12-years-old is too young...David S - BSAC Open Water Inst/Teacher
August 29, 2007 at 09:10:19I just read the CDNN report from Baptist Lake, MI, about a 12-year old who almost drowned while learning to dive. Twelve years old!!!
Children that young are too young to comprehend Boyle's Law, let alone emergency procedures. The diving instructor (PADI??) took a big chance agreeing to teach this child, and made it worse by doing it in open water . . . which was probably very cold (at least the training could have been in a warm swimming pool). The "Incident Pit" widens and the chance that things will go wrong increases. The CDNN news article refers to the "unregulated U.S.
diving industry" trying to increase the number of divers by developing diving courses for kids (according to PADI). To what end are we willing to sell our souls for the almighty dollar? Does it have to cost us the lives of our children? Shame on that instructor and shame on PADI for promoting such a program. | 
