Bill,
I think the discussion has been honest, even with the liability factor thrown in.
Most people here weighing in are either at the professional level in the SCUBA world or experienced divers that have logged hundreds, if not thousands, of dives.
I’ve been a DiveMaster for a few years now, diving for 20+ years, and will log 100+ dives a year routinely.
Working with kids when families come in to get certified scares the crap out of me. Most of them I have found to be both fearless and easily excitable. Learning the skills most of the time has been easy for them, often much easier than the parents learn them. Stressing the dangers and getting them to understand the safety behind it can be a bigger challenge.
The thought of any diver I have been in the water with getting hurt or killed is a bad one, but having a child die would break my heart.
Ultimately that was the decision that was at stake here - Was someone with out of date equipment, out of date skills (1-2 times a year in a pool is not diving), and out of date knowledge (b/c things have changed in the last 10+ years since he got certified) making the right decision in putting 3 kids under the age of 10 in a pool with SCUBA gear?
The clear answer is no. My professional opinion is if I know you are going to use gear in a way it wasn’t intended (and this qualifies in my opinion) then I am not going to rent you that gear.
drops .02 in the bucket
Michael