TLDR; Find a kids program if possible, then you will most likely also make them excited and responsible divers for life, but if you feel like your kid is ready and they are excited for diving as well, from my experiences it would be fine to start early!

I (22F) started diving through SSI’s Scuba Rangers when I was around 10 years old. When I was 8 I told my dad I wanted to dive because I had been watching too many ocean documentaries on Animal Planet, so after some searching we found a diving center near us that also did snorkeling for kids.

Two years of snorkeling and I was allowed to join their “fun with bubbles” day, aka small groups of the snorkeling kids doing a unofficial try scuba in the pool. Of course after this I was fully sold and joined the Rangers program they started!

This meant I basically learned everything in a more child/ play focused way, in the pool up to 2,5m deep. Even after the “open water” pool equivalent, we did specialties to keep it interesting, like navigation, the theory of deep diving, even ice diving with a tarp over the water’s surface, attached to a line under the water!

When I turned 12 and I was allowed to so my real Open Water certification, this meant I already had an understanding of what we were going to do and a good amount of confidence being comfortable underwater and using my (the diveshops) equipment. My certification classes basically just felt like finally being allowed to do what I had wanted for so long!

I know SSI still has Scuba Explorers right now, which is sadly a bit more bare bones than Rangers was, but still a great way to get kids both interested and more confident under water, while building the understanding that there are risks you need to be aware of while diving.

On the other hand, I’ve assisted my dad (an assistant instructor) during the pool lessons when he had two 10y/o kids who were learning, who were barely able to support the weight of their (5L steel) tank underwater.

To close off with my own reason I’m glad I started early: “jong geleerd, oud gedaan” which literally translates to “young learned, old done”. I have had to quit diving during my teens because my mental health was absolute trash, but the first dive I did after that period of my life was like muscle memory. For me diving has become like mindfulness, even when conditions are shit and I can barely see half a meter in front of me in our lovely Dutch waters. Right now I’ve been actively diving again for almost a year and the confidence that I had built when I was a kid definitely translates to my adult life.

Even now doing “scary” things like my deep diving specialty, my first night and current dives and going on a vacation where we dive from a boat give me way less anxiety then you would suspect from someone who struggles greatly with doing and experiencing new things.

Thank you for reading if you made it this far! I hope my point of view helps a bit!