Children and freediving

[rbsub]

Hello,
I need some information.

I'm a little bit afraid about my son. He is 10 years old and started to work with the apnoe tables.

Is it healthy for children to do max breath holds? Does anybody have informations about recommended max breath holds, max dynamics and max depths for children? Or should he wait until he is older?

What are the general suggestions about freediving and children?

The only information I found was that:
http://www.apnea-academy.com/content/kids_as_dolphins.php

- but it is Italian . Seems to me that they start with 7 years - but what are the limits?

 

[fcallagy]

Hi rbsub,
I think there was a similar question and if I remember it may effect development but no one is really sure because of the impossibility of testing etc. i would be guessing but I am sure we all did a bit of breath hold as we grew when we swam but probably nothing like contractions etc. A little is probbably ok but not to be oushed not because of normal fears of blackout etc but because of problems with deveopment

 

[naiad]

I think it is probably not good. A bit of recreational freediving is ok, but serious training is not.

 

[rbsub]

This is my main problem:
What is "little", what is "recreational"? Where are the limits? Does anybody has experience?

In the moment he works with the apnoe tables with a maximum breathhold of 2 minutes (dry) (I told him that more is not good for him) and his PB dynamic with fins is 50 m. Is that to much or still ok? (Beside the fact that I can't do more in dynamics as he does )

 

[fcallagy]

I would guess that may be on the too much side but I,m sure there are others who say I used to do that at that age. I think give the info but try not to let the training spoil the fun of it as I don,t think you could really stop a 10 year old doing wjat they really want to do. I started my daughter just swimming underwater at 5 and she loves it and tries to beat me but there are no mentions of watches times etc its just all a laugh.
Also try this link for other peoples ideas.
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=53663&highlight=children

 

[sickbugs]

everyones limits are different, if he is enjoying himself, well, may as well not stop him, lot of more harmfull things he could be doing @ 10 years old, at least freediving will teach him self discipline at a young age

 

[freedivinmike]

My ex-girlfriends son and 2 of his buddies were doing 3 minute statics and diving to 50-75 feet deep at the age of 12. They are now 20 and very intelligent, healthy individuals. I think freediving only helped in their maturity and development. Have fun training with him and many happy, safe dives to you both!

 

[naiad]

That sounds ok. I used to hold my breath and swim underwater a lot when I was 12. What I meant was that serious training, like doing tables and very long statics and dynamics, may not be good.

I didn't listen to anyone when I was a kid though. I still don't.

 

[rbsub]

Thank you for all the posts. I realized that you can't stop a child to do breath holds if he or she want to do it.

I spoked with my son about the risks of blackouts etc. by doing wet statics and dynamics and that it is very important to be supervised and secured by somebody and that he should never do it in the water alone.

He will further train with apnoe tables, but only easy tables without stress.

Again, thank you for you help.

 

[joe123321]

My ex-girlfriends son and 2 of his buddies were doing 3 minute statics and diving to 50-75 feet deep at the age of 12. They are now 20 and very intelligent, healthy individuals. I think freediving only helped in their maturity and development. Have fun training with him and many happy, safe dives to you both!

wow thats crazy 75ft

 

[watts]

I have 4 kids and they love coming to the pool with dad. On the weekend my boys did 31m 8 years old ( new pb ) and 34m dynamics. My youngest whose just 5 did a 11m dynamic with iti biti little fins and was so stoked.:friday. They are not pushing themselves to hard nor do i push them but they have fun and feel great when they progress. Callum whose 8 has just started dolphin kicking and i think i might get him one of those kids monos from Water Ways.:inlove I realy enjoy the sharing the passion for diving with my kids.

 

[Mr. X]

Here is a computer translated version of the above page: http://translate.google.com/transla...ER+BAMBINI+-+KIDS+AS+DOLPHINS+&hl=en&lr=&sa=G

I tend to be v. protective of kids & would not encourage any dangerous activity & certainly not under 12 years old. However, we used to do all kind of stuff as kids that'd be frowned on today. Some children have a natural affinitely to water & diving. I saw a couple at the pool recently during a snorkelling session. Two little girls with their mother. The youngest was little more than a toddler but happy, swimming under water in the deep end - incredible. The mother said she needed to keep a close eye on her though as she would happily jump into a pool & not think about the danger until stuck in the middle. Her older sister was happily swimming about under water in the deep end too -- and apparently the younger one has always assumed that she can & should do what her sister does.

Probably a good idea to make things as safe as possible: get them a medical check first, be familiar with basic rescue & resusitation techniques *for kids* (some techniques are not suitable for children). Keep a close eye on them, even if lifeguards are present.

caveat emptor