guns - appropriate for a children's hobby?

Re: guns - appropriate for a children's hobby?

• minirella member

  August 2014

  I agree with acmedairyprincess but my husband is law enforcement and I am former. I hadn't even heard about the incident you all are referring to until I googled.
  

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• KJKNAJ member

  August 2014

  My DDs will be kept as far away from guns as I can control until they're 18 and can decide for themselves. And even then I hope they don't want to go near one.
  
  Good luck convincing your DH on this. Sounds like he's determined! Ask him how he feels about letting your DD take a Harley Davidson for a spin so she's trained on that too?!

  
  

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• *sparky* member

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  My Step brother is in law enforcement and has multiple guns in the home. He has three daughters. Until they were 16, their knowledge of gun safety was knowing that dad had guns locked up downstairs, and that they were never ever to touch them. When dad comes home from work, he goes straight downstairs and locks his guns away. He had discussions about guns killing people, even when that was not the intent, and my nieces never had to shoot a gun to understand.
  
  My CW's DH started taking their daughter hunting at the age of 10 and by age 12 she had shot and killed her first buck. She took a gun safety class, and was always closely supervised with a gun, and it was locked away when they were not hunting.
  
  So I don't think there is a right age, but both parents have to be fully on board with when the right age is. If you feel your LO is not ready, then that trumps your DH's insistence that she is. You can certainly teach a child about gun safety without having them shoot a gun. At most, I may agree to allowing her to go to a gun range with him while he shoots. If you teach correctly, she does not have to actually fire the fun to get it.

   

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• jtmomma13 member

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  While I don't have guns in the home or a husband that is interested in them- my line of thought is pretty much the same as @tricia560.

  
  

  @sunandrain- does your husband actively shoot guns/have them in the home? I didn't catch if you posted that. I think if your husband does not have them in the home then it would be something that I would let my child decide to be interested first in and go from there. If that is the case maybe you can make a compromise...if LO is interested then you'll talk about it then and in the mean time teach gun safety without the actual gun. 

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• jcwinsto member

  August 2014

  First, let me say that it will all depend on the childs age/maturity. 

  I think you are right that they are 2 different lessons.  Gun safety is a must for EVERY child.  Learning how to shoot, I think, would depend on your household and community. 

  We are a hunting family so guns are a "hobby" in the household.  My child will learn gun safety and eventually how to shoot when it is age appropriate. 

  I think if your household falls in this category or you live in a community where many of your childs friends fall in this catagory it might be wise to let the child learn how to shoot.  If you don't make it a big deal or "taboo" I don't think there would be the appeal of doing the "forbidden" when you aren't around to watch out for the childs safety and teach them correctly.

  If you don't live in a household or community like this then I think the learning to shoot thing may be more optional. I would still teach them no matter where I lived but that is obviously a personal decision. You never can tell what another child has access to and might bring around your child one day.

  I can see where you are coming from with the drug comparison but I do see one major difference in your comparison.  Learning to shoot a gun will not hurt your childs health.  Doing drugs to learn they are bad will (obviously) hurt your childs health.  We don't allow them to do drugs for this reason and we *hope* they learn their lesson by simply telling them all the bad things that can happen.  I feel that maybe learning to shoot a gun can reinforce the lesson that guns can be dangerous and it might help demostrate why. 

   

  As an anecdote, I grew up in a household that used guns to hunt and to take care of "varmints" on the farm.  I was taught gun safety early (maybe 2-3) and to shoot maybe around 8-10 years old.  It was not taboo and I was never tempted to use a gun without an adult around.  I would ask my dad if we could go target shooting occasionally (once or twice a year) and he would say "sure". I didn't use a gun without an adult present until I was probably 16-17 and it was only because we had a coon with rabies in the yard and no one else was home. 

  The biggest lessons that stuck with me was that you are always aware of where the muzzle is pointed, a gun is always considered loaded even if you unloaded it, and you never point a gun (real or play or even a "finger" gun) at someone and you only point it at an animal if you mean to kill it.

  

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• jcwinsto member

  August 2014

  Sorry about the long post!

  

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• [Deleted User] member

  August 2014

  You don't need to shoot to learn safety.
  
  And you should start gun safety now. You shouldn't wait until they are old enough to shoot. They need to know NOW to stop, don't touch, leave the room and tell an adult.

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