Nothing is more important for a responsible gun owner than to teach his or her children about firearm safety. With over 200 million firearms currently in the country, and half of these being stored at home, the opportunity for abuse and accidents should never be underestimated.
So how does one teach a child about how to be safe around guns? There are several levels of firearms instruction, depending on the age of the child.
For Young Children
Children often have the wrong, almost idealistic perception of firearms. For example, children should be made to understand that firearms depicted in the movies are stage props that really don’t injure people, and that real firearms are very dangerous and can hurt and kill people. In real life, they must be handled with extreme caution even by adults. The overriding rule here is: Never touch a firearm unless a parent or adult guardian is sitting right next to you and is watching you. [Read more…]