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Diving is simple, easy and fun, and these days, a sport the entire
family can enjoy together.
Diving is environmentally friendly, teaches environmental respect,
and requires almost zero physical fitness and only average swimming
skills. It’s also a completely non-competitive activity since
there is little contest in just swimming around underwater; diving
is simply a vehicle we use to explore our oceans as it makes it
possible for humans to breath underwater. So, for no other reason
than that, diving should appeal to anyone who is looking for a sport
where everyone in the family can enjoy it on an equal level.
Keep The Pressure Off, Honey
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| No pressure |
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Finding activities that the whole family can enjoy together is
sometimes difficult as there can be different levels of abilities
between children of different ages and between the parents. At the
same time, scuba diving has somehow retained the stigma of being
a male-dominated sport, where wives are hesitant to try. This male-dominated
perception is simply not true, but the perception remains so women
hesitate. Compounding the problem is when their husband insists
it would be a great idea and doesn’t back off when the woman
suggests another activity. Spouses are often afraid the husband
or boyfriend will be overbearing and apply pressure to perform during
what would otherwise be a fun and non-competitive class. It turns
what should be a very pleasant exciting event into a stressful,
uncomfortable experience. You know how we men can be.
Leave It To The Men
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| No worry |
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Scuba diving lessons should be conducted under a calm environment.
Unfortunately the reverse is true. Many men simply have to exert
their authority, even though they may be the ones who are having
trouble adapting and may be more nervous than the woman. As a scuba
instructor, I have seen this time and time again.
I normally suggest that the wife take lessons separately from their
husband if their husband displays this kind of behaviour when they
do other sports. However, if children are also involved, then this
problem is diminished.
Calm Down, Dad. This is Fun, Mum.
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| Learning to dive
in a pool |
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When kids are involved as well, dad will tend to calm down and
pay more attention to the kids rather than his ego. At the same
time, mum will be more fascinated watching her kids go through the
process and worry less about what she is doing. The children are
rarely an issue, they take to diving like they take to eating ice
cream; it just come naturally to most of them. And even if your
child is not particularly active or coordinated, it makes no difference,
as diving skills don’t require much coordination or athletic
skills.
In this way, everyone learns in a stress-free environment. A family
who learns to scuba together can still eat dinner with each other
that night.
The Kids Are Alright
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| Getting confident
by snorkeling |
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There have always been certification programs for children, but
in recent years they have become more available and easier to participate
in. Kids under eight cannot learn to dive, but an active parent
can get the kids interested in the ocean by learning to dive themselves
first, and then take the child snorkelling. Once she has turned
eight years kids can try scuba diving in the pool or the shallow
ocean, begin to learn skills and become comfortable with the equipment.
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the
world’s largest dive training organization, offers a unique
program called the SEAL Team that takes place in the swimming pool.
The child is taught basic skills and then given a series of underwater
games to do to hone their skills and interact with other children.
A certificate is given at the end of the course, and the kids love
it.
Safety Is Job One
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| Underwater lesson
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Once the child has reached the age of ten, she can become a Junior
Open Water Diver which opens up the ocean’s reefs to exploration.
There are a few restrictions at this age for depth and supervision
in the water, as there should be for safety reasons, but by the
time the child has reached ten-years old, the child can dive with
her parents down to a depth of 12 metres or 40 feet. Most of the
world’s coral reefs are accessible at that depth so there is
plenty to do and see. Once they reach 12-years, most of these restrictions
disappear. Diving is one of the safest outdoor activities your child
can do.
Once parents and child are certified there are a number of activities
they can participate in. There are simple liveaboard diving holidays
the whole family can do together, and there are educational experiences
to learn together. Diving teaches a child how to think and encourages
maturity and individual thought.
The Real Fun Starts
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| Koh Bida Yai: dive
spot near Phi Phi Island |
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Liveaboard diving holidays are something like a mini cruise ship
where you live on or stay on board the boat so you can reach remote
islands and coral reefs. Many trips like this are available here
in Phuket.
Some boats even have large enough cabins so the whole family can
stay in the same room, and many boats will have babysitting services
if one of the children are still too young to scuba dive; the nanny
looks after the child while the parents dive. In between dives you
may take the child snorkelling together as a family.
It’s All About Education and Environmental Awareness
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| The beauty of the
oceans |
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Educational opportunities exist within PADI and other organizations
where you can learn more about the ocean’s marine life, underwater
photography or videography, night diving, underwater navigation
or even wreck diving. The choices are vast and in some places in
the world offer “summer camps” for the family to learn
about the ocean together.
It’s important in these days of environmental uncertainty
to teach your children how important conservation of our oceans
is, and there is no better way than by demonstrating the beauty
of the ocean hands-on, face-to-fact, up close and personal. When
the child can see for themselves what is actually down there, they
develop a love for it which they will keep with them for the rest
of their lives.
Source: ©Siam Dive n' Sail & John B.
Williams
68/14 Patak Road, Mu 2, Karon, 83100 Phuket, Thailand
Tel: 66-76/330-967 Fax: 66-76/330-990
http://siamdivers.com
E-mail: dive@siamdivers.com
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