Found out later in life dad had hunted, his dad did and on back. However my pop had gun-induced hearing damage, and when I was little he was told to stop shooting. Later, when the squirrels got into the attic, they started dropping from the mature Dutch & Chinese Elm trees courtesy of a Sheridan pellet rifle. Dad was a crack shot and enjoyed the work. No firearms though, until I was well into adulthood when friends invited me to go with them. It was (and is) so much fun to shoot. Dad handed over an old turkey box call handmade by my grandfather when I told him about my new hobby, and bragged about grandpa's proficiency with a rifle and a shotgun. Who knew?
As kids, all the TV re-runs we watched portrayed guns as useful tools of The Good Guys. We saw bad guys misuse guns and murder on TV shows, but the Good Guys (Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Dragnet, Kojack) put it right. We played with toy guns or sticks that became guns, endlessly. We were made to understand goodness or badness of a gun was in the eyes of the beholder, er, the hands of the Holder. My 2 cents: With this attitude instilled in today's kids we'll have more new, younger shooters. Do what you can!