Gun safety and children
K this is completely hypothetical, as we do not yet have any children,
however l do not know what to do when the situation comes up. We will one
day own property in the country and will have horses.with this situation,
there will be at least one gun in our home to prevent coyote attacks etc.l
never grew up with guns so l am not 100% comfortable with them.My husband
however has been in the military for several years and he would be the one
to use the gun.My concern is when we have children, how do we approach the subject?in my mind there are only a few options. a) keep it locked up, but show the child the gun, where it is kept, how to use it safely and when not to touch it.and hope they always obey what we've saidb) keep the gun locked in the cabinet do not talk about it.hope curiosity does not get the best of them. or that they do not find the key to the cabinet.l really do not know which is better. the gun obviously would not be stored loaded but ammo would have to be close by because when the gun would be used it would be needed quickly. my husband seems alot less worried about it than l am. what do you think? would a child more likely be over confidant and try to use it on their own if they have been taught how, or are they more likely to try to sneak it because it is 'the unknown'? we are not irresponsible people who would just leave it around. but you know how kids are. esspecially as they get older. i live in canada, so there are more restrictions about guns etc here than in the states. just thought i'd add that also, any tips for keeping the key from being found?l remember finding all sorts of stuff my parents thought they hid well when l was younger.
i would go with the first plan you type i am a gun safety
expert & i am the range master for the police department i work for &
S.R.T so i have to be trained to use a gun i am in the middle of teaching
my son to shoot he is 9 but only my handgun not my rifle or shotgun(and i
am not a right wing nutcase nor a republican i just like guns)and when he
is 13 i will teach him how to load it & start teaching him to shot a AR-15
but i own a gun safe that requires a key & a key code to get into even then they are not loaded & the ammo is in another safe that requires a key to get in which is in the bigger safe.
first off, keeping a gu locked and unloded is not good
always keep atleast one gun loaded and ready to use
you never know if some burgles might want to stop by
teach the child that a gun is NOT toy, but show them how to use it
a good hiding spot is hidden in the matress, its fairly easy to grab, when
you need it, and no kid will find it
There are lots of things you can do. A gun safe is one option.
We have one in our attic & it is locked, & the kids never go up there
(they also know they're not allowed). We also have a smaller locking safe
in our room that is out of reach from the children. There are also trigger
locks that can be used in addition.
I think our plan is to tell the children about them when they're ready to understand it. My husband does want to teach my son how to shoot, but not until he is a teen. In the meantime, they will have no access to the guns whatsoever, probably not even in passing (being shown). Also, you might want to familiarize yourself with the gun & how it works so you can get over ur fear & be more comfortable, as well as for practical purposes like self-defense. I think certain kids are apt to be curious about it no matter what. Probably less if they were taught the gravity of it & knowing about gun safety & that they're definitely NOT toys. Boys especially need to be told that it is a big difference from what they see on TV & the toys that are available to kids, & that this is something you never, ever touch. There is no doubt lots of gun safety literature you can read as parents, including the safety instructions & video that often come with a new gun purchase. As far as the key & all that stuff goes, I wouldn't worry too much until that time comes. But it is good that you're thinking about these things now.
Here is what I have a problem with, people trying to justify
keeping guns for safety when what they say doesn't make sense. You claim
to have guns to prevent coyote attacks & here is my problem with that.
1. The coyote doesn't know that, so you aren't preventing anything, you
are actually attempting to be able to save yourself in event of an attack.
2. You keep the gun locked up & unloaded so it wouldn't be of any use to you if a coyote was close enough to attack. I grew up in a household where my dad kept guns, they were always under lock & key in a safe. The key was kept on my dad is keyring that he always had with him. When he would take them out to clean we were educated on the proper way to handle a weapon. I think this is a good idea for parents to do whenever the keep weapons in the household with children. Lock them up, keep the key away from the kids, educate.
Personally, I am totally against children using guns of any
type. I don't believe it is necessary, & I believe it opens up the
potential for accidents to happen.
Firstly, never ever leave the gun loaded. Full stop. Either within our
out of reach of children, INCLUDING teenagers. Sorry, but personal
experience - a girl at my school when I was a kid was accidentally shot by her boyfriend (they were teenagers) when he thought the gun was unloaded. Secondly, the gun should be locked away in a metal cabinet & the kids should not have any access to the key. Better still, have a combination lock. Thirdly, the ammunition should be locked in a separate place altogether, as it makes it too easy otherwise for kids to access & load a gun. In Australia, these are the rules anyway. I personally would never have a gun in my house. And I would never show my kids how to use one. But then, we don't have any of the ''right to bear arms'' thing here, & I am thankful for that - hardly anyone has guns in their house in Australia.
I personally would never have a gun in my home. Then again I
won't ever have the threat of coyotes so I understand ur need. When ur
children are old enough, I would most defiantly teach them about gun
safety. Curiosity killed the cat ya know? I would never allow them
access to the key though.
EDIT: IF ur husband is the only one who will use the gun, he should keep the key on his person at all times. At night he should keep it in his pillow or somewhere that it can not be accessed without his knowledge.
I guess in my opinion, a gun should be locked up, not loaded.
The child should be taught to never EVER touch the gun & should not know
where the keys to the gun cabinet are kept. I do not believe in teaching
ur children to operate the weapon. Why should they need to know? If it is
only for defending against coyotes then it is only ur husband & you that
need to worry about it.
A good friend of mine had an older brother a few years older than us. His name was Jeff. He was good friends with my husband when they were young. Jeff went to a friends house that the father had a gun. The boy was taught how to shoot it & use it. He also figured out where the key to the caabinet was. He took it out to show his friends. One of the friends aimed it & pulled the trigger because the boy said his father never kept it loaded. He shot Jeff point blank in the head. He died instantly. They were in the third grade. Everyone makes mistakes. All it takes is one bullet. All I ask is that you practice extreme caution. Because that is proof that even with so much preparation, something awful happened. Good luck & again, just be careful. :)
okay my first answer would be : omg be careful don't let the
children see it or even hear it!! but when i think about it : this would
be a great way to educate your child to see what guns do and what use they
have but i would not let them use it till the age of 9+ because if any
younger they could accidentally let the gun fire. hope this helps
i think ur first option would be just fine. that way they would
not be too too curious about it since they knew about it already. but make
sure they definately know the dangers a gun can cause!!! that is first and
foremost!!
it will be fine
your husband probably wont let anything happen being that he has been
trained professionally with them.
you should avoid having the gun any where in sight while the
children are young. keep it lock and unloaded someplace that can be locked
with a key or #code.
you want your child to be safe at all cost. and more importantly, talk
with your children and let them know the truth and your own views about
guns and why they are used.
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