Gun with kids at home ?? - Page 5

davidw · October 28th, 2009, 11:13 PM

Thank you all. I really value and appreciate everyone's advice on such an important topic. I have learned many things and will put them to use. I hope other new people to the forum and to guns finds and reads this thread. Probably a much overlooked topic.

I wish I could make the range a family thing. My wife would never shoot a gun :(

dam294 · October 28th, 2009, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tokerblue

Teach your kids gun safety if they are old enough to understand. But I agree with the others. If it's not on you, it should be in a safe. I put mine in a GunVault. I have a 2 and 4 year old and no matter what you tell them, they're too young to understand. I can't see any reason why you would leave a loaded weapon laying around when you can access a small safe in seconds.

Exactly! If you have kids (any age) lock your guns up!

Several years ago, I came home to a subdivision full of flashing bule lights. A couple of teenage boys found daddy's guns. One of those boys ended up dead.

64zebra · October 29th, 2009, 12:19 AM

my son is 6,
a Sheriff deputy did Eddie the Eagle at his school this year (the day after I took a city car up to the school and demonstrated our equipment and explained what we have and what we do), anyway....about a year ago I had taught my son that daddy's and mommy's guns are not toys, he knew not to play with them and I did some testing with no mag, or barrel in a Glock, left it sitting out on the table in plain view....surrounded by toys and I observed him where he couldn't see me watched him for 30 mins taking and replacing toys all around the gun and he never even touched it, was quite interesting and showed he knew not to play with it.
He can now recite the Eddie rules to me and makes daddy proud.
If the weapon is not on me (or mom) then its secured in safe or locked up in closet and he can't get to 'em.
Next up--the 4 rules of proper gun handling, he already knows to keep indexed when I let him shoot the .22

.
This is what prevents tragedies.....education.

cl00bie · October 29th, 2009, 12:57 AM

Cornered Cat - Kids

deadhawg · October 29th, 2009, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bzdog

I'd say the safest place for your firearm is on your person. If it isn't on your person, it should be in a safe.

-john

+1.
And teaching your kids gun safety from an early age is vital also. Take them shooting too, so the "mystery" isn't there either. If they are taught proper gun handling and safety, whether a gun has a manual safety or not is a non-issue.

TN_Mike · October 29th, 2009, 02:55 AM

We have an 18 year old, a 14 year old, a 13 year old and twin 7 year olds. All have been trained, and continue to be trained on firearm safety, have been shown and taught that guns are NOT toys and can and do cause harm and kill. All have a healthy respect for guns and I trust each and every one of them implicitly around guns even if I am not there to supervise them. That being said, when any of our guns are not on my hip or on my wife's hip, they are locked up in the safe. No un-tended guns in our house.

1. Always maintain control of your weapon.

2. Teach your kids about your guns. When you teach them about them, you take the mystery and the curiosity out of them for the child. Once a child knows, really knows and understands that a gun is not a toy, that the movies are make believe and guns can and do kill, they respect them.

My kids do not fear guns, but they do respect them. They all love to go shooting and all want to help clean the guns after we get home. Some of the best family time we ever spend is sitting around the work bench cleaning guns and just being a family that is sharing in a common interest.

BlueNinjaGo · October 29th, 2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidw

I wish I could make the range a family thing. My wife would never shoot a gun :(

Never say never! There's tons of threads around here about getting a female to try shooting... I say do whatever you can to get her to try it (without getting her in a foul mood) and let her see for herself. If she doesn't like it, then at least she tried!

MinistrMalic · October 29th, 2009, 11:49 AM

I strongly prefer education and familiarity to just locking them up and throwing away the key. That may help in your home, but what about when they go to a friend's house whose dad is nowhere near as careful?

As always, follow all municipal and state laws. Here in AZ there are few, so there is no legal requirement for locking up firearms.

I have kids aged 12, 10, 7, and 4 in the home. We all study martial arts. I also make it a practice to bring them into the world of firearms. They help me clean them, they go to the range (and the desert) with me, and are welcome to hold any firearm in the house whenever they ask. They are drilled with firearm safety and know it instinctively.

It has been my experience that after a short time the kids think that the firearms in the house are about as interesting as the mop. They just don't have any mystique at all. Just like we tell them not to play with the household chemicals because they are dangerous, they know not to handle a firearm unsupervised. I have tested this several times with unloaded firearms left in conspicuous places within easy reach and have never had a problem.

Education wins out IMO.

davidw · November 11th, 2009, 10:41 AM

When I bought my M&P 40C yesterday I also picked up a Gunvault Mini for $85. Small enough to put on a shelf and big enough to hold my snub nose and the M&P.

The Mini only runs on batteries. I figure if I just change them twice a year when I change the smoke detector batteries then it should be fine. Have the key hidden somewhere in proximity to the Gunvault along with a little flashlight if I should need to open with a key in the dark.

Just have to make sure I practice opening with the finger pad in the dark. So far I like this product.

Glock23MI · November 11th, 2009, 12:18 PM

Growing up, there was only 1 gun in the house, but both my brother and I knew not to touch it. For as long as i can rememver, Dad's shotgun was always tucked back in the corner of the closet in the storage bag. If we wanted to see it, we asked him, he made sure it was safe(unloaded), and reinforced the safety issues while we looked at it/held it. He took the mystery out of the gun, so we didn't feel it necessary to sneak a peak when he wasn't home.
I really feel like taking the taboo away from the gun makes everything much easier. The kids know what it is, know why you have it, and that they can see it/touch it in a safe manner whenever they want as long as you are present.
Yes, there are ages that aren't old enough to understand this, so during that time it's going to be on my person of in the safe. That's the way it should be no matter what age kids are. It's getting them to a point where they understand and don't feel like they have to go snooping on their own to get the info they want.

October 28th, 2009, 11:13 PM	#41
davidw Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 69	Thanks all Thank you all. I really value and appreciate everyone's advice on such an important topic. I have learned many things and will put them to use. I hope other new people to the forum and to guns finds and reads this thread. Probably a much overlooked topic. I wish I could make the range a family thing. My wife would never shoot a gun :(

October 29th, 2009, 12:19 AM	#43
64zebra VIP Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Panhandle of Texas Posts: 4,584	my son is 6, a Sheriff deputy did Eddie the Eagle at his school this year (the day after I took a city car up to the school and demonstrated our equipment and explained what we have and what we do), anyway....about a year ago I had taught my son that daddy's and mommy's guns are not toys, he knew not to play with them and I did some testing with no mag, or barrel in a Glock, left it sitting out on the table in plain view....surrounded by toys and I observed him where he couldn't see me watched him for 30 mins taking and replacing toys all around the gun and he never even touched it, was quite interesting and showed he knew not to play with it. He can now recite the Eddie rules to me and makes daddy proud. If the weapon is not on me (or mom) then its secured in safe or locked up in closet and he can't get to 'em. Next up--the 4 rules of proper gun handling, he already knows to keep indexed when I let him shoot the .22 . This is what prevents tragedies.....education. __________________ LEO & CHL Independence is declared; it must be maintained. Sam Houston-3/2/1836 HK45 G30\|21\|26\|17 KT P11 Moss500 Ithaca37 Savage20ga\|15A .22\|'99 25-35 AK47 AR15 Win3030 MN44 Rem 66\|870 GMBH67.22 If loose gun laws are good for criminals, why do criminals support gun control?

October 29th, 2009, 12:57 AM	#44
cl00bie Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Broome County, New York (USA) Posts: 336	Cornered Cat - Kids __________________ -Tony "Those who beat their guns into plowshares will plow for those who didn't." -- Thomas Jefferson

October 29th, 2009, 02:55 AM	#46
TN_Mike VIP Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: West TN Posts: 7,720	We have an 18 year old, a 14 year old, a 13 year old and twin 7 year olds. All have been trained, and continue to be trained on firearm safety, have been shown and taught that guns are NOT toys and can and do cause harm and kill. All have a healthy respect for guns and I trust each and every one of them implicitly around guns even if I am not there to supervise them. That being said, when any of our guns are not on my hip or on my wife's hip, they are locked up in the safe. No un-tended guns in our house. 1. Always maintain control of your weapon. 2. Teach your kids about your guns. When you teach them about them, you take the mystery and the curiosity out of them for the child. Once a child knows, really knows and understands that a gun is not a toy, that the movies are make believe and guns can and do kill, they respect them. My kids do not fear guns, but they do respect them. They all love to go shooting and all want to help clean the guns after we get home. Some of the best family time we ever spend is sitting around the work bench cleaning guns and just being a family that is sharing in a common interest. __________________ A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -Barry Goldwater 1968

October 29th, 2009, 11:49 AM	#48
MinistrMalic Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 492	I strongly prefer education and familiarity to just locking them up and throwing away the key. That may help in your home, but what about when they go to a friend's house whose dad is nowhere near as careful? As always, follow all municipal and state laws. Here in AZ there are few, so there is no legal requirement for locking up firearms. I have kids aged 12, 10, 7, and 4 in the home. We all study martial arts. I also make it a practice to bring them into the world of firearms. They help me clean them, they go to the range (and the desert) with me, and are welcome to hold any firearm in the house whenever they ask. They are drilled with firearm safety and know it instinctively. It has been my experience that after a short time the kids think that the firearms in the house are about as interesting as the mop. They just don't have any mystique at all. Just like we tell them not to play with the household chemicals because they are dangerous, they know not to handle a firearm unsupervised. I have tested this several times with unloaded firearms left in conspicuous places within easy reach and have never had a problem. Education wins out IMO. __________________ "...whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one." (Luke 22:36) Here is my blog if you're interested :)

November 11th, 2009, 10:41 AM	#49
davidw Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 69	GunVault Mini When I bought my M&P 40C yesterday I also picked up a Gunvault Mini for $85. Small enough to put on a shelf and big enough to hold my snub nose and the M&P. The Mini only runs on batteries. I figure if I just change them twice a year when I change the smoke detector batteries then it should be fine. Have the key hidden somewhere in proximity to the Gunvault along with a little flashlight if I should need to open with a key in the dark. Just have to make sure I practice opening with the finger pad in the dark. So far I like this product.

November 11th, 2009, 12:18 PM	#50
Glock23MI Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Livonia, MI Posts: 119	Growing up, there was only 1 gun in the house, but both my brother and I knew not to touch it. For as long as i can rememver, Dad's shotgun was always tucked back in the corner of the closet in the storage bag. If we wanted to see it, we asked him, he made sure it was safe(unloaded), and reinforced the safety issues while we looked at it/held it. He took the mystery out of the gun, so we didn't feel it necessary to sneak a peak when he wasn't home. I really feel like taking the taboo away from the gun makes everything much easier. The kids know what it is, know why you have it, and that they can see it/touch it in a safe manner whenever they want as long as you are present. Yes, there are ages that aren't old enough to understand this, so during that time it's going to be on my person of in the safe. That's the way it should be no matter what age kids are. It's getting them to a point where they understand and don't feel like they have to go snooping on their own to get the info they want.

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