Gun Safety

You’re right to be concerned. More than a third of all American households have guns, giving millions of kids and teens access to firearms, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

In fact, the organization says that firearm injuries are the third leading cause of death in children, and estimates that about three to four children under the age of 17 die from them every day.

Perhaps the most frightening statistic of all: More than a third of all accidental shootings of children take place at home or in the home of a friend or relative.

These numbers prove that guns and children are a dangerous mix. In fact, the AAP (and many child safety groups) strongly urge parents to keep guns out of the home completely.

Even a child as young as 3 years old can pull a trigger, and given that most kids are incurably curious and impulsive, they’re simply not able to anticipate or understand the dangers of such a seemingly small act.

Clearly, there’s a very good case for keeping guns out of the house — but then what are you supposed to do when hunting is an important part of your family life? Give up a part of your culture and a tradition that may have been passed down for generations?

Not necessarily. But — and this is a very big but — you do have to implement smart gun-safety strategies and stick with them, especially if your guns can’t be stored securely outside the home.

Follow these steps to keep your child away from guns and help him understand what guns can do:

Store guns unloaded in an inaccessible and locked location. Ammunition should be locked in a different place. If you choose locks with keys, be sure those keys are kept separately from the rest of your keys, in an area where your kids can’t find them. (These basic rules may seem like no-brainers, but research shows that many gun-owning homes don’t follow them: About 2 out of 3 households keep their firearms unlocked and loaded, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.)
Every gun should have a trigger lock installed. These locks placed on the triggers of guns are easy to buy and use, and go a long way in helping prevent accidental discharge.
When cleaning a gun, never leave it unattended, not even for a minute. Curious little ones can get into a dangerous situation in a heartbeat.
Teach your children some basic rules. This way, they'll know what to do if, despite your best efforts, they do find a gun unattended in your home (or at a friend’s or relative’s): Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the room immediately. Tell a grown-up. Repeat these rules early and often.
Have regular conversations about the violence your kids may see on TV, including in movies and video games. Make sure you explain how that’s different from what happens in real life. Keeping those lines of communication open and honest is one of the best ways to keep kids safe (no matter what the issue). You don't want to scare your toddler, so find a simple way to explain (and do your best not to expose your child to that kind of media violence in the first place). Continue these talks once your child hits preschool- and school-age.
Be sure to ask if there are guns in the houses of families whose homes your child might be in for parties and playdates. And if the answer is yes, ask if they're unlocked and where and how they're stored (the answers you're looking for: unloaded, locked, stashed in locked cabinets, safes, or closets, with ammunition locked up separately from the firearms, and all stored up and out of kids' reach). Similarly, don't hesitate to avoid letting your child play in the homes of families and friends where guns are not safely stored.

The AAP has an informative PSA for how to keep your kids safe around their friends who live with guns in the house, and how to safely store guns yourself if you have them at home, plus how to teach kids some basic but critical gun safety:

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