Has Your Child Been Educated On Firearms?

Have you ever watched a child pick up a water pistol or toy gun and studed its behavior?  The predictable outcome is that the child will place its finger on the trigger, point the gun at the intended target, and pull the trigger while announcing, "bang, bang."

On another note, not that it can't occur at any time, however summer usually means older children and teens left unattended at home while parents work. Would your child know what to do if he/she came in contact with a firearm? You may not have any firearms in the household, however, as a parent, we can't prevent our youngsters from being exposed to a weapon if they are over at someone else's house.

Does your child understand the potential dangers of an air rifle or pistol or pellet gun? Simply not owning any firearm is not enough these days to prevent your child from the dangers that exist with these weapons. Children need to be trained on the potential hazards and safety of all firearms, including the necessary steps to take when coming into contact with them.

There are too many occurrences that we hear about in the news which involve children dismissing air rifles and pistols as toys and being injured. Not to mention, children's curiosity with firearms in the house that lead to a gun going off and a person is killed.  

There are debated arguments on whether children should train with the parents or if the parents should only receive firearms safety training and awareness. However, only 1 in 4 households pursue this type of available training because one member usually believes that he has at least a minimal amount of knowledge about how a gun operates.  Scary information, but true.  

It has been my experience for the past 15 years as a firearms instructor that training together as a family not only takes the natural curiosity and fascination of firearms away from a child, but proper training at this age also builds "muscle memory" in which a youngster will be able to fall back on when coming into contact with them.  The respect of handling a firearm and what it can do becomes more of a reality than the impressions that Hollywood introduces.

~Tina Wilson-Cohen, President
SHE CAN SHOOT, LLC