We often get asked ‘when can my child start to dive?’ Well there is actually only one age restriction, you can begin your diving experience at 8 years old & there is no maximum age. It is a great activity to do together as a family!
As a diver who is completely fascinated with the underwater world, you want your children to learn to dive as soon as possible. It’s understandable that you are excited to show them the wonders of the sea, diving among stunning marine life, and discovering the colourful coral reefs with them. However, you are aware that it is critical to learn diving properly in order to do all of these things in a safe and fun way.
From the age of 8 PADI offers two options for your children: The Bubblemaker program and The Seal Team Program.
The Bubblemaker program introduces participants to the emotions associated with diving and breathing underwater. Your children will have the opportunity to learn some basic scuba diving principles in a pool or confined water with a maximum depth of 6 feet/ 2 meters through this course.
The Seal Team program provides a more in-depth confined water experience. Your children will learn basic scuba diving skills while they have fun taking underwater photos, practicing buoyancy, and learning environmental awareness.
You will have to wait until your child is 10 before they can explore the ocean a bit more. At this age they are now old enough to participate in the Junior PADI Open water course. It is similar to the adult certification program but with smaller teacher-to-student ratios and shallower depth limits. To enroll, kids must be age 10 onwards and be able to swim comfortably.
If they would like to experience a try dive first in the ocean then they can have a day doing the PADI Discover Scuba Diving. This allows you to experience the thrill of diving in confined water under the supervision of a PADI Professional in simple conditions. During this adventure, you will learn some fundamental concepts and great skills and will even head off to try an open water dive!
Many scuba instructors say that children are often more ready and eager to learn to scuba dive than adults! In addition to providing them with outdoor exercise, scuba diving makes children more aware of marine life and helps them develop environmental awareness.
A child who wishes to dive should be medically fit for scuba as should anyone else, please check out our “fit to dive” questionnaire. They should also be eager to learn and comfortable in the water.
After receiving a Junior Open Water certification, divers 12 and older may continue to gain experience and explore deeper depths by enrolling in Jr. Adventure Diver, Jr. Advanced Open Water, Jr. Rescue Diver or one of many PADI specialty courses!
You are never too old to dive! Contrary to what a lot of people believe, generally, scuba is not a sport that demands a high physical effort. That is the reason why there is no scuba age restriction at all to practice it, as long as you are medically fit & the doctor approves you to dive you are ready to go!
The pros for early learning are definitely there as it will build a child’s confidence in the water and exploring new places. Diving will increase their awareness of the ecosystem and how to help the natural world. As well as spending time with you, diving will teach kids responsibility and real-world applications of physics, biology, and maths if done correctly. We would love to welcome you and your family to start your dive education with us here at Scuba Junkie & become part of our SJ family!
