Carrying a firearm around my infant son.....

[nn]

Congrats on the birth of your boy.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[B52]

My son is two and a half, I read him Eddie Eagle at least once a week. He watches me clean my guns after my weekly range trips. I take apart the guns in a separate room and bring the disassembled firearm parts to our work bench. He already knows not to touch and to only watch. My son loves this, we bond more and more by doing this regularly. This is what my dad did with me and it worked well. I plan on starting him out with a BB gun when he is ready and then moving up from there. The key is always going over the safety rules no matter how many times you have done it in the past. Congrats on the baby, there is no greater feeling in the world than being a dad.

[RochPersDef]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now you're world is going to be completely different.

I would wait and see when he starts to understand right and wrong without you having to tell him. My Son was 4 and I got the NRA's Eddie Eagle video and he watched it more times than I could count - he loved it!!!!!

Mow he's 12 and I'll bet you he can recite the basic mantra:

Stop

Don't touch

Leave the area

Tell and Adult


It's great to see that you want to involve him as early as possible.

In NY, we can start teaching youths with live handguns when they hit 14 and he cannot wait

[rocky]

I started my kids off at 5-6 yrs old to understand and learn gun safety. I waited till they were 9-10 to let them start shooting (long guns, cause its harder to muzzle sweep someone near you, easier to see where it is pointing). Now my younger kid says the 10/22 is hers.

[Slim_45]

Congrats on the new baby We had our 1st baby boy on March 14th & I plan on doing the same with him. Ive thought about this also & iam not sure if theres a specific age iam sure u will just know when your son/daughter is responsible enough & old/big enough to shoot a firearm. But iam with you, i want caleb to be familiar & understanding of them. I think thats best.......

[ridurall]

Congratulations on the baby. I've got a 21 year old daughter and a 6 year old son. My daughter got her first .22 (a Browning BAR) when she was 1 week old. When she got old enough to crawl we quit using a S&W 649 revolver as the house gun and went to a 1911A1 .45 in condition 3. (no round in chamber but a full magazine) I figured until she was strong enough to pull the slide back then she would be old enough to understand gun safety. As she got older I treated her just like I would a son and started taking her deer hunting with me a the age of 9. I purchased her a Remington model 7, 6mm. She still loves to hunt and I now hunt with her and her husband. Now back to boys. I don't treat him like I did my daughter. He is a great 6 year old but there is something different about a boy. I don't take any chances. While my son was a baby and still crawling I would put my carry gun on a top shelf of a cabinet when I got home. When he reached the point that he started climbing I got a small handgun safe that uses a finger activated code to open it almost instantly. I NEVER take my gun off and set it down. I've also taught my son that guns are real and the danger involved with them. We even have him treat his toy guns as real guns when around adults. (I don't stop him from playing army or cops and robbers with his friends) When he was 3 my sister and her husband stopped by for a visit and had their travel trailer. My son was exploring and found their 9mm in the bed room unattended and came straight out and told us there was a gun in the next room. This scared the snot out of my sister and was a good lesson for her but we praised my son like he was king of the hill. He still remembers that event. We live in the country and he has been shooting his bb gun and Henry single shot 22 since he was 4 but only in very controlled situations. When he starts missing we stop shooting. It's a good gage of his attention span. He also has a Ruger Compact .243 that he has never shot and I just got him a CZ 452 .22 LR 5 shot bolt action rifle. They both have 20 guage 870 youth shotguns. My 6 year old has not shot his yet. Guns are a very important part of our household and my wife also has a CCW and my daughter is fixing to get hers. (I just got her a Kel-Tec P3AT to carry while bow hunting) I've collected guns for years and have 2 gun vaults and the small bed room handgun safe for the house gun. (W/Baby Eagle & M-6 flashlight/laser) I usually have either my Sig .40 in my holster at home or a Bersa .380 or Skyy 9mm in my pocket. I've recently found another way to work with my son on gun safety. I swore I'd never mess with computer games but a customer traded me a Xbox 360 for some work and we play some of the alien shoot em up games as a team. He has to learn how to handle his gun and not shoot me while we are going through the game shooting spiders and such. I don't let him play shooting games where people are targets on it. By the way I'm 51 years old and I'm surprised at how much fun shooting on the Xbox is with my son.

[coffeecup]

I consider myself fortunate to have been raised in a home that firearms were a part of everyday life. My Dad never carried until he started dating my Mother and she let him know in no uncertain terms that if he intended to go out with her he better get a pistol to protect her. My Dad had always been a hunter and owned an assortment of rifles and shotguns, but now faced with a woman that demanded he buy a handgun he relented and purchased a M-10 S&W that I still have.

Like most other kids I had a BB gun, but unlike most I had a .22 BEFORE I got the Red Ryder. I think that buying .22 shells was eating into the bank account a little on the heavy side (LOL).

First experience at carrying was on my 16th birthday when I was presented with a "baby" Browning .25 buy a favorite uncle. I was informed that it was to go in my pocket just like my pocket knife and change and was NEVER to be presented unless my life was in danger. I carried that little pistol until all the blue was worn off and no one ever knew that I had it. It rests quietly in my home alongside my Dad's M-10.

Now, at close to 70 years old, with 7 children and 13 Grandchildren I can see no reason to treat any of them any differently than I was treated as a child. Firearms were,are, and will be a normal part of our lives just as screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches, all tools to be used when and if you need them.

[ree]

Congratulations.

In addition to what others have offered, read up at www.corneredcat.com for some good ideas.

My son is almost 3 1/2 and to the best of my knowledge he doesn't know I carry. I carry while awake, and do my best to arm/disarm outside of his presence to keep it a non-issue, but have occasionally done it covertly with him around. I lock up religiously in quick access boxes.

Now, if someday he notices or asks, I will likely take the approach that Kathy suggests of disarming the curiosity and teaching the Eddie Eagle rules, and perhaps event getting a blue or red gun and testing him from time to time.

I don't feel like he's ready for it quite yet. We have him pretty well trained on things like what to do if he finds something that looks like candy on the floor (i.e. show it to us and let us decide if it is candy or not...and whether he can eat it), but he has slipped up. One thing at a time.

[joleary223]

Good advice allready. Congrats on the new baby. With my newborn (5 months now) I find it more important than ever to carry. If I have my son in my arms I am more vulnerable than ever and I need all the advantages I can get. I plan on teaching by example and when I feel he is old enough I will take him shooting. Until then he will be able to watch me clean my weapons and when he is older help. He will learn to never touch a firearm without me, not mom, not the his friends dad, only Me.

[1911-45]

My son was born on November 1st, and I plan on introducing him to self defense and firearms when he's old enough. I will have my CCW permit shortly, and I already carry whenever I'm at home. The things I'm wondering about are (a) what's the best way to teach him about firearms (especially how to respect them), and (b) at what age should I start thinking about it? I'm hoping that some other parents are willing to provide some pointers. Thanks.

Congratulations on your newborn future "Gun Owner"
My first born was 1 1/2 years old when anyone could ask her if she touches daddy's gun she would say NO! everytime.....my next two kids followed. You will see when they get to the age of "getting into things" you will be correcting them........so incorperate your firearms as "things you NEVER touch without my permission" When they do understand you don't forget to QUIZ them over and over even now my kids are 4,6,9 and I still ask them questions about gun safety.
June 3rd I will have a new one to teach again!
Good luck!

[Supertac45]

Good thinking. My kids starting shooting around 6 years old.

[Tubby45]

Congrats. I have a 1yo son.

He watches me get dressed and gun up.

He sees me handle guns all the time.

He sees me reloading ammo and I've had him load a couple rounds for me (he just pulled the handle.

He smiles everytime he sees my AR15.

He is curious as any 1yo is. I do not hide my guns from him. Guns are a way of life and that is how I'm going to raise him. Guns are as ordinary as a wristwatch.

I keep them all locked up and have a pistol safe in my reloading room with the Bersa in it loaded and my G30 and Pro Carry are in the bedroom safe if I'm not carrying one of them. Only my pistols are loaded and it is only those three. If they are not on me or in the safe they aren't loaded.

[Greg in VA]

We had our 1st baby boy on March 14th ..

I'll have to send him a b-day greeting via this forum...that's my b-day also!

[jonesy_26]

My 5 yr old son is familiar with gun saftey through Eddie the Eagle and from me teaching him safe gun handling skills. Our local PD held a "Safety Town" for a week where they learned everything from what to do if they find a gun to stranger safety. I bought him one of those "toy" guns from Bass Pro that shoots the orange rubber bullets. I use this to teach him how to handle a weapon safely, and the basics of shooting. Its surprising how much a 5 yr old will retain when they are interested in what you are talking about. I quiz him often and he usually remembers what he learned. When I carry around him, I do keep it on the down low. Even though he's pretty good with the rules, guns are still "cool" to him, so he never sees the real ones. He doesn't know when I am armed; I figure it won't be on his mind as we go about our day together. And my guns either are in the safe or on my person at all times....never in between.

I figure I'll take him shooting when he's 8 or 9, its about when I started.

[pappy]

I was shooting a BB gun in my Grandpa's basement when I was maybe 9 or 10, then I got a 10/22 for christmas when I was maybe 13 or 14 (locked up at all times). I then just increased from there whenever I felt comfortable with it. To be honest, back then I was afraid of anything bigger even though my dad was ok with letting me shoot larger rounds.

It depends on the kid I would guess, I remember before I even shot the BB gun my dad would always talk about safety. So I would start talking to your kid as long as they are able to comprehend what your saying, then after awhile gradually get him shooting if he wants to.