Concealed Carry with kids

[sash]

My sons have always known. They just turned 10 and 12, and the oldest has been competing with me for over a year. I explained very early that they are not to discuss it outside the home, and they never have. In my view, if you teach your kids never to talk to strangers, etc., then you should also teach them that you carry and why.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Greg Dunn]

my kids know I carry a gun, and up until recently I worked in criminal justice so they are used to seeing me with them.

The little ones are confused about why it is a "secret" now that I have a gun on they don't understand it yet.

[houndawg75]

I don't make an effort to hide my guns from my kids. The oldest just turned 3 and she has seen me "strap on" several times. She did walk up to me once while I was pulling my gun out of the lock box and wanted to see. I just told her not to touch them. She understands they are dangerous, the same as the oven or a candle. Its never really been an issue. I don't make a stage production out of it so she doesn't really pay attention. She did ask me the get my gun and shoot the little boy across the street one time, because I was teasing her about him stealing her blanket. We had a talk about that and she understood that we don't shoot people. I wasn't even going to bother trying to explain the Good Guy, Bad guy thing. When the time comes I will explain to her the concept of self defense. I have already to some extent when the evil little demon girl at day care hits her, I told her to hit her back. I don't think she's quite ready to start packing though. My 2 year old has never noticed or maybe she just doesn't care.

[tnoisaw]

I've gone as far as to let my kids pull the trigger on my empty weapon so that they understood just how easy it was and that it should never be played with. They're instructed to leave a friends house if they see one in the open and the parents won't put it away in a safe area.

I figure it's like the sex talk I have had to do with two kids already. When they ask, I tell. Makes them less curious if you're up front about it. So far no grandkids out of wedlock.

[rotorhead]

Anytime we go on a car trip, the kids know that I have a pistol within my reach. We don't make a big deal out of it. My youngest, 4, is oblivious to the fact that I carry. My little girls (9 and 11) are not interested. My 15-year-old son pays attention. My 17-year-old daughter doesn't care. I have talked to them, and they know not to "out" me. As a family, we shoot almost weekly. I reload in the house. All my "older" kids own firearms of their own. We clean them together after a session of shooting. The mystery and intrigue are gone. No big deal in their eyes.

[Greg Dunn]

I went from open/duty carry to carrying on my CHL so now I have to conceal that's the only thing that confuses my 5 year old is that I have to "hide" it now.

Of course I got to ditch all the other hardware associated with the job as well.

[p8riot]

We have a 4 yr old son and he sees me strap on my 1911 every morning, and he sees me carry it around the house as well. We don't want him to think that there is anything out of the ordinary about responsible gun ownership and use. Just about everyone in our home-school group carries as well, so the school thing is a non-issue too. My wife also carries, so it is perfectly normal to him.

He is learning to shoot too. I got him a little Crosman BB/pellet gun a year or so ago and he is pretty good with it. He knows that he is not supposed to touch it unless Mommy or Daddy say it is OK (same for any gun). He will begin using a real rifle (was my first 22 40 + yrs ago) when he turns 5 in February.

[Jungle Work]

My children didn't know that I carried until a couple of weeks after comming home from the hospital after being born. My grandchildren have known that I and their mothers and daddies carry since they opened their eyes after birth.

Its never been an issue in my Family or in Texas.

Jungle Work