Scuba Tweens & Teens - In Support: Learning to Scuba Dive Young!
Tween & Teen Divers! For PADI, Junior Open Water Divers means kids ages 10-14 who are certified to scuba dive at a maximum depth of 40 (10- & 11-year-old) & 60ft (12–14-year-old). Ages 15 and up are considered ‘regular’ Open Water Divers certified to dive up to 60ft un-supervised.
So what is it about getting scuba certified at a young age? Why not wait?
For some it’s the next obvious step. Kids growing up near the ocean. Kids growing up with parents who are divers – itching to emulate their cool parents. Or kids growing in love with the ocean. Obsessed with shark, whales, anything involving the ocean. That’s it! Parents say yes but more as a formality knowing that for their child – it’s not a matter of will they but when will they.
The list of positives for getting scuba certified young is LONG.
For parents who dive thinking about their children joining the scuba community, the list is massive! It’s the connection. Scuba diving, the ocean and those shared experiences under the surface bind you together.
What do they say again? The family that dives together, stays together.
Cliché? Yes.
Accurate? Yes.
The bond you form over “…sharing the sights and sounds of the ocean…” Navigating the trials and tribulations that come with scuba diving. The mutual respect that grows between you and your dive buddy – parent and child. Watching your child grow – use their deductive skills to solve problems, gain confidence & independence.
Let’s be honest. “It’s hard for 40-year-old fireman to have something in common with a 15-year-old angsty teenage daughter. But scuba diving gave us something in common,” says PADI Instructor Madison Tracy. It keeps the conversation flowing through some dramatic life changes, like puberty for instance.
It’s not all about growing up through scuba diving – part of it is staying a child. Keeping that child-like curiosity that often fades with age – THAT is priceless. Scuba diving is a passion for life that will continue to keep that curiosity and excitement for life alive. PADI Instructor Madi Tracy is still diving with her dad and is quick to realize that scuba diving is a hobby “… to do with your kid that you both like” forever.
Scuba diving alongside turtles, endemic (native) fish species, rays twice their size, nudibranchs smaller than their fingernail – it is indescribable. Divers see the magic of the ocean firsthand. Scuba shows you the connection between humans and the ocean so clearly.