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Children spearo's

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Fair play . With that bein said. Wenis the right time / age to teach a child spearfishing not gun in hand i mean teach? Then wot age would b acceptible for them to progress to a gun?? Think this is the debate that should b taking place
 

Cheers for this 1 buddy this is exctly wot i mean
 

I do understand the outlined intentions described above (and I think all do), of carefully guiding and supervising the child, gradually introducing him and all... and those conditions are the ones I am responding to... But things are being rushed out of a good heart... a lot...
 
I learnt to swim before I can actually remember! I think I was swimming at around three years old & this was in the sea.
My parents & my two older brothers all spent as much time in & around the sea as possible.
I have seen photos of myself holding a mask at a very young age, at junior school there was a heated pool & I swam my first mile at 8 years old & started competitive swimming around that time too.
I was given (by OMD) my first hand spear at 11 years old & shortly afterward a shorty suit. I first used a gun the following year aged 12 (I think)
I can clearly remember my brothers concern about me useing a gun & I was encouraged to use my hand spear to hunt flatfish & only occasionally allowed to borrow Dave's gun at the end of a dive (probably when the had got out of the water) LOL.
However I am sure I was catching & killing rod caught fish on my dads boat at 5-6 years old.
 

I understand in wot your saying but there s no rush in my case. He may never hav a gun in his hand . It all depends on the progress he makes whilst in the water. I admit i foolishly wrote a time period on here but in reality my son will only b using any sort of spear hand or gun wen he is truley safe to do so. The fact the child is in love with the water and does go swimming with me every week and also does swimming lessons every weeki am truley blessed. The question i would like ppl to answer is wen is it right for a child / person to spearfish or wen is the right time to teach a child the pricipels of spear fishing?? I would like to see ppls view on that.
 
Sounds great !!! This is the kind of post im looking for.
 
Does your son show any interest in catching fish with fishing rods? That would also be a good place to start. I've been fishing since I can remember, and certainly before age 5.
 
Mr. X said:
To make you feel better about doing something irresponsible?
Click to expand...

How is taking my child snokleing with the progession of using a gun irresponsible??
Clearly your choosing to not take note that there will b no gun going out with me and my son and choosing to attack my intentions without any real responce to the question. Nice!!
 
BatRay said:
Does your son show any interest in catching fish with fishing rods? That would also be a good place to start. I've been fishing since I can remember, and certainly before age 5.
Click to expand...

Sadly no he is not to keen on rod and line fishing. He is more of an active child like i was myself. I hav tryed him many times with rod and line with me and his grandad who is an awsome rod and line fisherman . I peronally think its the whole underwater life thing he craves. By that i mean he is amazed and interested in it. But until he gets to an age where a spear is acceptable he will go with rod and line for fish or let me go out and get them but in all honesty i just think he wants to get in the water in his new wetsuit. That is good enough for him and good enough for me also. In time yeah he will b spearing but as matt stated it could b years yet. Depending on him in the water. Mind set and my own concerns about if he can handle the equipment in a safe mannor.
 
True, standing on the bank can be a bit tedious for an active child.

Did you craft the wetsuit yourself? If so, that's really good work. What's the neoprene thickness?
 
BatRay said:
True, standing on the bank can be a bit tedious for an active child.

Did you craft the wetsuit yourself? If so, that's really good work. What's the neoprene thickness?
Click to expand...

Yes i did design measure up cut pattern and make my self all out of my head. Im really hapoy with it. I use to make suits as a job but now just make them as a hobby wen eva i need 1 or my son nephew needs 1. It was the hardest by far as this is the smallest suit i hav eva built.
 
Oh sorry thickness is 3mm legs with 5mm body and arm open cell . Cheers im so happy with fit and look of it
 
spearo nobby said:
Fair play . With that bein said. Wenis the right time / age to teach a child spearfishing not gun in hand i mean teach? Then wot age would b acceptible for them to progress to a gun?? Think this is the debate that should b taking place
Click to expand...
I'd be similar to foxfish.... 8-10yr I think should be able to handle moderate sea with an adult without weights.
if she wants a pole spear I think I would encourage it but only if she asks.

she would then need 2 or 4 years spearing with a polespear before I'd ever consider her with a gun!! And certainly not before 14ish...

again like mart said, she has her own shore rod and boat rod and does love to fish already... She eats all type of fish even sushi and she 'demands' I cook her the eyeballs of every fish (started as a joke but she ate it and loves em!!)

what I'm saying is she was a fisherman and swimmer individually long before she even considered diving or spearing.... But even at that she will need to show me she is an elite speara before I'll let her use a gun.
 

maybe the pic is misleading... And shows your influence more than the kids. If he ain't spearing why camo? Personally for safety I'd like a suit bright that could identify my kids to boats etc if necessary.

I know you say you will be at arms lenght... But I won't dive with my kid. I'm terrified if I have a blackout, heart attack or other random accident and they are left alone... Even if shallow in a quiet place. I think the offer from scooburu is a good one, and a nice environment to show a kid the ocean.

on a separate note... Fab skills making the wetsuit for kids... Good talent and a clear market opportuinity!!
 

I didnt choose the colour of his suit he did. He wanted in his words the same as mine. He has a black zip pannel in the bk but also that camo is not matching any ground i am taking him. He will show up like a saw thumb in that suit. He has had his imput into the suit and thats wot makes the suit that bit more special as he did cut some pannels but between us adults the ones he cut went in the bin wen he went to bed and i cut them again and built the suit ready for his work to b seen in the morning. He will NOT be using a spear gun for some ti
 
Time. Hence the real reason for this debate. I can c all conserns raised and i hav taken note and im more in agreement with u guys. He is adement about starting up and catching fish but i do belive he will settle just to get in and loom with me. Then progress to a pole spear in time then like the ages stated around 11-14 a gun i think with the expearance he will hav then the respect he would hav for gear and the capiblitys he would hav would make him a compleatly compitent spearo. Yeah me and matt hav spome about this a lot over the winter . That is the approach i will b taking ad mat aslo has a younger brother not as young as my son that wants to start so likewise i will b assisting in the help and advise for his brother. By NO means am i pushing my son into the sport he has made the choice for himself. I hav 4 kids and all r into differnt things . I dont push my kids into anything i support there choices and encourage them and yes sometimes hav to b the bad man wen i have to say no but that is being a parent. For example the very same son wants to do dance lessons. Not my thing at all but he is focused on that also so that is wot he will b doing. I do appreaceate the pic can b taken into different light but i honestly thought it would hav been a pic that all would enjoy.
So it looks as tho the age is pointing at 11-14 with the right expearence for spearing. Would others agree or do u think older??
 
Reactions: bobdonny
Kind of break my heart to see the thread turn into what it has, when seeing the love and affection from you towards your kid. Big thumb up for THAT.

I know you probably feel kind of under attack. But I hope that you somehow also realize that the points made are sincere points of view, and that you will somehow digest it. And that you are ready to rethink the plan if necessary... But I can see how confusing it can be, when some people say one thing, and others clearly think otherwise...

In the beginning of the thread you stated something like nothing is more important to you, than the safety of your son. Does safety really come first in your plan right now? Or is it other things like dreams, interests, fun etc.?

This is how I see it: You know yourself, and you know you are a loving, caring, responsible, knowledgable father and spearfisher. So that combination seems to make it safe in your mind to combine fatherhood and spearfishing. And it sounds to me like you don't see (very, very) obvious dangers... It seems like your strength becomes your weakness in this regard... You perceive it to be more safe than it is because you are confident in what you do...

At what age should person start use a gun? I don't know. Depending on personality, skill and other factors like circumstances (is it just shooting, or actual spearfishing) probably between 10-18 years of age. I'm not personally too worried about the psychological "killing fish" thing... It depends however on how he perceives the situation...

It is not a straight forward thing to judge his readiness to hold a gun. Imagine this: He shows allready great skills, great responsability and you hand him a gun. Now he's still just a kid, using a gun. You know that even adults can screw up... what are the chances that a small kid makes a mistake? Now add the task of holding your breath, using the gun, and hunting. What if something unforseen happens? I can tell you one thing for sure: Adults very often overestimate the mental ability of children, because they can seem so clever and skilled at times... But we forget sometimes their limited abilities in task such as risk assesment, planning, staying focused and remember to do certain things...

I like the idea to let kids play their way into stuff. How would he like to record stuff with a camera as someone suggested... great way to simulate a hunt. Or with your great skills in making stuff, make a small wooden toy gun with bulky spears, and tell him to never touch your gun again until allowed.
 
Reactions: bobdonny
Personally I like to do this with my kids if they are under 10
 

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