Quote:
Originally Posted by skot
With all of this in mind is there any reason I should try to hide from my kids that there are guns in the locked drawer? Or should I just be open and honest with them that there are guns in it and hammer home the point that they are not to ever touch it under any circumstance?
My concern is not as much this stage in their lives, but more so when they are a little older, say early teens and want to show their friends 'dad's guns' or something along those lines. I'd like to decide on an approach now and be consistent through their upbringing.
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I think that my dad did an excellent job of acclimating my siblings and I to guns and the destruction they are capable of. He hunted regularly and always showed us the dead deer and made it clear what dead meant and that the shotgun is what caused it. As soon as we were old enough he took us out shooting and let us help him clean the guns when we were done.
As far as when we were older, I think my brother and I both went through a stage where we thought it was 'cool' to let our friends know that we had guns at home. The thought of taking one out and showing them to our friends never even crossed our minds though. Dad always made it very clear that showing them to people was off limits and it was gonna be our hide if we broke that rule.
Had we not been exposed to guns so openly and honestly when we were young, it might have been a different story. If you keep secrets from your kids, they will find out and be all the more curious.