By Bill Miller
A lake or a swimming pool is a dangerous place for kids IF they’ve not been taught to swim and how to behave around the water. Yet once they have that training swimming, diving and the beach can become lifelong sources of enjoyment.
An automobile is extremely dangerous to both the untrained driver and those around them. Yet with proper instruction the young person learns to control and safely operate a machine that’s an essential tool of living a happy productive life in America. And over the course of a lifetime, think how much enjoyment is made possible by knowing how to drive.
In a wood shop or metal shop, every tool has the potential to cause injury or even death. Yet if a young person is taught the proper, safe way to use these tools, he or she may take a lifelong interest. The interest becomes a passion and the passion launches a career as an honored craftsman.
Firearms fall into this same category. They are tools – no more, no less. Like a table saw or a drill press hey are potentially dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn’t know anything about them. But with proper introduction and instruction, they can create a passion that provides lifelong enjoyment, and perhaps even a path to something like Olympic Gold. Who knows?
Whether you have firearms in your home or not, your kids are going to encounter them. There are guns in more than 35 percent of American homes. That’s far more homes than have swimming pools, yet we all teach our kids what to do in and around the water!
The worst possible impression to create about guns is one of mystery. If you never introduce your kids to guns and you never even talk about them, they will naturally be more curious and naïve about them when they do encounter them.
At the very least, talk about guns with your kids and what they should do when they encounter them.
Here are the four simple steps every child should know.
- STOP, and tell anyone with you to stop
- DO NOT TOUCH the gun
- LEAVE THE AREA
- TELL a responsible adult immediately
As your children get older, encourage your kids to take a firearms safety course. They may decide never to shoot or own a gun, but knowledge is power and safety. Remember, there are lots of people who know how to swim, but never go to the beach.
Talk to your kids about guns! Don’t make them more curious about guns by making them a mystery.
(The photo at the lead of this blog is courtesy of the National Shooting Sports Foundation archive.)
