Teaching a Child

[Dozer]

The boy in my avatar is my 4yr old son. He is my oldest child so you could say that I am still fairly new at the father thing. The bow in the picture is his and he REALLY loves to shoot it. My question is, how do I teach him how to properly shoot this bow? Is 4 way to soon to care about any basic form at all? Should I just let him fling arrows until he gets a little older and has more cordination? I already have him holding with a split finger draw and today he tucked his fingers into his face to form an anchor. I am a patient man with my two children but I do want them to learn. My 2yr old daughter is already developed a serious interest in the bow so it won't be long before I'm teaching two young children. Any help that you parents or grandparents could give me on your experiences would be greatly appreciated. I want the bow to be pure enjoyment for my two kids like the rest of us.
Thanks,
John

[cmh]

Hello John, Personally I do not think four is to young. Dad started me around four and it has been a life long passion for me. Even for about six years when I could not shoot due to health reasons. I can remember Dad telling me how to do this and that and explaining why you had to do it. It might have been the reason why during my teenage years I was busy flinging arrows instead of running the streets getting in trouble.  My hats off to you       Craig

[shawnee]

I've got a grandson who will be 4 in a couple of weeks.  He's been shooting since he was 2, but I definitely let him do it at his own pace.  Some days he only wants to shoot a couple of arrows, then he's done. But then some days, he wears me out.

I don't worry much about his form right now, but I'm starting to make suggestions, like push  your bow arm all the way out...just simple stuff.

I figure if he's having fun, it's good.  If I start trying to make him do too much too early, he won't like it nearly as much.  Just make sure he's safe, and bring them along gradual, as you feel he's ready for it.

[BigJohn]

I started my 2 children at 3 or so. I sort of let them go at their own pace for a while then when they started hitting the target I got down to the basics. Works really well to start them young. I've enjoyed every minute of it.

[Killdeer]

Right now he is in an enviable stage. He just loves to see the arrows fly, and it is super cool if they stick in something. That is our basic joy, and it should be celebrated.

The time for form comes when he starts trying to hit where he wants, like you (perhaps  :D  ) do, and he gets frustrated when he can't. That is the time that one or  maybe two tips will give him something to work with to improve. Overloading him with information and micromanaging the shot will quickly turn joyful play into work. Let him explore, innovate, have fun, and then  ask you for help to do it better. Games of HORSE will perhaps tempt him to try to improve so that he can keep up with you. Go stumping a lot.

Killdeer  

[horatio1226]

I teach Cub Scouts to shoot all the time. My advice is to let them do it their way. They will have much more fun and want to come back to it. I have 3 sons of my own, all are good shooters. I tell them the right way and then let them do it their own way. Its more important that they have fun than to do it right. Blow up some balloons and tie them to the target. The kid won't want to stop shooting until he breaks it!
Brian

That shot is not a fluke.

   
   

[Mike Orton]

John,
Kudos to you for caring about the kids.....kids are where it's at for the sports of both archery and hunting.

I'm currently raising my second set of children.  The first set are now grown men in their mid 20's.  The archery seeds I planted when they were young sprouted briefly then withered on the vine.  I've replanted the same ground with fresh archery seeds from time to time and at least one of the old crop appears to be growing a bit, finally.  It cost me a high end Morrison Cougar longbow but it's a fair trade-off.

Now my second set of children I've also planted archery seeds in.  There has been a fair amount of success in cultivating that second crop of archers.  My girls took second and third in the CA state championships this past summer.  The outlook for archery harvest looks pretty good with this crop.

I have learned a thing or three about myself and teaching the kids in the process.  I've learned, just like when I was a kid, that Dad really doesn't know anything.  Dads' are pretty dumb, up until kids get to be the age of a Dad, then the Dads increase in smarts exponentially.  I've also learned that a great means of teaching a child is through rewarding via immediate gratification.  By that I mean "invest" in a package of party balloons.  At the start, the bigger the better.  Blow them things up, way up big and use em for targets.  The immediate gratification is the joy of seeing the ballon pop from the arrow launched by your kid.  As they get better and the accuracy increases, the balloons get smaller in size.  I also learned the trick of using a marker pen to draw laughing faces on the balloons, the more descriptive with each passing missed shot.  "Balloon man is laughing" at you cause you can't stick him with an arrow.  Much like Hannibal Lecture, we try to make the balloons stop laughing.....

With the second set of kids Dad smartened up a bit and hired a coach to teach archery.  Now Dad just gets to have fun shooting with the kids and doesn't have be a teacher (who doesn't know anything anyway since he's after all, he's just Dad)     We can now have fun with archery, more fun since we're now being successful at archery, both in the immediate gratification area and the larger "winning tournaments" area.  Now it's all good.     And there aren't too many ballonmen laughing at my archery range these days....

The thrid area I'd have to say is that the kids want to shoot quality equipment just like dad's bow/arrows.  Kids can tell if a setup is junk vs. a setup that is made of good stuff.

If you need help getting the kids going equipment make sure you drop a line with the Vermonster13.  Through TGMM we've been known to get the kids shooting archery in a big way.

[nutmeg]

My boys started when they were three and have been shooting ever since. They're now succesful bowhunters and one is a nationally ranked archer. I'm a level 2 NAA instructor and a certified bowhunting instructor. My advice is to let them shoot and have fun. The only thing you should stress is the anchor point. (nut)

[Mitch-In-NJ]

I have no kids, but I did get my nephew into shooting.  I agree with those who say let the kid just have fun.  I think Killdeer hit it on the head.  When he wants to start hitting the target better then give a few pointers.

Another thing to consider is that letting a kid figure some of the stuff out by himself will give him a strong sense of self.

For what an uncle's opinion is worth.

[vermonster13]

Killie said it perfectly IMO.

[Winterhawk1960]

Neither of my two daughters had any interest in archery.....BUT......my oldest grandson, now he's becoming very interested. He goes out with me and watches me shoot. I have waited, ever so patiently until he one day he said..."Papaw....when I get bigger, I'm gonna shoot your bow with you".

You could have nocked me over with a feather. I said....."Buddy, you can shoot it now...and I'll help you". I get behind him and hold the bow, help him draw it back as far as he can get it, and we fling arrows until his fingers can't take anymore.

I can only hope that he keeps his interest. Like Killie said, at age 4, which my grandson is, he just likes the fact that it makes an arrow fly.

Winterhawk1960

[Dale Hajas]

John I will email you a program that I use for teaching kids. I used my kids in the photos so they can give you an example of how I teach a class. It's not the perfect class, but it's a fair start. I'll send you a pm....

[Stone Knife]

Right now he is in an enviable stage. He just loves to see the arrows fly, and it is super cool if they stick in something.  
All my kids cared about when they were that age was having fun and whether or not the arrow would stick in the target.

[Dave Worden]

I wish I could show you the video.  My 2 1/2 grandson shot his first two arrows a couple weeks ago.  The first hit the bear (didn't stick).  The second went under the bear.  He picked up the arrow, stuck the bear with it, then beat the bear with bow, and was done.  Short attention span!  The next morning the first thing he said was, "Shoot the bow and arrow?"  Two more arrows and done.  Keep it fun, don't push, keep it safe.  As he gets more interested he'll ask for help.  Just move at his pace and be sure he sees you HAVING FUN, not griping that you missed the bull by a quarter inch.

[buckeye_hunter]

My youngest daughter is 5 and she thinks she is the best shot in the world.  She said to her mom a couple weeks ago,"I shoot really good in the evening.  I shot the target, the tree, all the way into the corn field and the wagon too!"  She was so proud of herself and so was I.  I didn't want to tell her it is a soybean field, maybe she will have it right for next year!

Like Killie said, just let 'em fling arrows.
-Charlie

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

My 5 year old daughter is coming along fine, some days are better than others. I try not to push her, just making it fun and let her decide when and how much to shoot.  the other day she shot over my deer 3-D and told me she shot perfect my deer was just too small    I try to teach her in little increments and hope some of it sticks, but I am in no hurry she just likes the 1 on 1 time with dad and it will still be a few years before she will be hunting I am just planting the seeds.