Hello All!
I was a member a long long time ago, pretty sure that my name was Sophia. I was active then and went on some wonderful SD trips. Then I lost my job, got depressed, disappeared from here. Then, I became un-depressed, got married to a non-diver (but willing), had a daughter.
Daughter turns 10 years-old on July 6th. This means that she will be old enough to get the kid's certification. So, I am pondering how to ease her into scuba diving because I really really want her to love it.
I won't really be a single diver. But, when my mind turned back to diving, I had to rejoin my peeps here.
Hey girl WELCOME BACK!! Too cool. First off a couple of misperceptions:
1. We are NOT just for single unmarried people. We are for people who do not have buddies. In the old days (2004 and earlier) they called people without activity partners 'singles' That is why you are a 'single' in golf if you don't have a pair. Or you are a 'single' going up on the 3 person chair lift or you pay a 'single' supplement if you have 2 people in a room. In other words...they are NOT looking at your marital status but rather your activity status.
2. So since you have a non-diving husband (congrats by the way) you are OFFICIALLY A SINGLE DIVER. Why? Because we cater to and represent 'single-not-married' and "married-but-the-spouse-does-not-dive" buddies. So a second time in your new 'single' status!
3. Divers of all marital statuses INCLUDING couples who BOTH dive belong and enjoy our group. We even have a few diving families as well; some of whom have joined us on trips over the years. Yes we started off more focused on the 'adult' solo focus but have evolved some over the 16 years we've been around!
NOW FOR YOUR OFFICIAL WELCOME!!!
And if you email us at admin@singledivers.com we can find your old account and merge them. Just include in the email to admin@singledivers.com what you THINK the old email address was and we can 'marry them up'. YES pun intended!
It is GREAT to have you back! Its so exciting to hear the journeys of our members and to have them share with us! Its like a virtual reunion and I it!!!
Kids as buddies are such an amazing experience but you are very wise to realize that you can't want it more than your child and they have to really want it. The best idea is to get back into it yourself. Even if that means only in the pool. Let your daughter's natural curiosity play out and entice her vs easing her into it. If she sees mom doing something REALLY cool then she is more inclined to want to know more. She may wonder why dad is not into it. That may cause her to feel as if she needs to move gingerly since 50% of the most important people in the word are not in agreement on something really important i.e one does it and one does not.
If it were my kid now knowing what I know...I would use every chance to 'show' her mommy diving in a pool or underwater via video etc. I would take vacations where you went diving and they were on the boat or you shared your experience when you got back and maybe showed video of what you saw. She has to REALLY want this or it won't work. Think about how successful couples are who try to get the non-diving spouse into the sport and they try really hard because they care more about you than the activity. Chances are they will NOT fall in love with it or it will wane or never get off the ground.
The other thing I would do is after I got them REALLY REALLY REALLY excited is to make them earn it. I would tie it to a reward for good grades or earning enough money to pay for the classes or some of the basic gear etc. If they have skin in the game they are more motivated to stay with it when they hit an inevitable snag.
Finally I would do TONS of research on the LONG TERM developmental effects of diving on kids and how to tell if your child is mature enough to make life and death decisions underwater. Do they LOVE the water now? Can they swim? Really swim? If no to any of these work with them to build up comfort in these areas first. And do that research. Remember all age brackets are as low as they can be and they are merely guidelines but not set in stone. I would not go younger than the recommendations unless one or both parents were scuba instructors and could see from years of experience subtle signs that the child is emotionally and intellectually ready. Since neither you nor your husband are in the industry then you want to be as cautious as possible since this IS your child we are talking about. Use the age guidelines as a starting point and then see how mature YOUR child is and how sharp. If they score in the upper % of their peers grade wise and basically "young adults" in little people's bodies then you can probably use the 'suggested ages'. If they are not then the older the child is...the safer it will be for them and the more likely they will fall in love with it.
Plus don't forget to make them WANT IT. The more they want it...the more exciting it will be when they get it. Tell them that less than 1% of the world can scuba dive and of course even less of people their age. This will make them feel special and you can use the lure of diving to be a reward for good behavior or reinforce good behavior as well as a way to make them realize how special they are. (All great tools for life wrapped up in a great bow!)
Start having her tell you things like 'what are the coolest ocean things' you know? 'What are the most exciting ocean facts you can find online'? Let her start dreaming of what the ocean is all about. These become the stepping stones to wanting to see what's in the ocean like mommy does! If she is not that interested right now then hopefully you can find cool videos and share them telling her how you've seen them in real life! If that does not excite her then she is either too young and/or not ready for diving yet.
I hope this helps. It would be fun to have other members chime in and share their ideas. I'll even set up a special topic so we can have give and take for your research project. If that sounds like fun let us know and I'll set up a special topic for you and capture your questions and my thoughts and anything else others suggest! It could be fun AND educational. Just let me know! And welcome back again! Kamala