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Kids and Guns

One of the most talked-about issues when it comes to children is guns. This is one of the biggest not because it is most common, but because it is so dangerous. No matter what precautions you may take, no matter what you may try to teach your child, if they don't listen to you, it only takes one time to cause a terrible tragedy. This is why it is a much-debated and extremely touchy issue.

Below is a list of many ways that parents try to avoid a disaster caused by guns, and a few things that some parents don't think about. In this situation, it is so important to take every precaution possible and to also talk to your child about the seriousness of weapons. This also means you should do anything necessary to protect your child, and you should always follow your gut instinct. This list is not meant to be a complete guide for what to do to protect your child, it is simply here to offer some ideas that some parents have chosen to use:

• Keep guns out of the house—this is one of the most extreme (but also most safe) ways to prevent your child from getting their hands on potentially dangerous weapons. While not foolproof, it is the most successful way of keeping your child away from guns. If you choose to do this, you should still talk to your children to never touch guns. Just remember that, and the older they get, the more true this becomes, your child won't always be at your house or in your care.

• Keep guns out of reach—this one should be obvious, but it is better to mention it than to not. Your child should not have access to any guns in your home. The guns should be put up where your child can not reach them (even better if your child doesn't know where they are) and locked up safely in a gun cabinet.
• Child-proof locks—these safety locks are available for free through many city halls and other government facilities, as well as most stores that sell guns. This should not be used as a substitution for locking your guns up, but more as an added security measure.

Above are the most basic safety measures to either not have guns in your home or to be as safe as possible when you do. Now, there are a couple of other things that you should consider doing with your child:

• Teach your child by showing—not all children understand the full scope of how dangerous guns can be, so some parents have decided (once the child is old enough) to show them firsthand how harmful they can be by taking them out to shoot one. Some people feel that by doing this, you are encouraging your child to use one and that they will not listen when you tell them not to touch them. In any case, you must do what you feel in your gut is right for your child. If you truly believe that it would benefit your child to see the true damage that guns can do, then this is what you should do. If you think, in any way, that this will make your child simply want to sneak into your gun cabinet and take them when you aren't looking, then you should not even consider letting them shoot one
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• Limit what they watch on television—since TV glamorizes and downplays gun use, it is important to limit what your child sees, and when they will see something involving guns, that you explain that those are not real, it's all a game, and those are just actors. You should let them watch the outtakes of any movies like this, and even consider taking your child to a studio to see how special effects are made. If a child believes that it is a real gun, with real wounds, the fact that you are watching it for entertainment can downplay it all on its own.

• Discuss guns thoroughly—while it was mentioned above that you should talk to your child about not using guns, it needs to be clarified and stressed one more time. Because, in all reality, no matter what you do to prevent your child from getting their hands on a gun, they very well could when you aren't around. So, if all you do is keep them out of your child's reach, what will they think and do if they run across one at a friend's house? (Especially if you thought they would never cross the path of a gun so you never mentioned it to your child.) If you don't know the answer to that question, you should sit your child down to talk about guns right now. During the discussion, you should tell your child not to even pick up a toy gun at a friend's house without permission, because they really can't be sure if it is a toy or real.

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