Gun Safety: Don’t Child Proof Your Guns, Gun Proof Your Children
Firearms have been used by the human race for hundreds of years. In fact, the first “firearm†was found in china and dated back to the 13th century… of course; it was a bit different than the guns we use today. Let’s face it: guns are part of our history and will continue to be a viable part of our world. Guns are not “evil†or “bad†in and of themselves, but when handled by someone without the proper training, they can be very dangerous. It’s not enough to keep your guns locked away or hidden from you family. No. It’s much more important to teach children (and adults for that matter) how to handle guns safely so that they can avoid dangerous situations and accidents.
Why teach your kids about guns?
I started teaching both of my boys about guns at an early age. My oldest was about 3 when I started teaching him, the youngest was taught about guns almost as soon as he could crawl. Both boys owned bb guns until they were big enough to handle a firearm, they both had to go through AZ G&F gun safety program before they could own their own rifle. They’ve grown up to be responsible gun owners and have made me very proud.
This is pretty close to what I did, I told our son that if he wanted to look at any of the family’s guns, just ask and we would look at it together. Then we would go through the ritual of each of us checking that it was safe to handle by sight and feel. When we went camping he got to shoot. The guns were no mystery and he knew safe gunhandling from early on.
Massad Ayoob’s book “Gunproof Your Children” covers this topic.
Particularly like your second suggestion ! I made it a point – when my kids got interested in guns – to allow them to handle them and even shoot them – under strictly controlled conditions. I would then use one to destroy a favorite toy to demonstrate the destructive power of firearms. FWIW all my kids can recite the “Four Rules” verbatim ! >MW
Teaching your kids about guns is an excellent idea.
Another approach is to get your kids into one of the programs that teach firearm safety. The 4-H Shooting Sports program is an excellent example. The advantages are many. Trained, certified instructors. Your kids learning along with other kids. Better access to shooting ranges. You’ll pick up more teaching techniques.
Of course you may end up volunteering, and get even more rewarding time with your kids, shared with other parents with their kids.
That’s a sensible way of educating kids about how to handle a BB gun. They always look up to what we do and how we do it so it always makes a lot of sense to be their pole star.