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February 2012 Moms
lancyjo
member
212 Facebook Admin.
Appropriate age for a BB gun?
lancyjo
member
So, my darling nephew got a bb gun for Christmas. He's 4. I personally feel this is way too young to have something like this, and to be responsible with it. He has a ton of Nerf guns, and is always shooting people with them. It makes me worry about his safety, and the safety of those around him. (he's not exactly well supervised) most of all, I'm now nervous about having my daughter here around it, and most of all worried about her being babysat here with him running around with the gun.
So, my questions to you all...
1) isn't 4 way too young for a bb gun?
2) how would you handle the situation once baby is here?
212 Facebook Admin.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Appropriate age for a BB gun?
I think it totally depends on the child and even more on the parents. My DH grew up with guns, and he probably had his first around that same age. But his dad was a big hunter, and was careful to teach them gun safety from a very early age. He is aware of the dangers, and is very careful when it comes to locking and safety. I have a feeling that our LO (boy or girl), will also be around guns at a young age, but with supervision I'm okay with that.
It really depends on the parenting. I have a friend who is a police officer and his two very small children can strip his guns and name all of the parts. He believes that if they know everything about them and are properly trained on responsible behavior they will not have the curiosity that causes a child to go doing dangerous things with a gun despite warnings from a parent.
In this case, it sounds like you have a legit concern. Maybe you need to be around them to see what happens with his behavior and the gun. Besides that, maybe the newness will wear off in time and he will not be running around with it as much.
Seems like only time will tell. Maybe they are going to teach him good gun practices now that he could legit hurt someone. Still, I would not allow my son to point a nerf gun at anyone unless they were playing too outside.
I think I am a little different than the PPs here. Four seems way too young to me for a BB gun. It is hard to get a kid to understand how to be responsible and what can happen with guns at that age. I'm not saying it's impossible, it is just very difficult and it doesn't sound like he is a kid who can be safe with one, especially if he is not well-supervised.
As for handling the situation once the baby is there, I would have a very candid conversation with the parents - please no BB gun around the baby (heck - no shooting the baby with nerf guns either!). I think that is a valid request and one I would hope they would respect. Then, it is up to you if you think they will honor your wishes if you have them babysit.
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I think it depends on the child and the family. All situations are different. The parents have to be as responsible as the child, and more so.
We have rules in our house, guns are NEVER to be pointed at a person, or animal. It's not acceptable. It doesn't matter if it is a nerf gun or the pop gun. I would hope that your family would not allow the gun to be around and used in a when ever manor, hence keeping the gun away from your child.
DS will be four in March, he is getting a 0.22rifle for his birthday. Now that being said, we as a family all have guns, go shooting and DH as an gun fanatic/officer has amazing gun safety. DS is not allowed to touch guns and if he ever has questions about them, he asks and DH sits down with him and explains what he is asking. This is not something he will have access too unless DH is right next to him and all of our guns are kept locked in safe.
My SO had a BB gun before he was 4. He also shot people will Nerf guns but he never shot anyone with the BB gun. He was made well aware of gun safety and what was appropriate. I asked his opinion on it and he thinks it depends on the child. If they understand and follow the gun safety directions, we see no issues.
2) In that situation, I would take it one day at a time and see what happens. He might understand the difference between a Nerf gun and a BB gun. If he has issues shooting it at people or near the baby, I would definitely be uncomfortable. I would probably ask his parents to please put the gun up while you were visiting.
Thank you all for your responses.
Ill own up to being hormonal and a worrywart, but I am still very concerned about this. While I grew up with guns, I was also taught to respect them and be responsible when around them. This is absolutely not the case with my nephew.
After reading your responses, and talking to my husband, I think we're going to take it a day at a time. Hubs reminded me that BIL is *supposed* to be getting married "sometime after the first of the year" (whole other drama story), so hopefully nephew won't be at my MIL & FIL's house with the gun when it's time for MIL to have her turn babysitting Aria.
Thank you girls, for calming my nerves... As you all always amazingly do.
Merry Christmas!
212 Facebook Admin.
There will never be an appropriate age in my house for any type of gun- plastic, BB or real. We are not gun people.
If my children decided they really want one they can buy one when they are 18 years old.
It is absurd IMO to purchase a BB gun for a 4 year old...I have a 3.5 year old and I cannot even imagine giving her anything like that. Totally boggles my mind that people do this.
ETA: I would also not be comfortable letting my child be watched by someone whose guns are not locked up, and will not be used by ANYONE while they are watching her, 4 year old or 40 year old.
It is impossible for the simple mind of a 4yr old to understand the true dangers of guns. Even harder when he is taught that it is ok to shoot people with his first gun (nerf gun or not). Can't really explain to a kid that young that "this gun is ok to shoot people with and this one isn't." I would expect that the kid not be allowed to play with it around my baby. If the child's parent wants to take him outside to practice with it and then put it out of reach as soon as they are done, that is fine but not around the baby.