic skills is
easy - especially for water-confident youngsters - but understanding and
appreciating all that can go wrong is something else entirely; and something
that may not be stressed when the idea is to make the course programmes fun
and enjoyable.

Then there's the question of attitude once they are old enough to
participate fully in diving.  Having spent probably years in a pool and
confined water mastering and honing skills, they're quite likely to hold
that up as 'experience' and ignore restrictions that a well meaning DM or
Instructor places on them.  Instead of knowing that they know nothing,
they're quite likely to think that they know it all!  :-)

That's my 2 cents worth!  :-)

Strike