Can I take my kids diving?
Lucy | November 2, 2011
Kids LOVE scuba! The dive shop on our island is a full service PADI dive shop offering scuba diving courses and daily dives for certified divers. Kids ages 12 and over have all of the options available to them as far as courses and certified dives go, there are no restrictions for kids in this age group. So kids ages 12 and up simply join adult classes that are offered.
Kids that are 10 or 11 are also able to take adult courses, but only at the discretion of the dive instructor. The dive instructor will accept children this age for adult courses, but PADI authorizes the instructor to direct the child into the Bubblemaker course if they feel the 10 or 11 year old is not yet ready for full certification.
The Bubblemaker course is for kids ages 8-11. It has a 6-foot depth limit. This is a half-day course, and includes a certificate, but does not count toward certification when the child reaches an age where they can go for full certification. Kids in the Bubblemaker course must be accompanied at all times by a dive instructor. They can continue to dive with an instructor for the rest of the week, but not exceed the depth limit imposed by PADI.
If parents are divers, they are discouraged from sitting in on the kids’ certification dive. Our dive shop has found that this impedes the child’s ability to successfully complete the course. Once your child is certified, the whole family can dive together as certified divers. If parents are also students in the same course, then they will all be diving together.
If you are planning to join us for one of our kayak trips you don’t have to commit to diving or dive courses in advance. You simply let us know your intent. We make sure the dive shop knows what you want so they have enough staff to accommodate everyone, but you can make the final decision when you get there.
Diving at Glover’s Reef is some of the best diving in the world! Last year a couple of teenagers in a course saw a whale shark on their SECOND dive! What a way to start!
Click on any image below to see the full picture. Many thanks to Robert Dunlop and Garry Lee for these pictures of their kids on our island packages.
