Darts is a sport that is suitable for all age groups . This is precisely why the sport continues to enjoy great popularity , which is why darts is also suitable for children.
Parents often ask themselves whether darts are suitable for their children and whether a darts club for children makes sense.
The short and sweet answer: Yes! Darts promotes several cognitive skills that can benefit your children even at school. In this article, we will explain why this is the case and what you should pay attention to.
Children want to emulate their parents in darts
As a rule, children take their cues from the behavior of their parents. If you are already a parent of a child and you play darts or watch darts on TV , then sooner or later the question will arise as to what you are doing.
The child will want to try it out for themselves and throw the darts at the board. Before you allow your children to play darts, there are a few things you should consider .
Darts is often offered as an entertainment game at children's birthday parties. Often as a game with magnetic dartboards and corresponding darts .
There is also a Velcro version of darts for children. Most of the time, it's just a matter of the children throwing blindly at the board and, at a young age , aiming for the middle as the best area .
This has little to do with the actual sport of darts , but what is important is that the little ones have fun .
Darts for children – steel darts are not recommended
Parents should avoid the steel darts variant for now if they want to allow their children to play. However, we would not recommend a fixed age here either.
As is often the case in education , it depends on the individual development of the child . It is therefore quite possible that some children can handle steel darts from the age of eight or nine , while others can only do so at a later age.
Beforehand, however, you should not give your children any steel darts. The risk of injury from the sharp steel dart tips is too high. When the steel darts bounce off the board , they often get stuck in the ground.
Depending on how the throw is executed, the darts can bounce back particularly far or fly off to the side.
Are there special darts for children?
There are actually special darts for children, as the manufacturers smell big money here. But you don't actually need special children's darts for your child, as the shops have a large selection of light darts available.
You can of course also find these in our shop . Of course you can also buy special darts for children if you want. However, these are usually overpriced because the manufacturers know that people are happy to spend money on children.
If your child is already taking darts training for children, you can also do them a favor when new darts are due. The darts records are always interesting for the youngsters and almost every high-ranking darts player has brought their own darts onto the market.
We are convinced that your dwarf also annoys you about getting arrows from this or that record holder.
Not only the game equipment, but also the rules should be adapted
Due to their size and lower strength and coordination, children initially have great difficulty throwing darts onto the board.
For this reason, you should also adjust the throwing distance and the height of the dartboard for the little ones. As they get older, you can then ensure that the child gradually gets used to the regular height and throwing distance.
After all, darts for children should be fun and not frustrating. Especially with children's darts, the frustration threshold is very low .
How high should a dartboard for children hang?
Of course, you're asking yourself how high a dartboard for children should be?! It is recommended that the distance for under 10-year-olds is reduced by about 1/3 of the tournament stand and that kids have a distance of about 1.60 meters from the dartboard .
The height should also be adjusted accordingly. The bullseye should therefore be at a height of around 1.15 meters . You should also remember that your child does not always want to have a supervisor with them and wants to pull the arrows out of the target themselves .
Kids aged 10 and over can switch to standard sizes . But remember that every child is different and you should always take this into account.
You should also pay attention to the weight of the darts . Even for the experienced dart player, it makes a big difference whether he throws darts that weigh 14 grams or those that weigh 24 grams .
This is even more extreme with children. Moreover, children lack the strength to really throw the darts over a great distance . Therefore, it is worth choosing a few soft darts with a relatively low weight.
If you then notice that they are too easy, you can always react. In the end, darts should just be fun for children and the development into a serious darts player will happen on its own.
Reasons to let children play darts at an early age
Hand eye coordination: There are many reasons for letting children start playing darts at an early age. One of them is certainly the ability to connect the eye with the execution of a task . So when we aim at something and adjust our movement accordingly, our entire body coordination is trained .
Calculation skills : This can give children a lot of plus points in physical education classes at school. But that's not all. As soon as possible, it also makes sense to let the children add up the points on the oche themselves . Of course, this can take some time, especially in the beginning. Nevertheless, and we have noticed this even as adults, mental arithmetic is trained extremely well this way .
Concentration : Darts is largely a mental sport in which the players have to be highly concentrated in order to be successful. The positive aspect of darts is that children often do not find this concentration a burden , but rather fun - not like at school, for example. And over time, the positive side effect is that parents and children become closer together through playing darts together and share a passion .
Sporting ambition : Darts also encourages ambition in kids - at least in most children. They will then have as role models players who play in the PDC Order of Merit , win championships and are record holders. This ensures that the youngsters want to become really good too.
Digital time out : The biggest advantage is probably that you can lure your child away from the tablet, TV or cell phone. The digital time out is good for the children and shows them that life doesn't just take place on the internet, but that real life can be fun too.
What options are there for children to play darts?
Overall, darts is still a relatively unknown sport in Germany. It is not as easy as with football to simply send a child to the local darts club, as these are rare. Nevertheless, there are various ways to start playing darts at an early age.
Find out about clubs in your area online from the official associations . Courses are also sometimes offered to encourage young talent.
If your child is already a teenager, youth clubs and pubs are also a popular place to try out the oche.
And if none of these options are available, you need to take the initiative yourself. Organize regular darts evenings for children and introduce your friends' kids to the sport.
You can also simply start a darts club with a few friends. It's not difficult at all and practically anyone can do it.
The argument that mental arithmetic is greatly encouraged is usually the one that wins in the end. So have fun and we hope that in a few years we can help to promote the next top star from Germany .
Conclusion
As you can see, darts for children is not that rare and if your children also like to throw the darts, you only have to pay a little attention to make the game of darts possible for children .
The board should of course be hung at the appropriate height and the distance should not be too great . If your child wants to play darts, you have numerous options to make their dream come true.
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