Gun Safety - Do You Ask About Weapons Before a Playdate?

Now living in rural America near beautiful land that belongs to you and me, and people who enjoy hunting as a hobby and for a source of food, I am virtually surrounded by households and vehicles with guns. I have never been comfortable with guns (real or toy) despite my family's and husband's hobby. I grew up in a NY suburb. It's part of the lifestyle here but I am always conflicted. I eat game on a weekly basis and for this I am thankful. I do not appreciate the gun under the mattress or in the bathroom or behind the closet door. If a parent asked me I would most definitely engage in a discussion about how we keep our kids away from harm when it comes to guns. Parents should always support each other in making safe environments for all children. I now have two preschoolers and can honestly say that my past distant respect and tolerance for guns has morphed into an obsession and fear about keeping my children away from them. We have a gun safe in the basement and everything is locked in there.

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Interesting statistic that 40% of homes with kids also have guns. Obviously most of those kids have parents with a brain, or there would be a lot more casualties.

I grew up with a bunch of guns in the house. My dad taught us to respect them and he took them apart and hid them well when he wasn't physically using them.

I don't have guns, but I talk to my kids about guns when I get the opportunity. With respect, not disgust or fear. I could see gun safety coming up in normal parent discussions, but I couldn't see screening playdates by asking their parents about their gun policies. Might as well just point-blank ask them: are you a blithering idiot? If a parent seems to have his head on straight enough for me to consider leaving my kids with him, I give him the benefit of the doubt on the gun issue, unless I have contrary information/suspicions.

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I always get a little concerned when someone suggests that guns need to be locked up and the ammo locked up in a separate place? I have three guns in my house: two handguns and a shotgun. The two handguns are locked in a case with ammo, they are unloaded, but there is a loaded clip that can be placed in the gun and then you have to chamber a round to allow it to fire. The shotgun is unloaded (in a bedroom closet) and the ammo is in the basement.

In order for a child to injure themselves with any of these guns would require effort beyond accidentally shooting themselves or a friend. The shotgun would require the child to find the ammo, load it, chamber a round, release the safety and fire it. The handguns would require them to find the key or pick the lock, place the clip in the correct handgun, chamber a round, release the safety, and then fire the weapon. By the time they are old enough to figure all that out (I'd say 4-5 years old), I fully plan on teaching them gun safety. We already teach gun safety with toy guns, treating them as real guns in most cases (don't point at people, etc.)

The statistic above about 8 children dying every day from guns is a skewed statistic as well. Show a figure for how many children die in _accidental_ shootings every day, it would be a lot lower...

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When you send your children to another person's house to play, do you ask the parents if their sharp knives are locked safely in a safe? How about their scissors?

Sound silly?

A stab wound in the right place is just as deadly as a well-placed bullet. But, funny, we never hear about children and knives. Wonder why?

Oh, yeah.... because from the tender age of 18 months or so, we are telling our children "no" when they reach for a knife. We teach them how to hold a knife or scissors. How to carry it properly, how to use it properly, and most importantly, that a knife is a *tool*, not a toy. It is not to be played with under any circumstances. When they are old enough, they are taught proper handling and use under the close and watchful eyes of mom and dad, to see that they are not hurt.

So when it comes time for our children to go to another's house, we don't think twice about the razor-sharp butcher knife with the 8" blade sitting - unattended and UNLOCKED - on the counter in the wood block.

Why, then, do so many people react with fear, disgust, contempt, and horror when it comes to guns? They are tools, people. Educate your children. Stop listening to the breathless fear-mongering of the press, and use a little common sense.

When you fear something, whether riding on an airplane, swimming in water, riding a horse, whatever, you take extra steps to make absolutely sure that those fears are not translated to your child, don't you? After all, you don't want HER to be afraid to fly, swim or ride a horse, do you?

Then why do you teach her to be fearful, rather than respectful, of guns? Fear kills. Respect may save her life.

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I'm only fifteen, so I'm hardly a mom yet. But my own mom drilled it into me at a very early age that playing with guns - even those supposedly empty - was a very bad idea. One of her friends accidentally killed his own brother when playing with a gun they thought was unloaded. Turned out that it wasn't.

She told me this story when was pretty little. And it stuck with me. When I was about five, I think, I was over at my cousins house for the day. She invited me to go play with two kids who lived next door. And these two kids had found their father's gun. They were pretending to shoot each other, and themselves, with it. And they tried to get me to play, too.

Me, remembering what my mom had told me, went and got my aunt. Moral of the story? Teaching your kids to respect the danger weapons - guns and otherwise - present does work. Did for me, anyway, and I plan on someday teaching my own kids the same thing. As LS pointed out, guns are not the only dangers in this world.

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I guess the reason that parents don't ask about knives is because not all of us have guns or would allow guns in our house. It is quite different teaching your child to handle a knife that there is a good chance they will encounter in your home than a gun that is no where to be found.

I have taught my son who is 5 that if anyone every plays with a gun real or otherwise (how would he know the difference), he is to get an adult. I also ask parents if they have guns and if they lock them up. I have no problem asking, I also ask if they have a pool and whether there is a gate on it. I don't care if people think I am hysterical or overprotective, because I am :-).

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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 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.

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8 kids die everyday from guns? where did that stats come from? How about hom many kids are safe because their parents manage to protect them with guns?

I agree that if you have kids at home that you should put your gun into a safe or better yet carry it with you at all times. If you will put it in the safe make sure that you can access it fast and the gun should be ready.

To put your gun, magazine, bullets separately, will you be able to retrieve your weapon, load your magazine with ammo and load it in your gun fast enough if someone burglarize you? You are defeating your purpose to arm yourselves.

Rather than calling the parents of your childs friend to inquire their policies in gun, explain to your kids to respect guns, not to touch one if you see them and find an adult to tell about it and really tell the TRUTH that guns are dangerous and their are bad in the hands of bad people but are good and necessary in the hands of good people.

And the people that wants good people not to have guns and not to be able to protect themselves are bad/ignorant people.

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According to CDC statistics, here’s what you should be asking your playdate’s adult family (mom, dad, steps, uncles, aunts, etc.) about:

1. Do you have a bad driving record? Any DUI convictions? In 2004, 1,453 children aged 5-14 were killed in transportation-related accidents (overwhelmingly in automobiles). Odds – 64.3%
2. Do you have a pool, or will you be taking my child to the beach? Over 250 children died by drowning in the same period. Odds – 11.3%
3. Is your home protected by fire and smoke alarms? How about a sprinkler system? More than 180 kids died from smoke, fire, or flames. Odds – 8.0%
4. Are all of your household poisons (cleaning solutions, etc.) safely locked up? Nearly 60 kids died from poisoning in 2004. Odds – 2.6%
5. Finally we get to the firearms question – with 41 accidental deaths. Odds – 1.8%

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