Child Gun Safety

Child gun safety statistics

Statistics at the National level have recently found that as many as 40% of American homes with children have some form of a gun or firearm in their home. The research further indicates that as many as 1 in 4 or 25% of those homes keep their guns loaded. Additionally the research says that when accidents, suicide, or homicide occurs in a home, the gun used at the time was a gun found right in the same home. National research also indicates that these numbers are probably on the low side, with more statistics pending due to the large number of unregistered firearms on the market. While many Americans practice their right to own a firearm for personal safety, many parents forget to take the steps necessary to practice child gun safety in their home. The fact of the matter is that guns can seriously harm or kill a child, and parents need to make sure that they are taking every precaution to protect their children from the very devices they use to protect themselves. Here we will talk about some steps that you as a parent can take to ensure that your home is as safe as possible if you choose to keep a firearm in the house.

Keeping guns or firearms in the home

The decision to keep a gun or a firearm in the home is not one that should be taken lightly, and a decision that comes with a wide range of responsibilities to you as a parent. There is a serious risk of gun related injury or death when children are around guns, and when one is in their own home that risk escalates substantially. Children particularly are especially curious when it comes to guns and gun safety. As a parent, do not lull yourself into a false sense of security when it comes to gun safety. Experts at the National Rifle Association caution parents to not only speak to their children about guns and gun safety, but to make the inherent assumption that if a child sees a gun, their instinct is to pick it up, and pull the trigger. The media does not help us in this matter, making action and adventure look fun, nor do today’s toymakers with a bevy of play weapons on the market. Parents are urged not to purchase a firearm or a gun at all if they are not willing to take on the standard responsibilities of child gun safety.

The Safest Ways to Store Your Gun or Firearm in a Home with Children:

Keep your gun unloaded, and keep it locked up. A loaded gun is an immediate weapon. Lock your gun and your ammunition in separate locations. If ammunition is easy to get to, children will learn very fast how to load an unloaded gun. Hide the keys to your gun or location, or better yet, keep them on you at ALL times. Some parents even wear them on a necklace to ensure maximum safety. Ask your neighbors who may also own guns if their weapons are stored in similar fashion, this is especially important if homes that your child frequents. Talk with your children about guns and firearm safety.

Talking to your children

You may be wondering what is the appropriate way to talk to your children about child gun safety. How you talk to your children about gun safety will depend on their age and what they can or can not relate to or understand. Here are some tips

Very Young Children

The younger your children are, the more important it is to teach them that what they see on TV or in the movies is not real and that real guns can really hurt people, even themselves. Young children need to be taught never to touch guns under any circumstance. This message needs to be repeated periodically in order to keep kids from forgetting. A simple 4-step rule as proposed by the Eddie Eagle Gun Safe program teaches children from pre-kindergarten through Grade 4 important gun safety steps. These include, “If You See A Gun:”

• 
  STOP!
  DON’T TOUCH!
  LEAVE!
  TELL AN ADULT!

This system is easy to remember for children of this age group.

Pre-teens

Pre-teens are at the perfect age to start learning and being taught that guns and violence do not solve problems, and in fact, can create even more. This age group needs to learn that there are serious consequences when it comes to handling guns poorly. They need to be emphasized that they should never touch guns unless they have permission to do so.

Teens

Teens are actually the most difficult group to talk to about gun safety, as they are generally more rebellious and independent. Maintain a steady dialogue with your teen and see if you can spot any possible problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that it is more difficult to keep teens away from guns, than it is to keep guns away from teens, so at this stage, you may want to keep the gun out of your home if your teen poses a risk to gun safety. The parent of a teen that owns a gun needs to be more vigilant towards signs of depression or isolation as these are signs of an increased risk of suicide. A gun will only make it easier for your teen. The tips here may seem simple but even one step alone can dramatically decrease the number of kids that are hurt by guns every year. The most effective measure of child gun safety that you can implement in your home is to not have one at all. However, if you do decide to maintain a firearm in your home, ensure you take every responsibility of gun ownership, and parenting, very seriously to prevent gun related deaths and injuries to your most valuable assets - your children

Child Safey

Child Saftey in Home

Child safety is one of the most vital issues to consider during child rearing.
Since children don’t come with childcare how-to manuals, this guide is a compilation of first-hand experience, lessons learned,
and information gathered while raising our own children to help answer those child safety questions all parents have.
Like most parents, my husband and I constantly worry over the safety and well being over our children, and have been doing so since before they were born.
While expecting our sons, I began eating healthy, faithfully followed doctors orders, and eagerly read through all the parenting magazines trying to ensure a healthy baby. But that was just the beginning...

Getting ready to bring home baby makes you see your home in a whole new way. Time for child proofing! Seemingly innocuous items like the mini-blinds suddenly became choking hazards! Uncovered outlets are there to tempt small fingers.
The kitchen, bathrooms, stairs…. the list of potential dangers is endless! Don’t even get me started on proper feeding, medications, and the ever present threat of germs (I actually kept hand sanitizer handy for all those visitors that wanted to hold my baby).
The toddler years are a joy, but bring with them a whole host of new child safety risks to consider. It seems as if as soon as your child learns to walk, they learn to run, and climb, and never slow down.
They also learn to reach and grab for whatever catches their eye – and don’t let those short little arms and legs fool you, they have the ability to get into everything!

As they get older, we probably don’t have as much to worry about as far as the home front is concerned, but there is a whole big world out there just waiting for them to enter.
When joining the ranks of soccer moms, taxiing from one activity to the next, it is vital to be aware of child safety hazards and the proper equipment necessary to protect your child from them; bike helmets, knee pads, shin guards, etc.
Now is also the time to educate our children (and ourselves) about stranger danger, bullying, peer pressure, and just saying no.

In today’s world there are a whole host of new issues that earlier generations didn’t face growing up. The Internet is a wonderful product of the new age of technology, but without proper precautions and monitoring it can be a dangerous place for children and adolescents.
Of course no one can protect their children from everything or foresee all the possible dangers they may face, but with a little child safety planning and a lot of love we can protect them from a lot. After all, isn’t that a parents’ job?