Have you ever been to the coast? There are many things to hold your attention, from the white sandy beaches to the deep color blue water of the ocean. What is even more amazing is the whole worlds of fish, coral, and exotic fauna underneath it. Now, even children can experience this magic for themselves thanks to the junior open water diving and scuba diving lessons. Additionally, your child will get to learn something cool and new in the process.

What is junior open water diving?

Junior open water diving involves teaching children how to discover the ocean’s secrets and have fun while at it. This consists of a series of scuba diving lessons by the Professional from Lifesaving Africa Rescuers 

We know scuba diving for your kid sound fun and exotic. However, junior open water diving and scuba diving courses are not for every child. 

The most obvious requirement is that the child must be a competent swimmer. The scuba diving program is also only available to children aged ten years or older. Divers between the ages of 10-11 years are only certified to dive for a distance of 12m only. They must also dive with a LAR Professional or a certified parent or guardian. 

Divers of ages 12 to 14 must dive with a certified adult and dives cannot exceed a depth of 18m. Children up to 16 years old are only allowed to do so in the company of certified divers, after which they officially become open water divers.

Junior open water diving training

LAR  junior open water diving has three sections. These are knowledge development or theory, confined water or pool dives, and open water or sea dives. 

To be certified as a junior open water diver, the first skill to learn is basic scuba diving. This involves a series of swimming pool diving 3  open water boat dives to test your skills. You must spend a total of at least 31 hours taking the junior open water diving training before you can get LAR certification. This can take 4-5 days to complete. 

Once inside the water, we teach the children how to focus on their breathing and making sure that all the scuba diving equipment is working perfectly. Junior divers learn how to be aware of what is happening around them at all times. This helps them to monitor their air and keep at the right diving level, as well as know where everyone is in case they need to call for help. 

They also learn a little about underwater photography, identifying the fish, and get to enjoy all that the ocean has to offer. After the training, some of the scuba diving benefits that the junior diver enjoys include better fitness and flexibility, sleep, and getting to interact with the wonderful sea life regularly.