Hiding Guns from Kids - Good Idea or Bad? - Page 2

spwz99 · July 3rd, 2009, 11:44 AM

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.

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.

skot · July 3rd, 2009, 11:55 AM

Thank you all for the feedback. It gives me a lot to think about.

My opinion has always been more of the 'expose them to the guns and take away the curiosity' approach. But lately my wife has been asking me not to let them see when/where I put them away. This is what prompted me to ask the question.

The locked drawer is something that came about when my son was about 1 and my daughter wasn't even born. I'm starting to realize that may be fast approaching functionally obsolete and I need to invest in a quick box style safe.

I guess the bottom line is that it needs to be a balance between education and restricted access.

With those small safes what is the best way to secure it so that someone who breaks in while I'm not home can't just walk off with it? I know they can be bolted to a dresser, but are there other options. There's no way in hell I'm going to be 'allowed' to drill holes in my current dresser if you know what I mean.

Janq · July 3rd, 2009, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopyard

I do not think education or secrecy are sufficient as your children move forward from their very young present age.

If not a gun safe, at least some sort of lock-box is necessary. Kids not only do the darndest most unexpected things, they sometimes start to get moody and emotional as they enter and pass through the teen years. Ten to 14 year olds don't really quite understand "dangerous" and they want to explore the boundaries of the word, "NO." I had a rather scary moment when mine was 10 ish. There aren't any good answers because even the best behaved child is a bit unpredictable.

That. ^^

In addition, rather than a locked drawer what is much better is to use this...

GunVault - Gun Safes for Home or Office - Home

- Janq

Blackeagle · July 3rd, 2009, 12:30 PM

Kids are curious, they're probably going to find out what's in there sooner or later. Better to tell them what it is and why they shouldn't mess with it than to have them try to get it open out of curiosity.

I'd second the recommendation for something better than the lock on a desk drawer to secure the guns.

retsupt99 · July 3rd, 2009, 12:55 PM

My two boys are in their 30's now, but they both have told me that being up front with them about guns and where they were...kept them away...they had no desire to go play with my guns, and they never did.
(Their story, not mine.)

They were given the opportunity to see them, handle them, and shoot them. We went regularly out to the N. MI woods for some father/son(s) shooting. This, evidently, attended to the curiosity that kids have naturally...I treated guns like any other tools...look, touch, and use while properly supervised.

I would still use some of the gun safes seen above...didn't have those things decades ago.

Riccur · July 3rd, 2009, 02:40 PM

I think your approach is sound, what I have found with my three teens who started with guns around 8, is that the repeated warnings as with anything else really works, however at the ages your dealing with they should never be trusted ( I think you know that).

We as parents do not have to be open and honest with our lives, you can think of many things you would not be open and honest about.

Bottom line educate and keep secrets if you want, they should understand that no matter where they find a gun, wether they know it is there or not they need to leave it alone and come tell you where it is.

I recently bought my first two handguns, and to my knowledge my teens do not know where they are hidden and have not tried to find them. I have informed that if they were to find the guns that they will be loaded so do not mess around with them.

As far as showing them the power of the gun, set up a watermelon and shoot it with them around.

The biggest deterent to them when they were young was having them shoot guns that were to big for them. The kick scares the tar out of them and they will stay away. They will get over it when they are older.

Rick

skot · July 3rd, 2009, 08:01 PM

I went out and looked at several of the Gun Vault style safes today. I think I'm going to try to buy one in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for posting the link to the web site. That is helpful.

Quote:

The biggest deterent to them when they were young was having them shoot guns that were to big for them. The kick scares the tar out of them and they will stay away. They will get over it when they are older.

I got a pretty good smile out of this thinking about all the possibilities.

edr9x23super · July 3rd, 2009, 08:39 PM

Eddicate them young uns, but remember -

KEEP THEM SMOKEWAGONS LOCKED UP IN A SAFE!

No exceptions......

TucAzRider · July 3rd, 2009, 10:36 PM

Skot,. Great topic,.. I do as I was raised,. I teach my kids about all aspects of guns, I shoot with them,. They watch me clean them.. (that must change soon, why do I have to do all the work) and they know that they must NEVER touch a gun unless it is handed to them by me.. All my guns are locked up except my daily carry, and that one never leaves my person,. But just in case some day I happen to be forgetful or brain dead and one get's left out of a while (hope that day never happens) or if they are at a friends house and one is laying around, my kids will respect that and not touch it,. If I was to make a big deal out of it all I feel they would want to because it is "forbidden"... Education is the key,... Locking them is too....

Great idea on the key issue that was posted above,.. I used to have a hiding place I left the key,.. Never had any problems, but one day I woke up and thought about that,. Kids are smart,... I'm sure mine wouldn't ever do anything about it, but I now carry daily that too...

violinjim · July 4th, 2009, 12:25 AM

Thanks for the topic. My daughter is 2 and I will be dealing with this soon. Since I am the first in my family to own a gun, I have no background in dealing with this. For the time being, I keep my loaded pistols out of her reach. Really out of her reach. When she's old enough, I'll teach her all about firearms and still keep them out of her reach.
Keep the thread going, I want to learn more...
JIm

July 3rd, 2009, 12:55 PM	#15
retsupt99 VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Central Florida Posts: 22,710	My two boys are in their 30's now, but they both have told me that being up front with them about guns and where they were...kept them away...they had no desire to go play with my guns, and they never did. (Their story, not mine.) They were given the opportunity to see them, handle them, and shoot them. We went regularly out to the N. MI woods for some father/son(s) shooting. This, evidently, attended to the curiosity that kids have naturally...I treated guns like any other tools...look, touch, and use while properly supervised. I would still use some of the gun safes seen above...didn't have those things decades ago. __________________ "That I cannot do." "Give this to, uh, Clemenza. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks." *********************************** NRA Life Member

July 3rd, 2009, 02:40 PM	#16
Riccur Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Maine Posts: 46	I think your approach is sound, what I have found with my three teens who started with guns around 8, is that the repeated warnings as with anything else really works, however at the ages your dealing with they should never be trusted ( I think you know that). We as parents do not have to be open and honest with our lives, you can think of many things you would not be open and honest about. Bottom line educate and keep secrets if you want, they should understand that no matter where they find a gun, wether they know it is there or not they need to leave it alone and come tell you where it is. I recently bought my first two handguns, and to my knowledge my teens do not know where they are hidden and have not tried to find them. I have informed that if they were to find the guns that they will be loaded so do not mess around with them. As far as showing them the power of the gun, set up a watermelon and shoot it with them around. The biggest deterent to them when they were young was having them shoot guns that were to big for them. The kick scares the tar out of them and they will stay away. They will get over it when they are older. Rick __________________ Proofread before you post!!! A reminder to me.

July 3rd, 2009, 08:39 PM	#18
edr9x23super Distinguished Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 1,733	Eddicate them young uns, but remember - KEEP THEM SMOKEWAGONS LOCKED UP IN A SAFE! No exceptions...... __________________ "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined". - Patrick Henry

July 3rd, 2009, 10:36 PM	#19
TucAzRider Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 792	Skot,. Great topic,.. I do as I was raised,. I teach my kids about all aspects of guns, I shoot with them,. They watch me clean them.. (that must change soon, why do I have to do all the work) and they know that they must NEVER touch a gun unless it is handed to them by me.. All my guns are locked up except my daily carry, and that one never leaves my person,. But just in case some day I happen to be forgetful or brain dead and one get's left out of a while (hope that day never happens) or if they are at a friends house and one is laying around, my kids will respect that and not touch it,. If I was to make a big deal out of it all I feel they would want to because it is "forbidden"... Education is the key,... Locking them is too.... Great idea on the key issue that was posted above,.. I used to have a hiding place I left the key,.. Never had any problems, but one day I woke up and thought about that,. Kids are smart,... I'm sure mine wouldn't ever do anything about it, but I now carry daily that too... __________________

July 4th, 2009, 12:25 AM	#20
violinjim Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 36	Thanks for the topic. My daughter is 2 and I will be dealing with this soon. Since I am the first in my family to own a gun, I have no background in dealing with this. For the time being, I keep my loaded pistols out of her reach. Really out of her reach. When she's old enough, I'll teach her all about firearms and still keep them out of her reach. Keep the thread going, I want to learn more... JIm __________________

July 3rd, 2009, 11:55 AM	#12
skot Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 147	Thank you all for the feedback. It gives me a lot to think about. My opinion has always been more of the 'expose them to the guns and take away the curiosity' approach. But lately my wife has been asking me not to let them see when/where I put them away. This is what prompted me to ask the question. The locked drawer is something that came about when my son was about 1 and my daughter wasn't even born. I'm starting to realize that may be fast approaching functionally obsolete and I need to invest in a quick box style safe. I guess the bottom line is that it needs to be a balance between education and restricted access. With those small safes what is the best way to secure it so that someone who breaks in while I'm not home can't just walk off with it? I know they can be bolted to a dresser, but are there other options. There's no way in hell I'm going to be 'allowed' to drill holes in my current dresser if you know what I mean.

July 3rd, 2009, 12:30 PM	#14
Blackeagle Distinguished Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 1,997	Kids are curious, they're probably going to find out what's in there sooner or later. Better to tell them what it is and why they shouldn't mess with it than to have them try to get it open out of curiosity. I'd second the recommendation for something better than the lock on a desk drawer to secure the guns.

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