What is the minimum or the right age for diving? In Europe you are allowed to fly an aircraft on your own at the age of 16!

While watching nature documentaries about the underwater world on TV, for many it is a dream to become a scuba diver. A while ago we wrote a blog on diving at 80. Today let’s talk about the minimum age for scuba diving.

Bubblemaker
PADI offers the Bubblemaker program for children from 8 – 10 years of age. To conduct this program, we have special XXS size equipment like small tanks and BCD’s, mouth pieces and more. We explain the rules of diving in a fun way but of course we make sure that they are well understood and followed. We go in the shallow water of our lagoon and explore the marine life. In the sand and amongst the small coral blocks we find star fish, sea cucumbers, picasso trigger fish, moorish idols, sergeant major fish, damsel fish and more. We take an underwater frisbee or rocket along to play and spend 45 minutes in the water. After the dive with go through the pages of a fish book to identify what we saw during our dive. Most of the time this first dive is not the last but followed by many more Bubblemaker dives during the holiday.

The next step is the Junior Open Water Diver course.

Junior Open Water Diver Course
For this course, the minimum age is 10 years. The Junior must complete the same skills, read, and understand the same theory lessons as the adult student. Until the age of 12 the depth limit is 12m. The Junior can’t dive with another Junior but must dive with an adult. Specially in the Maldives there is plenty to see and to explore at 12m. Only after the age of 12 is the Junior allowed to dive to 18m. To determine when a child is ready for this step depends on several factors. Physical and mental maturity, as well as the ability to follow instructions is important. Parents also play a role in determining if their child is ready for scuba diving. Often if the parents are diving the child has already spend plenty of time in and around the water wants to follow in the parents’ footsteps.

Scuba diving has so much to offer:

• Foremost fun and excitement
• Curiosity about the natural world
• Mastering new skills
• Boosting self confidence
• A sense of accomplishment
• Gaining problem-solving skills
• Obtaining communication skills
• Developing a passion for exploration and adventure
• Appreciation and respect for the ocean
• Understanding of the importance for marine conservation and protection

Scuba diving isn’t just about strapping on gear and diving in, it is so much more.

We look forward to taking you diving.