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

so, your kids were about twice as old as the OPs and the draw weight was half as much as the one the OP linked too - I’m going to guess it and the arrows were smaller too.

This reminds me of the recent post about a dad who bought his children fleece-lined crocs for summer! its almost as though these fathers are desperate to demonstrate how useless they are at taking care of their DC. Is it some kind of long-range strategy to dissociate from responsibility in some way? This may be unfair to the dad who is keen to share his hobby, though he seems to have no idea about child development stages, and I wonder why he has not bothered to think about that. Maybe he bought it now to use when she is older - but steel-tipped arrows !!! For a toddler 😟!!!

That bow is 1.4m it’ll be bigger than she is. Has he actually got it / assembled it? My kids did archery I think it’s actually a really nice sport, there’s quite a bit of chatting and it was at a club and they were really big on safety. Min age was 10 and had to have a parent of guardian present.

It was quite nice to learn a sport together snd there was never any injuries.

We have one those, but with sucker tipped arrows, not steel. My kid has played with that since two.

YANBU, that is stupid to buy this with steel tips. As pp have said, the ones designed for children with suckers rather than sharp tips are okay, but this is definitely not appropriate for a toddler.

I`ve just come from a thread that still breastfeeds 5&6 year olds so i really dont know anymore.
Parenting has changed but fuck me some are batshit mental.
What next archery for 2 year olds maybe samurai swords when they get to 10.

I did say this kit was not suitable for a 2 year old so we are agreeing here. And yes, those arrows are too long. It's a kit that is appropriate for 12+ and even then I would say that draw weight is too high and could cause injuries. I pull 36 lbs at 28" and I'm a grown up woman.

My DP is a competitive archer and teaches at his club. They recently increased the age that they would start teaching novices from 8 to 10 years old.

My BIL now lives in Australia, and the youngest age they will train there is also 10.

I agree the sucker cup kits are better for younger children, but would still think that 2 is too young for those.

I don’t see that it’s a safety issue provided he is responsible. I think the most likely outcome is that he’ll try it, she’ll lose interest because she’s too small, and it can go in the loft for a few years.

Unless the OP lives in a mansion, he's a danger to himself and his neighbours. You needquite a large area or a backdrop for safe archery.

And by the sounds of it, a club won't allow a toddler on the premises...

DD got this for her 6th birthday and loves it. She would have struggled to use the bow much younger - it requires quite a bit of power to pull it back. Great set… for in a few years

I’m an archer. There is a reason we had a minimum age on our beginner’s courses. The kit from Decathalon is very much not proper equipment. 2 is far to young, 6 is too young. Wait until she is about 8 or 9 and have a go then with a proper instructor. Take the kit back to Decathalon.

No, these arrows have steel tips!

lol he's got his hopes set on the Olympics!

I don't think it will do any harm but equally your DD won't be able to draw the bow for a while!

I have an exarcher husband (wrecked his shoulder) & IME they tend to be obsessive types 🤣

This exact kit, with a 1.3m bow? My daughter is also 6 and she is a little over 1.1m and she’s average height. I don’t think even the tallest kid in her class is 1.3m yet. I’m not an archer myself but I don’t think the bow is supposed to be taller than the person using it?!

DD is very very tall for age - she is over 130cm and has been since last summer

She wont be able to draw the bow, it has a 20lb pull on it.
I would tell him to put it away for when she is 8

What a chump that he's not bought something they can enjoy together yet. I imagine frustration, stress and disappointment for all. Or he'll just have a nice time while you wrangle your 2 year old.

That's crazy.

Decathlon have one for kids with suckers on the ends. But I'm pretty sure even it isn't for 2yo.

My mum purchased this exact kit for my son for Christmas when he was 9 - we had asked her for the "kids" version but this was only a little more ££ so she got this one. My husband said he thought it was too dangerous, they used it together once & one of the arrows broke straight through a fence panel - the kit was put away & hasn't been used since 😬I wouldn't recommend for anyone under 12/13 and even then used with an adult supervising.

My family were archers when we were younger. My little brother was about age 5 when he started shooting in tournaments with proper kit. I have a 3 year old who I know wouldn't mange that kit, strength or safety wise!

My DH buys stuff like this for our kids, often too young. When he does it together with them it’s really sweet. I teach them to light matches and to work in the kitchen which terrifies him.

I don’t think it’s a problem as long as the kit is kept in a locked closet.

She won't express an interest in something that isn't introduced to her. Give it a couple of years and then teach her. Archery is an excellent thing to learn.

Buy him a copy of "We need to talk about Kevin".

A 2yo doesn't have the arm length or the strength to do anything with that bow, but may enjoy holding it. I wouldn't worry. DH pushing this onto a 2yo will probably mean that the child will have zero interest in it by the time they are old enough to draw a bow