Family scuba diving isn’t just a great sport you can practise for a lifetime in different parts of the world. It’s also a shared adventure, and a beautiful exercise in mindfulness. The underwater world can become a passion for the whole family, just like it has for us. How do you start scuba diving with kids safely? We’ve put together a small guide.
If you’re wondering whether a child can safely scuba dive: yes, but under certain conditions. The first descents go very shallow, with an instructor, and in the form of play. Children’s diving programmes are specifically adapted to their age. In this guide we cover from what age you can start, what the first dive looks like, and how to prepare a child step by step.
There are moments in parenting when you look at your child and think: wow, look how they’re changing, growing, discovering the world in their own way. For us, one of those moments was the day our kids, then 10-year-old Mania and 8-year-old Jas, dropped under the water for the first time with a tank and a regulator. And you know what? There, in Thailand, among the colourful reef fish, turtles, sharks, corals and the kind of silence you can only hear through a mask, we saw our kids again as if for the first time. They were focused. Calm. Present, here and now. And somehow… suddenly so much more grown up. An incredible experience.
But from the beginning.
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Is scuba diving safe for a child?
The most common question we get as parents is: is scuba diving safe for a child? With the right instructor, calm conditions and no pressure: yes. Children’s diving programmes are specifically designed for them, and the first descents are very shallow and under constant instructor supervision. So it really matters who you’re diving with, and where.
Mum, it’s like an aquarium down here! How to start diving with kids
Before a child puts on a tank and goes into the underwater world, only one thing really matters. It’s play. Play in the water, with the water, with parents in the water. Through that, kids don’t just get used to water in their ears and eyes (and to it being okay), they also build positive associations with water itself. So it’s worth taking them to the pool and outside, to a river, lake, or the sea, as early and as often as you can. Play with them in the water, teach them to dunk, jump in, dive down, and only then focus on swimming. For us, taking regular showers instead of baths and trying different water sports also worked really well. The fact that water gets into a child’s eyes, mouth, ears or nose and doesn’t bother them at all pays off later, in bigger underwater adventures. The child simply won’t be afraid of water.
Snorkelling first, scuba diving with kids later
Once a child is comfortable in the water, try snorkelling, that is, swimming with a mask and snorkel. It’s the perfect first step: it teaches a child to breathe through the tube in their mouth, while the nose is “blocked” by the mask. They can then watch the entire underwater world from the surface, the fish, the reefs, and feel that with a mask and snorkel they can see so much more.
You can start snorkelling already with toddlers. Our Basia was 3 when she first started swimming with us in a mask. Now she’s 6 and… she moves underwater like a fish. She watches her older siblings, listens to their diving stories, and we have no doubt it’s only a matter of time before she descends with a tank too. You know, being around older kids makes acquiring new skills happen almost on its own, kind of like osmosis! :)
From what age can a child start diving?
Best of all… as early as possible. While the child still has that natural curiosity and lack of fear in them. Before they decide that something is “too hard”, “not for me”, “maybe one day”.
Diving isn’t just a sport. It’s a shared adventure, memories, discovering the world from a completely different perspective. We started as adults, but watching our kids underwater (their attention, their joy, their courage) made us fall in love with it even more.
If you feel your kids could also love the underwater world, give it a try. Maybe with snorkelling, maybe with a try dive course. With the right approach and a trusted instructor, I’m convinced this can be one of the most beautiful adventures of your family :).
The first real descent with a tank can happen from age 8. It’s called a try dive, or bubblemaker, or scuba ranger, depending on the diving federation. That’s exactly how the adventure of Jas, our eight-year-old, began. He took his first dive in Thailand, where we spent a longer family stretch with the kids, together with his best friend Felek. Joint preparations, first exercises, then descending underwater with their dad Mario as their guide. From that moment, both of them in love with the underwater world.
If a child enjoys it (and they usually do!), the next step is the Junior Open Water Diver certificate, available from age 10. It allows diving to a depth of 12 metres in the company of a certified adult diver. Mania did this course, just after her 10th birthday, also in Thailand. For her it was more than just learning. It was a path to independence, courage, and a huge joy of being underwater. She passed the exam with flying colours, and we were proud of her beyond words.
Jas will be able to do this certificate in a year and can’t wait :). For now (with difficulty!) he has to make do with descending a few metres with his dad :).
What about the parents?
In our family, the whole family dives. Mario, the dad of our crew, is a diving guide, and our kids’ first descents with a tank happened with him. It gave them an enormous sense of safety, and us, the certainty that they were in the best hands. I dive too, so the kids have seen from a young age that it’s something normal, accessible, exciting, not just “for adults”.
Water has become our shared space for discovering, for conversations, and… for quietening down. And watching the kids grow into this passion is one of the greatest adventures of parenthood.
We of course recommend doing the course as a family, so you can all be underwater together! For us it’s the biggest fun ever!
How to choose a dive school for your child
This is a very important step. Not every centre is able (or wants!) to work with children. Look for centres where:
- instructors have experience working with kids, and you can see they enjoy it
- children have time to get comfortable in the water without pressure (in diving nothing can happen by force, no one can be made to do anything)
- equipment is adapted to small bodies: BCDs, masks, fins in appropriate sizes
- the first dives take place in calm spots, like a pool, a lagoon, or a bay, not immediately in the open sea
It’s always worth asking about their previous experience with kids and reading reviews online. From our experience, don’t do those first dives in very touristy diving destinations like Egypt or Koh Tao in Thailand. Better to choose quieter places, where the approach to diving and safety matter more than the cash in the till.
For example, a stone’s throw (or a short flight) from Poznan, Krakow or Warsaw, you’ll find a Polish dive school called Sirena Sardinia on Sant’Antioco, right next to Sardinia, where Mario worked recently. The owners are Dominika and Piotrek, who not only have a huge heart for what they do, but are also parents themselves and know how to work with children. Piotrek is one of the most experienced technical instructors we know, who on top of that really enjoys teaching the youngest ones. Seriously, massively recommended!
Why scuba diving is the perfect sport for kids
Because it teaches focus. Body awareness. Being here and now.
Kids who are very active, restless, full of stimuli, suddenly go quiet underwater. Jas, who can talk and jump at the same time on land, becomes somehow… different underwater. After one dive he said: “Down there nothing distracts me. I just listen to my breathing and watch the fish.”
Diving is also about trust: in yourself, in your buddy, in your instructor. It gives kids a sense of agency, teaches responsibility, and fits perfectly into what active outdoor with kids means for us: it shows that nature is a space worth taking care of.
Because once you get to know something and love it, you take care of it, right?
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