As common as gun-related accidents are, it’s tempting to keep your children mostly in the dark about guns and how they work. This is a huge mistake. While we’re not saying you should train a small child how to be a gun expert, you should still teach your children some basic gun safety. Here are some tips that can help with that, brought to you by the firearms safety education professionals from Gun Safety Training Pros, your premier choice for expert gun training online.
Start Young
Children who are exposed to guns in some way or another usually start to show interest between the ages of 3 and 7. They might see a parent cleaning a gun, or they might have played with toy guns. In any case, young children should be taught that guns aren’t toys. You can start with teaching them the basic firearm safety rules:
- Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
- Know your target, what is between you and the target and what is beyond the target.
- Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
Ever since my kids were born, I have talked about gun safety and safe gun handling with them. The more this is engrained from a young age, the better prepared they will be if they ever encounter a firearm, especially if it is a situation where an adult is not present. At their current ages, 6 and 8, they certainly don’t handle firearms unsupervised. However, while being closely supervised, I will allow them to handle a gun in a sterile environment (no ammo present) and while following all gun safety rules. Doing this accomplishes a couple of things. First, it starts to remove their curiosity about guns. Many accidents occur because a child finds a gun laying out because an irresponsible adult left it accessible to a child. Because the child has never handled it, or even been talked to about it, they naturally want to pick it up. By letting your kid(s) handle firearms in a supervised and controlled environment, you begin to remove the curiosity and build the basics of gun safety.
The second aspect that is engrained in my kids is the fact that if they see a gun lying out, it is not to be touched, ever. Not without my express permission. This is accomplished through conversation and practice.
Many parents/adults are under the mindset that kids should be shielded from firearms until they are much older. They will not introduce gun safety or even talk about guns until they feel their kids are mature enough. However, talking about gun safety is appropriate for all ages.
If your child does show interest in actually learning how to shoot a gun, it will be up to you to determine when they are mature enough to start shooting. Every child is different. Once my daughter turned 8, she had expressed interest in shooting, and I felt was responsible enough to follow my directions and show safe gun handling. We purchased a compact Ruger 10/22 and she has been learning on that. Every child will be different though and it will be up to you to determine when they are ready. I do not believe my 6 year old is ready. But I know others who have taken their 6 year olds shooting.
Teach Basic Gun Maintenance
As you’re teaching your children about guns and gun safety, don’t be afraid to teach them a little bit about gun maintenance. Go over the parts of a gun and how firearms should be cleaned and stored. This will instill good habits if your children do take an interest in guns and shooting, but it will also demystify guns in their minds and make them less likely to glamorize firearms.
If you take them to the range, or if you just get back from a range session, have them help you clean your gear. This is a great way to teach them how a gun works. As you disassemble your firearm, talk about the various parts, what they do, and making sure to show how they are handled properly.
Supervise All Gun Usage
Children are usually ready to fire a live gun between the ages of 8 and 14. Once your children reach this point and want to go hunting or to a shooting range, supervise them at all times. Teach them how they should properly care for their firearms and their ammunition, and make sure they’re using good form when they shoot.
Most importantly, reiterate all the gun safety tips you’ve told them before: keep their guns pointed in a safe direction when they aren’t being used, don’t point at anything they aren’t willing to destroy, and always treat a gun as if it were loaded, and always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. All of this goes a long way toward teaching your children to respect guns and the power they can have. They can enjoy themselves when they go hunting or to a shooting range with you, but that respect should always be reinforced. They should recognize that guns aren’t bad, but people do bad things with guns and in the right hands, gun are extremely useful tools.
If you have any kind of firearm your children could possibly come into contact with, your most important priority is teaching them about gun safety. Always make sure to store your firearms in a location that your kids do not have access to. Gun Safety Training Pros is committed to providing the best firearms education possible. If you want to learn more about the essential aspects of safe firearms ownership and gun handling, contact us today at [email protected].
