🌍 6 Tips to Prepare Your Kids for Scuba Diving

Scuba Diving - 3,376 views

Introducing your kids to scuba diving can be a life-changing experience for them. They’ll get to be one with nature, explore the underwater world, and engage in a fun and healthy activity. Not to mention that they’ll learn how to be patient, persistent, and responsible—some of the most valuable life skills.

However, making that first step is the hardest. Children need to be slowly led into this exciting sport.

Here are some of the key tips for preparing your child for their first scuba diving experience.

1. Involve Them in Water Activities Early On

The sooner kids get acquainted with the wonders of the water, the better. As soon as you find them physically and mentally prepared for such activities, let them give it a try.

You can take baby steps. For example, enroll them in a swimming class first. Or, give them a snorkel mask to see how they’ll like it.

Snorkeling is the perfect introduction to scuba diving. It is the best test of how your child will feel about scuba diving. If they love putting their mask on and observing fishies, there is a high chance that the same love will evoke for scuba diving.

Taking it slow will help your child to develop a love for the water. Keep in mind that the unknown can be scary for children. So, allowing them to get acquainted with water sports gradually will eliminate the hesitation.

2. Talk to Them About Scuba Diving

Children are smarter and more reasonable than most adults assume. You don’t need to paint a picture of a fairy tale to interest them in scuba diving. Being upfront and honest about the benefits and challenges of scuba diving can just the conversation they need.

You should address both the fun and demanding aspects of this sport. Otherwise, they might get discouraged if they only expect fun and games.

The benefits you can mention are:

  • Connecting with the natural world
  • Feeling of freedom
  • Getting to know new friends with similar interests
  • Exploring paradise-like places
  • Boosting strength, concentration, and health

However, they should also be aware of more technical aspects such as:

  • Learning about breathing techniques, the equipment, etc.
  • Passing the course
  • High demand for patience and persistence

When the child enters the scuba diving community with realistic expectations, you won’t need to be doubtful whether they’ll give up.

3. Educate Them About the Underwater Worlds

There is a lot of great material out there that will evoke a child’s interest in scuba diving. However, make sure that the books, videos, and documentaries you supply them with are suitable for their age. You don’t want to show an 8-year-old a video about sharks. Nor should you give them a 100-page book with no pictures about scuba diving.

Carefully choose the material they’ll absorb. Luckily, the online community is endless and there are many useful sources about oceans and scuba diving that are designed for children.

Ultimately, you can create personalized content for your child. Use simple apps to set up a website, collect different relevant materials, and order blogpost writing to present what you’ve found in a kid-appropriate style of writing.

4. Browse for the Equipment Together

A big part of your child’s scuba diving experience will be adapting to the equipment and learning how to use it properly. Looking into the equipment can get your child excited and get them ready for what’s to come.

Finding the right equipment is necessary. You need to get a well-fitting snorkel, wetsuit, and fins, which isn’t an easy task when it comes to children. It may demand some searching and investing, but it’s worth it. Without suitable equipment, your child will struggle with learning the hands-on part of this sport.

5. Schedule a Meeting with an Instructor

Visit a local independent instructor or a dive center to assess the compatibility. You want your child to trust the instructor. So, before you sign them up, let them meet the person who will guide them through this adventure.

What’s important is that you gather all relevant information. What you can ask about is:

  • The instructor’s experience with teaching children
  • Class sizes
  • Instructor-to-student ratio
  • Their flexibility when it comes to learning theory

You want to make sure that your child likes the instructor, but you also want to check if their program suits your child. If your child has a learning disability, you need to mention it. Even if your child has problems with concentration, also make it known. When the instructor knows in advance what your child’s needs are, they will be able to adapt to the training.

Overall, you should focus on three aspects when focusing on an instructor or dive center:

  • How your child feels about the instructor
  • If their learning methods seem suitable for your child
  • If they have experience with children and making scuba diving fun

6. Let It Be Their Decision

Lastly, you should never force your child to start with scuba diving. It is a sport that should be loved and enjoyed. If your child doesn’t feel ready yet, give them time.

The fact that they love snorkeling doesn’t mean that they’ll live scuba diving. Be aware that scuba diving can be demanding. For that reason, children need to have a genuine interest in it to be ready to commit.

Allow your child to make an independent decision whether and when they’ll like to start. If you put pressure on them, the fun part will be gone, and they won’t want to do it anymore. Therefore, your child must be mentally ready to enter the world of scuba diving.

Wrapping Up

Scuba diving is a great sport for children that passes on valuable life lessons and important skills. A child that learns discipline, self-sufficiency, teamwork, and problem-solving from an early age will be able to work through any challenge in life.

If your child shows interest in scuba diving, start preparing them. These tips will ensure that they enter the scuba diving world with passion in their heart and realistic expectations in their mind.

Author’s bio.

Jessica Fender – jess.j.fender@gmail.com is a professional writer and educational blogger at GetGoodGrade, an aggregator for useful college resources and websites. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.

Last Updated on June 20, 2021