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[urlhttp://video.foxnews.com/v/3723680882001/whats-the-best-way-to-educate-children-about-guns/#sp=show-clips][/url]


two different viewpoints from two gun owning families.....

http://video.foxnews.com/v/372368088200 ... show-clips

Fixed the link for you.

Heh Heh... for a minute, I was watching my 3-year old grandson sitting on that couch, fidgeting around.

One of the toughest things a parent has to do is decide just how much of any information about any subject a kiddoh is ready for, whether it's stranger-danger, guns in the home or in someone else's home, life and death, why grandma isn't with us any more, etc.

I don't think there's a one-size fits all formula - what works for one particular family may not work for someone else's kids. Physical age, and size (i.e. can they safely manipulate a gun), maturity, previous curiosity about the subject all go into deciding what you wanna do with your kids with regards to letting them know about guns. Probably most folks on this forum, because of the interest in the audience, would be towards the "knowledge is power" side, but I can also see the "leave it alone, don't touch it, call an adult" side as well.

Being a good parent is the hardest job in the world. And making decisions such as how/when to teach your kids about guns, and to what degree you want them involved in the (to steal a phrase from another thread) "everyday gun culture" is something each parent, or parents, will have to do for themselves.

Vol Texan wrote:http://video.foxnews.com/v/372368088200 ... show-clips

Fixed the link for you.

Thanks Vol Texan

n5wd wrote: but I can also see the "leave it alone, don't touch it, call an adult" side as well.

This is what The NRA's Eddie the Eagle program teaches.

Eddie Eagle is excellent. One step at a time. In our house we answer all questions starting at the age they can formulate them. It is our policy and hope to make the weapons I our house like the other dangerous tools. The power tools are all explained and shown how they work and what they do. Then we put them in perspective. If a saw can cut wood what would it do to a finger? If a firearm can take apart a melon like that what about your sister?

We also permit unlimited looking and touching of unloaded firearms while under our direct supervision. If they ask to see it, we immediately stop and let them see it.'

Do you let them play with "toy" guns? How do you deferentiate what is a toy when you are dealing with the 5 yo level?

mamabearCali wrote:Eddie Eagle is excellent. One step at a time. In our house we answer all questions starting at the age they can formulate them. It is our policy and hope to make the weapons I our house like the other dangerous tools. The power tools are all explained and shown how they work and what they do. Then we put them in perspective. If a saw can cut wood what would it do to a finger? If a firearm can take apart a melon like that what about your sister?

We also permit unlimited looking and touching of unloaded firearms while under our direct supervision. If they ask to see it, we immediately stop and let them see it.'

There are a lot of good ideas on the Cornered Cat website as well. We've followed a number of the ideas presented by this author (e.g. the one about disarming kid's curiosity was great), and have had great results so far.

bauerdj wrote:Do you let them play with "toy" guns? How do you deferentiate what is a toy when you are dealing with the 5 yo level?

Toy guns are always a color other than black. My kids play with toy guns when it suits their fancy. The differences are pointed out and quite honestly the toy guns in our house are usually squirt guns. Real guns are kept in the safes or on our persons.

bauerdj wrote:Do you let them play with "toy" guns? How do you deferentiate what is a toy when you are dealing with the 5 yo level?

We have Nerf guns and pop guns. The differences are pretty clear. ;) We actually use the Nerf guns to practice the four rules. We set up a little target range in the living room and practice safe handling while target shooting. At one point my husband set down the emptied Nerf gun and told our 5-year-old son to go collect the darts they'd fired. Our son started toward the darts, then stopped short and gave his dad a look. "Well, I WOULD go get them, but I think it would be a bad idea to walk in front of a gun," he said, pointing at the Nerf gun lying on the floor pointed downrange. He also learned to be very conscious of what's in front of and behind his target as his toddler sister liked to randomly wander across the firing line. He learned to check his surroundings every time to make sure she wasn't about to get in front of him. He knows it's just pretend, but he's learning what it really feels like to follow the rules rather than just recite them. When we set up the practice range with the Nerf guns we follow the rules and pretend it's real. When we have Nerf wars and run around the house or yard shooting each other with darts, the rules are necessarily different. Kids are smart about context. We also allow them to handle unloaded guns under direct supervision in a safe manner any time they ask. We teach the Eddie Eagle rules if they run across a gun somewhere, and emphasize that they should never touch without asking, or stay around anyone who does, but that if they ask we will always be happy to accommodate them. I've also helped the oldest (now 6) dry fire my gun, and we've taken a BB gun out to shoot at soda cans and targets.

Around 9-12 I start my kids on shooting. My daughter at 9 started shooting at 10 she got her 22 NEOS. My son is 8, but he is lagging for his age. I would wait 2 more yrs before I start him on shootings.
All my loaded self-defense weapons are in a safe. All others are unaccessible for the kids.

When my children were very small, I made a habit of bringing out my guns (unloaded, of course) and cleaning them on the living room floor during family TV time.

They were able to come over where they could look, touch (with permission), and ask questions. If they asked, I would allow them to hold one after I made sure they understood where to point it, how to hold it, etc. You guys know the drill.

The end result was that they could easily tell a real gun from a toy. My son once came home and told me he & his friends had found a real gun in a field. I had my wife call the police and then had my son take me to the gun. He had told his friends it was real and had one of them keep anyone from touching it while he came & got me. When I showed up, they were all telling me that they did not touch it and I believe them. These were all active duty military kids, but my son was the only one that KNEW it was a real gun. The rest of them at least knew enough to not touch it.

I waited for the police to find me and take posession of the .22 pistol.

To this day, both of my kids see a gun as a tool rather than a weapon.

In my house, guns are not toys. I do not buy toy guns. My son got sticky dart gun and after he started shooting at beings rather than object. The toy was "lost".

Here's what we do in my house. She is 5 in these photos, and she it 6 now...but she first shot when she was 4 years old.

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