To think aged 2 is far too young for this archery kit

[gollyimholly]

DH has bought this archery kit that he wants to teach DD with. She is 2! DH taught archery to beginners when he was in secondary school (but I'm pretty sure not to two year olds!)

AIBU that two years old is also just too young to learn archery? DH says they will only ever use the kit together and DD will always be supervised. But I feel like if we say to DD that this is something she can touch, if she ever does come across the kit on her own she will think it is OK to touch when it is in actual fact dangerous. For example, I wouldn't teach her to light a match because she is just too young. Similarly I think she is just too young for archery. AIBU?

Ps. This is the exact kit he bought and the safety information that comes with it

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/discovery-100-archery-set/_/R-p-302265
/!\ Never leave a bow in the hands of a child that is not under constant supervision.
Store the bow and arrows out of reach
/!\ Never shoot an arrow in the air, it can travel hundreds of metres
/!\ Never aim at: a person or animal, the shooting range must be clear
/!\ Inspect your arrow before each shot to ensure that it is in good condition and remove your arrows when no one is behind you.
/!\ Failure to follow safety instructions can lead to FATAL INJURIES

I'd argue that anyone who buys steel tipped arrows for a 2 year old evidently doesn't know what they are doing.

I think it’s fine if it’s an activity they will only do together, if he’s very clear that it’s a piece of sporting equipment and not a toy and if the kit is kept completely out of reach when not in use. I don’t see it as any different to involving a 2-year-old in something like baking or cooking dinner; obviously dangerous if they try and use knives or the hob/ oven on their own but absolutely fine to do as an activity supervised with an adult who explains and enforces the relevant safety rules.

Fortunately it's so wildly out of age-suitability that he'll quickly recognise that she lacks the size and strength to use it at all.

My two were using the suction kit from Decathlon around the time they were Beaver age (6-8). We lent our kit to them to help with numbers.
At Cubs (8-10) they were doing archery with a proper, well controlled set up on camps.

The suction kit is fun and safe, but she's a few years off from being big enough to use that properly.

Coming from a - Western european - culture where pocket knitare absolutely normal, I don’t see the issue.
As long as she is properly supervised, taught to not use sharp stuff without an adult present and they are kept locked up , there is no issue. 2 years is actually great as she won’t have the strength to use independently.
We put our kids supervised in the most prolific killing machines ever (cars), but pearl clutch over knifes etc…
Her chances of getting injured during a not strictly necessary car journey are so much higher, but nobody thinks about it

Nailed it!!!

Op are you sure its the steel tipped one and not the suction one he's bought?

She's still too small for the suction one but I'm sure DD is just an excuse to indulge in an archery kit.

We have the version of this with the suction cup arrows from Decathlon. It's a brilliant set but my 6 year old struggles to draw back the bow. There's no way a 2 year old will manage it.

I'd suggest to him that maybe starting with the suction cup one might be a better introduction (when she's a bit older) to learn technique.

The people saying it’s ok, have you missed that the bow is 1.3m long? Most 2 year olds aren’t even 1m. How many of to have used a bow which it’s bigger than you are? 😂😂😂

clearly ridiculous OP. Good news is she won’t have any hope of firing it so the interest will be short lived I’m sure.

He "taught" archery when he himself was at school. He's not an instructor. If he was, he would know how ridiculous this all is. He wanted to do some archery but couldn't justify spending £50 on himself is my guess.

And a draw weight of 20lb. A 2 yo won’t be able to do anything like that, will they - so at best they’ll get a sad little ping and the arrow will flop down and they’ll probably be put off it.

little toy plastic bows with suckers may be fun but even then doubt a 2 yo can get much fun from them.

Presumably he’s not expecting to give it to her and have her hold and shoot it independently from day one though. At 2 it will just be about introducing it to her, having a go at putting an arrow on and pulling back with her dad, maybe watching Daddy shoot some arrows and yes, it won’t hold her interest for long but that’s okay. Lots of people introduce toddlers to things like football and ballet classes despite the fact a 2 year old obviously doesn’t have the dexterity to do any of the proper skills. It’s just an introduction at that age really, a hobby the DH can share with his DD and of course at this age her interest and ability will be limited and it will probably only be a 5-10 minute activity before she’s bored and it goes in a cupboard. But it doesn’t look like the kit will suddenly expire or deteriorate and she will get bigger, next year she might be a bit more interested and in a few years she will be able to use it without constant physical support, but still with supervision of course. Has nobody here ever bought something their child will grow into or taken their toddler to a class such as gymnastics/ football/ ballet to learn the basics before they’re old enough to do it properly!?

I have the soft archery version of this and some small five-year-olds struggle to draw it. I can’t see it working for a two-year-old. He might be better working with her to develop her throwing and catching skills to develop her hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and ability to judge distance to a target.

@MolkosTeenageAngst- this isn’t age appropriate kit though. It’s like getting a bike sized for an 8yo when what the kid needs is a balance bike. Whereas toddler/preschool ‘football’ and ‘ballet’ will be doing simple age-appropriate activities.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

When I heard that's what he bought I was quite excited as I thought it was cute to share an activity together. But when I actually saw the kit, I was just amazed that DH thought it was suitable for DD. I actually didn't need to say anything because DH said I looked "angry" and why. So I said it was completely age inappropriate and unsafe. And he laughed it off and said she'll only ever do it supervised. Tbh, I just want him to return it. I don't know if it's unreasonable of me, but I feel like archery is a bit like giving a child a toy gun. I appreciate it's a sport but its origins are rooted in killing and I just don't like it for my DC.

Generally people don’t start 2 year olds off with full size leather footballs, full size goals and football boots with studs. They don’t give 2 year old pointe shoes at their first ballet class. They send them to classes aimed at that age range, where they use age appropriate equipment to introduce them to the sport. I’m sure if OPs partner had signed the kid up to an archery class for 2 year olds she’d have been delighted. But expecting to teach her anything useful on a full size archery kit is clearly ridiculous. Not to mention, ballet and football don’t come with literal warnings about death.

Recurve Archer here. My grandson has had a similar smaller set since he was around 2, and all of my grandchildren will be taught to shoot from a young age. Believe it or not, recurve archery is an incredibly disciplined sport as there are strict rules involving the shooting line, clothing etc.

if you are not comfortable then insist that you and your dh do a refresher/starter course and then you can see that for yourself. That’s how wet got started. It was a 4 weekend course and we just wanted a try. Had no plans to carry on. Now 7 of us have done the course. And all of my grand kids will learn as it’s a brilliant sport and great for mental health.

also to put your fears into perspective. Even a proper weight rated bow with a 12lb draw will only travel around 10 yards when pulled by a 5-8 year old and often won’t even pierce a straw target as they lack the strength to pull a bow any more powerful. That bow you have pictured is unlikely to even be used by a 2 yo due to the size.

Not something or an activity that can take someone's eye out, no. A two year old is unlikely to maim themselves or someone else at ballet or gymnastics. It's not the same at all.

He clearly knows a lot less than he thinks he knows. The draw weight is too heavy, the bow is too big, and steel tipped arrows? She won't have the strength, or size to use it.

One of my DC was obsessed with Robin Hood from a young age. We made them a tiny, harmless bow with a stick and a bit of string.

Can the tips be removed from the arrows? If your DH is going to do this after using and store them out of reach, then it doesn't seem terribly unsafe. I do agree with PPs who have said she'll physically struggle to pull the crossbow. She'll probably lose interest pretty quickly if she can't do it.

I would get a more age appropriate target practise toy to offer her, hopefully she will be more drawn to that and your DH will put the one he bought away until she's a bit older.

Sorry, the title of this thread made me laugh out loud!

I imagine he’ll try once or twice and stick it away for years.

it’s sweet he wants to share this, don’t do too much to stop it, nature will take its course. she doesn’t have the strength to hit herself.

Get one with suction pads in a year or two.

This. He will soon realise and it’ll be shoved in the garage somewhere.

We use archery sets with 2-4 year olds at nursery and they love it and can get surprisingly good with it. There are safe sets you can get for preschoolers. Perhaps look into this and save the other set until she is much older and learned safety rules around using it.

I started mine at 4 and 3.5 respectively with a very similar set and yes, steel tipped proper arrows. Draw weight under 10 lbs.

The difference was that we took them to our archery club to learn and be taught by qualified coaches, and that thereafter they only shot with us on club premises. We do field archery and live in a semidetached in a built up area, so archery practice at home is not safe or feasible. Having that control built in helped.

Archery is a sport that can be started young (but not this young), but it must be with proper coaching, safety precautions and constant supervision.

My DD did do a kids archery session age two but as an above poster it was all small plastic ones with a trigger.

I am very nervous about this kind of thing as a colleague's primary school age son is permanently blind in one eye as a result of an archery accident.