This article addresses the issue of guns and children. Some people will not have a gun in the home with children. their reasoning is that they don’t want to have the possibility of their children getting a hold of the gun and having an accident. There are several ways to avoid this and still have a gun in the home for protection. Most criminals don’t want to be confronted with an armed citizen. What better way to protect yourself and your family that with a gun that you are familiar with and have trained with.

Children pose a unique set of requirements where firearms are concerned. Children are curious by nature and want to explore everything. Guns are no different, except that in the wrong hands, someone can get hurt or killed. There are ways of teaching your children to be safe when firearms are present.

One of the easiest ways to teach your children about gun safety is through the Eddie Eagle program from the National Rifle Association. You can find out all about the program at http://www.nra.org. The program uses the same principals as the fire departments use to teach children to stop, drop, and roll. Eddie Eagle teaches children that if they see a gun to not touch it, to leave the area, and to tell an adult. The program has a video for children to watch. this is a great way to teach your children about dealing with guns in any home whether it be your own home or a friends home they are visiting. I highly recommend that you become a member of the NRA if you are not already. The NRA has lots of programs for all ages and for all interests. They are a great source of information and is the leading organization for defending gun rights. If you are new to firearms or are thinking about getting a gun, go to the NRA website and look around. You’ll find lots of information and lots of other resources.

As a parent there are things you can do to teach your children about guns and gun safety. Teach your children from the time they are small and the lessons you teach them will last a life time. The biggest mistake I find is that people have this misconception that if you hide the gun, them children will be safe because they won’t find the gun. Anyone who has children knows children can find just about anything given enough time. The more mystery there is with a gun, the more a child will be intrigued about the firearm and want to play with it. The best advice I have is to expose your children to the weapon and take the mystery out of it. If you go shooting, let the children sit down with you at home when you clean the gun. Make sure ALL ammunition is store safely and then let the children ask questions and see the different parts. You can never start teaching your children too early. As children get older or have a good understanding of the gun and how to safely handle the gun, then let them clean the firearm after a shooting session. This allows the children to handle the parts and to see how everything fits together and how things work. This goes a long way in taking the mystery out of guns and how they work. The more exposure, the less the firearm will intrigue them. Once children see the gun as another tool at the house you have successfully taught them how to be safe with guns in the home. Now its time to take the children shooting and introduce them to the sport. Remember to teach the 4 safety rules. Be very strict in applying the rules. Do NOT become complacent with the rules. Strictly enforce the rules. Be sure children understand and are familiar with the rules. One great way to make sure they understand is to make them memorize the rules and be able to recite them verbatim. Then make them explain them before they are able to go shooting. Make the shooting the reward. A great resource is a book called “Gun proofing your children” by Masaad Ayoob. Masaad really goes into depth about making your children safe with a gun in the home. You can get his book at www.amazon.com.

Each child is different and will need to be trained at their own speed and at the age where you as the parent feel they are ready. Some children are ready at a younger age that others, just like reading, riding a bike, or dating. Keeping your children safe is not as hard as some people make it sound. It takes a common sense approach and good training that will last them a lifetime

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This entry was posted on Saturday, April 12th, 2008 at 12:07 am and is filed under Children, Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.