i've just ordered 2 sets of darts for my two eldest kids (11 & 12) mainly so i can get them away from watching DVDs and spend more time with them, but also both off them have difficultly with maths so hopefully darts will give them a wee bit of help in that area.
what i'm wondering though is distance to the board? should i bring them nearer to the board or drop the board in height when playing them . the eleven year old is small for her age , but she is a strong wee thing!

I am trying to think when I was about that age, I think when playing with the grown ups they let me stand closer, so maybe just to shorten the distance is best.

I suppose if you did it scientifically then if they are half your height you could half the distance and height, not sure it will work out right that way though?

Seriously Jamie, you've gotta be careful shortening the throw with a small child but keeping the height of the board the same, as you've got to allow for bounce out's. and obviously the implications of throwing up at a board from a close level for a small child, could lead to a serious injury, I personally would lower the board......... And lend them your helmet

that is a good point ! thanks for bringing that up. the darts i ordered where rocket ronnie soft tips , which i know could still injury , but i thought it'd be best . so far i haven't let them throw my steel tips at all due to bounce outs.

2 of my grand kids(8 & 5) have throw steel tip darts at my board. I make them throw the full height and distance and make everyone else that may be in the shed stand well back. I have a fairly big back board so darts missing the board isnt really a problem.

I am thinking of setting up an old board at a lower level so I can try to teach the grandson to throw properly instead of just hurling them.

I let my kids play for the last year or so. There has got to be aduld supervision at all times and the rules are, never throw your dart untill everone is behind the line and ALWAYS throw your dart properly e.g not like a baseball or ninja or under arm. That baseball style throw can realy hook around at times.

I have never shortend the length or height of the setup because this is what theye have to get used to and the fact that bouncouts can be hazardous. Lets face it if you put the board up 1meter you will still have no probs geting it there.

At first I use to make them wear those clear saftey glasses and after a few teething problems (some banning, yelling and a dart in my back) they have become quite responsable and I only make them wear the glasses if they are both playing.

I found that heavy'r long stem standard flights work best for my little girl. She needs the inertia to get to the board and the big flight to straighten thing up for here.

So no, dont adjust anything and they will adapt.

A game that i play with them (one on one) is what I call kids killer. Dad shoots at bull, 1 point for 25, 2 points for 50. Kid gets 1 point for scoring between the ouside wire of the double and the inside wire of the triple, 2 points for inside of the triple wire to the outside of the bull wire, 3 points for single bull and 4 for double bull. Dad goes first (he needs to) you need to get to 3 point in order to become a killer, once a killer any point scored come out of your opponent. They love this game because they always win and that gives them confidence to go ont the more mathamatical games.

Good luck Jamie you and the kids will love it, dont forget those saftey glasses and be on the ball if you play kids killer cuz they are gunna give you a hiding

I wouldn't lower the board, but if I were going to 5'8"(bull) is about eye level for most men, so just drop the bull to eye level

ok you have probably seen this but this is my 12 year old on a regulation setup. I just love the hand gestures.

What I did with my lad when he started playing around the age of 6-7, was lower the board 8inch so it was 5ft to bull and shorten the throw the same distance so was 7ft 1 1/4, i did that till he was around 13- 14yrs old as he was little for his age, then he started throwing at proper height and distance, it really helps them with thier maths as well, he's now 18 and it seems to have done the trick as he has been playing for our darts team the last 2yrs and he's doing pretty well, what I would say is IF you lower the board, what ever you take off the height take the same off the distance then you are evening it out, just my opinion hope your lads enjoy playing.

I have 2 boys,10 and 13. First of all the Dart board NEVER moves!!! . For the distance, Till they could through with enough strength, they could stand half a meter colser. I put white tape for the ouch. The maths was getting better. It took a few months,and they both moved back. If you play the game, play it by the rules. My oldest hit a 180 and a few 171. The youngest has also won a few games 301.D/O. It only counts if you play by the rules.

thanks all for your input . all good advice . great post G +1 and yeah i think i'll be getting them to wear the specs. you got a dart in the back ? glad i got soft tips

My little girls 13 and she's been playing for a couple of years now. Never even thought of altering the set up, just made her throw from the correct distance at the correct height!!

She's getting pretty good now, the next Anastasia in my eyes. She hits Tons and generally hits where she's aiming at.

Luckily I had a piece of wood hung on the door that the boards attached to, so no holes in the actual door!

It took hr a bit of getting used to the height and distance as she is small for her age, but she's got the range no problem now.

i ve allways said they should teach kids in school with darts for help with maths i beleve you should leave board at standard height and length as if they take on the game seriously it may affect them adjusting imo also good for hand eye cordnation

i agree with you about darts at school rotty. i have heard bobby george goes round schools in the UK teaching kids which is great. they should have dartboards in community and sport centers too, to encourage more kids to play .

gotta say it's been a winner . sitting watching them play and they actually started adding up all their scores (i told them not to worry about that and just hit the board) great seeing them using the white board and doing maths and them having fun while doing it. early days yet and as kids do they may get bored of it very quickly , but we'll see.
i would recommend kids using soft tips darts , the bounce out risk is greatly reduced as the plastic tip takes out all the energy and the only bounce back a couple of feet at the most. as far as distance goes i said to them to stand 2" nearer to the board ,but they were having none of that . they wanted to throw from the correct distance ! took 30 minutes or so and they had no problems getting it to the board. luckily soft tips come in bags of 50 and 100 because you'll need them if like mine they miss the board and surround as this buggers up the tips, but they cost pennys anyway. i'm hoping that this is something they'll get into but who knows. would be nice even if they just give me a game now and then to spend time with me. only problem i've had today is my board is on the door and the rule is you knock and wait for someone to open the door. this rule has back fired on me as when they knock i will if on a streak make them wait a minute or too and they have found it hilarious to make me wait out side the door for like 5 minutes at a time as payback. oh and also i haven't been able to get on the board myself tonight for more than 2 minutes !

My little man (he's 12 now, lol) has been playing since he was about 8. He loves the maths side of it and will happily be my chalker haha

I shortened the length of the oche and the height of the board for him and have adjusted it as he's grown with the aim of playing at full height and distance after he's had his growth spurt.

It's great to see him play something that isn't sat down in front of a tv screen

Thats good to hear, can only be a good thing to get them interested really, sounds like they are enjoying it but as you say they can quickly get bored and move on to something else.

I also agree SP that there is too much sitting in front of TV now.

Great to hear about all these young ones having a go.

My Monday night team has a junior in it. He is 12 and has just made our state team. He has previously represented the Northern Territory since he was 10 I believe.

The game needs more of our kids playing it for it to survive.

Keep up the good work guys and keep encouraging your kids.