Family scuba diving: 8 Great Reasons to Start Today
January 12, 2024
Have you thought about learning to scuba dive as a family? Learning to scuba dive gives both adults and children important new skills and is a fantastic activity that you can all enjoy together for years to come. In this article, we are going to look at the top benefits of getting certified and taking your family scuba diving.
Top reasons to take your family scuba diving
1. You learn important life skills together
The Open Water Diver program is not all reading and studying, it is a lot of practical fun! For starters, you will always remember your first breaths underwater – it is a life-changing moment. As you practice your new dive skills in the water, you will learn how to dive efficiently as well.
All of this takes time, and you and your kids will learn to try and try again. You will figure out what is working and what you need to do differently to improve. You will receive supportive feedback from more experienced divers and learn to be patient with yourself when you need to work on something.
These are all important life lessons that translate to other situations and are great reasons to start your family scuba diving adventures, whether you are at home or on vacation.
2. You become a great listener – and your kids will too
As mentioned above, the process of learning to scuba dive requires patience and good listening skills. There is quite a lot to learn over just a few days, so listening to your diving instructor is a must.
You will take on information that keeps you safe and allows you to dive with confidence. Taking your family scuba diving can improve your listening skills, which is so important in life, for children in particular.
As a certified diver, you will use your listening skills regularly, especially during dive briefings - when important information about specific dive sites will be told.
3. You learn about dive theory
When you take a scuba diving program such as the Open Water Diver program you learn all about physiology while diving, as well as how to plan dives and calculate safe dive times and depths.
Many people are not excited about studying, but SSI’s programs are set out in a way to make learning easy and fun, and you get to put what you learn to use in the water! Learning dive theory is more fun than it sounds, and it ensures both adults and children stay safe underwater.
4. You work with divers from all walks of life
When you take your family scuba diving, you work with other divers. The number one rule of scuba diving is to never dive alone! So you will always have at least one dive buddy to work with, keep safe, and trust them to keep you safe, too.
You and your dive buddy will keep an eye on each other underwater and agree on a dive plan and procedures for emergencies. These skills will teach you and your family how to work as a team and how to put your trust in others.
Diving is also one of the best ways to make new friends and spend time having fun with like-minded people. A dive boat is always full of interesting new people with exciting dive travel stories. Scuba diving is an amazing hobby to become more social and make connections!
5. You learn how to stay safe underwater
A very important educational benefit of scuba diving is learning to plan your dives. This involves calculating how deep a scuba dive should be and how long the surface interval should be. You will also learn how deep a second or third dive should be, and how to use a dive computer or dive table.
It sounds complicated but it is easy to master. So, why do you need to learn how to plan your dives? When we dive too deep or for too long, we risk experiencing decompression sickness. Learning to plan your dives will help to keep you safe on your family scuba diving adventures.
6. Your family will overcome nerves and gain confidence
Learning to scuba dive can be daunting and you or your family might find yourselves doubting your abilities or worrying that you will not do it right. But trust us, everyone feels that way on their first day!
Overcoming nerves and doubt, and building confidence in yourself, are excellent life skills to learn as a family. Failing and trying again is all part of the process of learning to dive. It teaches you to allow yourself to be vulnerable, to trust others and to trust yourself.
It is the best feeling in the world when you see yourself improve at something and gain confidence with a skill you originally could not do well. These skills crossover into day-to-day life and being unafraid to try new things (and be bad at doing new things) is the key to an enriched and fun life.
7. There is always more to learn as a diver
Your dive education does not stop after the Open Water program. There is always more to learn in scuba diving. You can go on to take a specialty such as the Coral Identification specialty or take the Advanced Adventurer program.
Most people are so excited to continue learning about scuba diving they do not wait long to start their first advanced diving course to add to their knowledge. Some people might not find this thirst for knowledge in other subjects, but for scuba diving, they find themselves completely engrossed.
8. You can explore new places and cultures
There are beautiful diving destinations all over the world. Once you are a certified diver, you will likely find yourself planning your family vacations to exotic areas that offer great diving opportunities.
As you explore, you will be surrounded by new cultures, vibrant places, and people with very different backgrounds. Learning to interact with people from other cultures is such an important thing to do.
Through diving and venturing to these beautiful places, we are breaking stereotypes and bridging gaps. Divers and travelers are bringing the world together and that is a wonderful thing.
Scuba diving teaches people of all ages valuable new skills and knowledge. And most importantly, it is fun! Is your family ready to start diving?
BECOME A SCUBA DIVER WITH SSI.