Teaching Kids About Gun Safety

[Nick87]

I raised two (now grown) boys in the big city with their non-shooting, non-hunting, animal-loving pacifist mom. BB guns and .22s in the back yard weren’t options, so any practical instruction had to wait until they were old enough to go to the official shooting range.

As they got older, I always kept in mind that the daughter of a good friend, who had plenty of firearms safety instruction, shot herself when she was 18. Teenagers go through some weird $hi+ that doesn’t mix with guns. We still never, ever have loaded firearms in the house. Any ammo is locked up separate from the firearms, and only I control the locks.

Sorry to hear about your friends daughter, do you think that not having access to a gun would have changed what she did?

 

[Irrelevant]

Whatever lessons you teach, practice zero tolerance in enforcement.

100%. Every time a barrel passed over something it shouldn't have we stop- done. No more fun. It leads to some giant fits, over simply self-loathing on their part, but it seems to get the point across. They are safer than I was at a much older age.

 

[Nick87]

I've had my step son question me a few times when we've been out. Something like, did you double check that your gun is empty. That's a good feeling, that he's not only watching his gun but everyone around him too.

 

[Harrier]

Sorry to hear about your friends daughter, do you think that not having access to a gun would have changed what she did?

No one will ever know, and I wouldn’t even speculate about what that poor girl was going through. I just know that triggers can’t be un-pulled.

 

[Redmt]

My dad was never into guns, hunting, shooting etc. It was something I picked up from friends probably in my young teens. When we moved to where we are now my 2 kids then around 4&6 years old would tag along sometimes when I was shooting or hunting. It was always "shoot the rabbit" or "shoot the bird". I tried to explain what dead was. One day I shot the rabbit then ingrained in the what happens when you shoot something. My daughter cried, and my son was damn close when they had to handle the rabbit and see the damage to it. They would never get to see it running around again because it was DEAD. It taught them respect for firearms and the damage that could result. Tough lesson for them but it worked.
Edit I just saw that this was an old thread but the content is still very relevant

 

[Pucky Freak]

My kids are 5,3,3. The twins have no concept of guns yet, so my experience has been with my daughter (oldest).

An important thing I’ve learned is the age of your kid is much less relevant than how ready they are to learn about safety and firearms. At 3 my daughter was curious and interested, so that’s when we started.

There is a high volume of exposure in our family to firearms, shooting, and hunting, so I talk about what I am doing - identifying gun parts, explaining how they work, what guns are used for and not used for, safe handling, cleaning, storage, etc. Everything is practical, hands-on, visual, and tactile.

I have our daughter handle unloaded firearms, help me clean guns, feel wound channels in game. I show her how the slug damages and kills the animal.

My wife and I monitor media exposure - no callous or careless depictions of guns, gun violence in TV, movies, games, etc.

As was also mentioned above, guns are tools. Is my daughter mature enough to handle and use a loaded BB gun? Absolutely not - not even close. That is probably years away. I don’t let her use power drills, power saws, etc. for the same reason.

She is more interested in bows than guns, so that is our primary focus right now. We got her a longbow for her 4th birthday and we shoot a lot. Plenty to learn about safety, acceptable targets, handling, etc. I plan to bring her with me bowhunting in October, and have her carry her bow equipment along for practice.

When/if she shows more interest in guns/shooting guns I will probably start with a wooden gun, nerf, squirt gun, etc to master the basics.