Teaching Kids

[DC]

We were trying to show my 4 year old grandson how to shoot a bow. I made a 50" bamboo stick bow. It draws about 18" with my 2 pound spining weight on it. For the life of us we could not get him to hold his left arm straight. I'm sure the bow isn't too heavy. I'm wondering if the string smacked his wrist and he's trying to avoid that again. I'm going to make a bracer. Any other thoughts? Thanks

[aaron]

He might just be too young. Give him a year to develop his coordination. Maybe start with something simpler, but

[le0n]

Brace it higher.

Have him hold the bow with the other hand.

[Pat B]

Let him shoot without you showing him how. At his age it might be too much for him to comprehend. I have seen kids pick up a bow for the first time and have almost perfect form. Let him enjoy shooting and when he's a bit older try again.

[GlisGlis]

Show him the Walt Disney Movie The Brave just to get his attention.
My 5 y daughter loves it and i let her shoot me with blunted arrows.
I dont pay too much attention to proper form. I let her enjoy the game.
She cant alot his bow, almost horizontal and also bend the left arm a little. Anyway she shoots pretty well and I have some bruises to prove it 

[Knoll]

What PatB said. At that age, there's huge variation from child-to-child in terms of many attributes, including coordination.

[Ranasp]

Another thing that might not occur to some is that children's body proportions are out of whack most of the time.  They go through stages where they're chubby, then boom they've gained half a foot and look like they're rail thin.  Limbs, fingers, legs, even the torso change shape as they grow and might mean that at certain times they can't hold/move things around like an adult. 

[Tracker0721]

I gave my son a nerf bow at age 2. He can't get it to shoot but he loves pointing it and drawing it back. Watches me and momma shoot so he's starting to catch on. For his third birthday he'll have a bow that actually shoots foam darts or something. No form needed. Just the joy in archery. And a arm guard is highly recommended. My wife almost quit after getting bow bit

[Wooden Spring]

Loop a string around the middle finger of his left hand, run it along the back of his hand and pin the other end on his shirt so that it pulls tight when his arm is in proper shooting position, and teach him to pull the string tight before he shoots. Works like a charm!

[punch]

Let him shoot without you showing him how. At his age it might be too much for him to comprehend. I have seen kids pick up a bow for the first time and have almost perfect form. Let him enjoy shooting and when he's a bit older try again.

BINGO! Pat is exactly right.  My son has been shooting since he was 18 months old.  I didn't really show him how to shoot.  I just put the bow in his left hand and showed him how to nock an arrow but he took care of the rest.  He is almost 5 years old now and shoots better than most kids 8-10.

[Wooden Spring]

Let him shoot without you showing him how. At his age it might be too much for him to comprehend. I have seen kids pick up a bow for the first time and have almost perfect form. Let him enjoy shooting and when he's a bit older try again.

BINGO! Pat is exactly right.  My son has been shooting since he was 18 months old.  I didn't really show him how to shoot.  I just put the bow in his left hand and showed him how to nock an arrow but he took care of the rest.  He is almost 5 years old now and shoots better than most kids 8-10.

Well, yes and no... I've seen a kid pull the arrow back with perfect form, reach anchor point, and let go of the BOW instead of the ARROW, and the bow came back and smacked him in the face. I swear it looked like something out of a Buggs Bunny cartoon. What hurt the most were the bruises that his mother gave me when I couldn't stop laughing! Technique is certainly something to be learned by doing, but I've learned that you need to at least start with the basics, or their mom will get you for SURE!

[crooketarrow]

   Here's how I did with both of my sons. I've always been a stup shooter. They loved to tag along. So I combind shooting with fun of going along. Gave them a bow arrow and fields where they they can watch their arrows fly.

  Don't try to push form on them already. Make it fun remember it's not for you it's to show your child how fun it is. Let him do his own thing for him not you.

  Here's another thing do'nt start you child off 4,5,6,7,8 years old. Let him deside. No worse way to start your kid off hunting because you want him to. He's young gets boardin 10 min's. He  frezzing the whole time he huntin with you. He's only there because you want him there.

  Both my boys were alway around and fired up at what ever I was doing. And was always hanging around. So when we made them a bow. It came perrty natural.

  What I'm saying is let them deside when and where for them and not you.

[crooketarrow]

 To me there's nothing worse than a hunting show with a kid so little he can't hold the rifle up. And he shoots a 5 1/2 ear old 10 point. He's shooting the buck of you not for him. Almost like you made him do it.

[bowandarrow473]

My dad told stories of how he hunted when he was my age, I had always been an outdoor kid and had been Interested in archery since I could tie a string to a stick, so hunting was a natural step to make. My dad never tried to force me to hunt, I just loved being outside and one day I told him I wanted to go hunting, he got the guns out of storage and took me out hunting, and I immediately loved it. I see it the same way with archery form, maybe give him a few pointers so he dosent smack his wrist but I would let him enjoy shooting and being outside. Try to show him that bows are awesome and that so is nature, but if he someday decides he dosent like it anymore then his interests are his interests.