Posted by seahunt on January 03, 2002 at 16:28:39:
In Reply to: KIds and Scuba posted by Jim Hoffmann on January 03, 2002 at 10:40:12:
You have to figure that it's a parent thing. If the kid wants to
do it on their own, you can tell. I remember my friend's father
trying to get his 10 year old to waterski. He'd get lined up,
signal the kid and take off. The kid would go 10 feet and let go
of the rope. Scuba diving is more demanding and potentially far
more hazardous. Pushing someone into it is dumb and unfair to
the kid.
On the other hand, if it's the kid is precocious and diving is their
idea, they may have problems, but they will persevere and it is up to
the parent to be scared out of their mind. Just from my position, if
a parent isn't worried about their young child scuba diving in CA,
they aren't thinking it through. The cold alone would be a concern,
let alone the weight of the equipment.
Besides that, when talking about kids diving, I'd like to know the
effect of pressure on bone development.
In my mind, the most tragic event to touch the California diving
community involved a child and his father. I still can't believe
that happened.
Enjoy the diving, seahunt