Help with kid's bow

[pseman]

My 5yr old daughter has recently shown an interest in shooting bows. I have been letting her hold the arrows, pull arrows from target, and pick the spots where I will shoot. I was testing to see if she was really interested. Well, for the last 2 weeks, she has been asking when she is going to get her own bow. I have some questions about buying a bow that I thought you guys could help me with.

1. How can I determine how much draw weight she can pull?
2. She is about 46" tall, how long of a bow is too long for her to shoot?
3. Should I teach her to shoot instinctive or gap?LOL(just kidding about this one)

[Texas Tinman]

Meet my 5 year-old nephew, Liam Belew.

 

A champion already!    
 

Consider building her one of these! They shoot great and are cheap to make. Follow link below to easy to follow directions...

   http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=035877

[stickbow1]

All of my kids started young and I started when I was around 4 my dad bought me my first recurve.  As far as equipment I bought bows at Wal mart for them they are called LIL Sioux.  They are kind of fiberglass but around 25.00.  My youngest at 5 can draw it and I put the no glove on so it is one less thing to worry about.  The nice thing is as they are learning to carry and walk with their bows I was not cringing if they dropped it or stuck it into the ground.  At 5-10 yards it will shoot a kids arrow well.  As my sons get older I am purchasing better equipment and they are enjoying it.  My oldest at 12 just got his first brand new recurve.  There just isn't much better when your kid looks up at you and says "Can you teach me how to shoot?" and when they hit their first target etc.  I am so lucky and thankful my dad started me shooting so young and I have enjoyed it ever since.  I owned a wheelie bow for 3 days and sold it.  Not for me!  Good luck and enjoy the many years of shooting!

[Crimson mist]

I work with a lot of kids and the rule of thumb I have come up with from 3 to 6 their age and up to 3 pounds for first timers, so she could shoot 5 to 8 pounds because the last thing you ever want to see is them getting discouraged because it hurts or makes the uncomfortable   I've seen them put the bow down and say I don't want to do this anymore