If you are a gun owner, then firearm safety should be your number one priority, especially if you have little ones in the home. Whether that means investing in custom gun cabinets, gun proofing the kids or purchasing a gun safe; whatever it takes to keep everyone protected is what you need to do and no expense should be spared to do it. Hanging wine racks or custom made cabinets with glass doors are a great place to keep guns, as long as they are high out of reach. This way the children can see them and are familiar with them but cannot touch them until you are ready to let them. The old mantra holds true: don’t child proof your guns, gun proof your child. Here’s why:
Kids are curious creatures they want to know about guns. Chances are they’ve seen them on TV or in video games and if you’re a gun owner, they’ve seen them in your home, either in your hand or through your custom gun cabinets. The point in teaching your kids about guns is so that they know how to handle them properly and why it is so important to adhere to firearm safety. If you teach your kids about guns from a young age they will learn to treat them with respect that is needed to stay safe. Here are some ways that you can teach your children effectively about gun ownership.
Allow your children to become familiar with your guns
While handing a gun to your kid with no previous explanation or supervision is a terrible idea, you can sit down with your children once you think they are ready and teach them how to hold a gun properly and explain to them how a bullet is fired as well as all safety protocols. When your child is familiar with guns here she will be able to see them in the correct light as a useful tool rather than a terrifying and deadly weapon.
Show your kids gun power
Your kids need to understand how powerful guns are. You want them to be comfortable and understand them but part of understanding guns is respecting their destructive power. Taking your kids shooting and allowing them to see the target being demolished is a good way to give them an object lesson of the danger of guns and help them to realize that they are not toys. Watching you destroy your target at a shooting range will be something your child will never forget.
Set a good example
The only way your child is going to be safe with guns as if you are safe with guns. If you are telling your child to never point the muzzle in a person’s direction and then they see you getting your gun out of your custom gun cabinets and swinging them around carelessly, they will conclude that that particular rule is not that crucial.
When your child is not yet ready to handle guns on his own you should make sure that they are properly stored. Even if a child does not have malicious intent or isn’t even trying to use it as a toy he may want to get the gun when you’re not around in order to practice and “make you proud.” Custom gun cabinets and gun safes are suitable places for recreational weapons. Keep in mind however if you do have a defense weapon for the home, it is pointless to keep it locked up. Because of this you will need to find an appropriate place for the firearm where the child cannot easily access it but you can.
There is no set age as to when it’s a good time to start gun proofing your children. This depends on their maturity and responsibility and ability to comprehend instruction. As the parent you can look for the signs that your child is ready and use your own common sense and instinct when deciding when the time is right. Some children may be ready at five years old but others may need longer. Be careful not to put all your children in a box. Just because one was ready early does not mean the other will also be ready at that same time.