When is the right time to tell the kids about your guns

I was exposed to them at about 6 or 7 and taught what they were all about and safety-I started shooting about 8years old. The younger the better-once the age of reason dawns it is better to demystify firearms than let curiosity lead to accidents.

My kids are 9, 7 and 5. I've been drilling the 4 rules of safety, Eddie Eagle videos and "Stop, Don't Touch, etc, etc" into their heads for over 4 years.

When my oldest was 3 or 4, we didn't say a thing to him thinking he would be too fascinated...guess what, he made guns out of sticks and his finger. Once I told him about them, taught him safety rules, the fascination ended.

Now he has his own pellet gun (that he doesn't touch unless it is with me) and for his 10th, he will get a .22 LR single shot rifle.

In my opinion, waiting until they are 19 or even 11 means you've lost at least 5 years to make them responsible...by that age, they are forming personalities and values and you may be swimming upstream against some of them.

Start 'em young, raise 'em right, they'll make you proud.

I keep my guns in a safe at home. My oldest (19) was told about them and to stay away period.

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Sounds like there are some trust issues in your house.

Pilgrim

My kids have been raised around guns. That doesn't mean that they get to touch them or use them, but it does mean that they see them and know that I have them. Heck, every time the UPS driver drops off a package, the kids all shout out, 'Daddy's got new rifle parts!'....

I've been drilling the Eddie Eagle training into them, and recently tested my two youngest. The 3yr old passed (don't touch, tell an adult) but the 5 yr old picked it up 'to see if it was a toy gun'. He was, ah, recalibrated after that, and we'll try again in a bit.

I guess my point is that there's no sense in not TELLING them about them unless you have such serious trust issues such that you believe you cannot secure the guns from the kids. Presuming that they're not lockpick experts, I suggest casual exposure (you cleaning them with the family in the house, etc.) to get them used to the idea of seeing their parent(s) with guns, and keep them locked up in a safe that the kids can't find when the gun is not physically in your control. You must be SCRUPULOUS in the Four Rules yourself; you'd not want to have an ND with the kids around.

And get the Eddie Eagle stuff. Even if you don't use the actual Eddie Eagle materials, you can use the material as source data for some one-on-one talks with your kids.

My kids learned about my guns and have been taught gun safety since the day we brought them home. I have never hid or kept my firearms from them. They are locked in the safe when not in use, however, the kids are always involved with cleaning them and trips to the range. My kids are 13 and 8 and have years of gun safety and shooting under their belts.

When I was a kid, guns were a no-no. Real, toys, TV shows about, etc. I can still remember finding my Dad's shotgun in the closet: Double barrel, side by side 16 ga. I also found a shoe box full of shells. The good thing was, I couldn't figure out out to put it together. If I had, I would have loaded it and who knows what. All from ignorance. I really think this was my parents failure.

On a similar note, I always wanted a motorcycle when growing up. The answer was always: NO! When I came of age, 18, and scrounged up $100 I went and bought one. A piece of junk I had no idea how to ride.

Both of these stories reflect that I've been very lucky. I knew kids in HS who found there daddy's service revolver who were not so lucky. And the same goes for motorcycles or any other potentially dangerous activity. As a parent, it's our responsibility to educate them about reality, not hide in some moral fantasy land.

I have a boy just turning three. You bet I'll do my best to educate him. Guns, motorcycles or whatever he shows an interest in. You can't control them forever. Just set them off on the right path.

Wonder what age I should interduce him to the guns. He know where the motorcycles are parked.

Well, if you've read these, I think you're getting the general drift... you have also unfortunately missed many years of fun and companionship with your kids. All my kids were shooting by 6. I still have my son's picture on my desk of him with his bb pistol and my first grouse. He was also present when I got my first Canada goose. My daughters get new guns or large boxes of ammo for Christmas. My youngest is 27, my oldest is 30 and a better trio of great people you'll never meet.

My kids are 3 and 5. They have both seen and learned about propper handling and safety since they were old enough to stand.

My oldest (19) was told about them and to stay away period.

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Please don't take this the wrong way, but - wow.

The rule in my house (the wife and I agreed upon this before our marriage) is that ignorance is NOT bliss, and that our children would be well educated in firearms. Locking them up and saying NO is the best way to stir curiosity.

So, from a very young age our daughter was told "any time you want to see, touch, clean or admire the firearms, just ask." Any time she asked, it became an opportunity to teach the rules.

She was also taught NEVER touch them without asking first. To be sure, before I had a safe, all had trigger locks. BUT, I don't believe she ever got into them without permission.

I did have to size up her maturity about the time she hit 8 or so, but that was when she fired her first rounds in .22LR. She's coming up on 16 now (Help Me, Oh Lord) and a few years ago graduated to 9MM pistols and .223 rifles.

For the last 6 years or so, she has NEVER asked to see the firearms, and rarely accepts my invitation to go shooting. But she knows the rules, she knows how to use firearms, and has NO unsatisfied curiosity about them. And if she ever develops a new unsatisfied curiosity, all she has to do is ask.

When my son was 2-3 years old, I intro'd him to the guns in the house. I taught him how to ID toys & real guns and if he ever ran across guns at his friend's houses, to leave & come home. As he got older, he learned how to use all the guns in my/ our collection.

I'm not a parent, but 20 years ago, I sure was a kid. I remember well when I'd go into my parents' room and play with the only gun in the house, Dad's .22 Star pistol. It was totally unlocked, stored in a greeting card box in Dad's top dresser drawer. I had absolutely no idea how it worked, if it was loaded, what any of the buttons did - nothing. One day I ejected the magazine and almost vomited, I didn't know what I'd done or how to fix it. It never occurred to me that screwing around with a gun was dangerous. Nobody ever taught me, until I was 17.

So my advice is to start well before age 17.

As an instructor, I have parents ask me often "at what age should I teach my child about guns?" I ask them "are they born yet?" You've got to start teaching them to respect guns from the moment you bring them home from the hospital! Educate, educate, educate! And most importantly, you MUST satisfy their curiousity, or they will do it on their own.

My two year old understands the difference between "Daddy's guns" and his cowboy set he got for Christmas.

If you ask him "What's the rule around here?" his reply is "Don't touch Daddy's guns". If you ask him "What do you do if you find a real gun?" his answer is "I tell Mommy and Daddy!". For now, this is absolutely perfect. Just to be overly safe, I keep them in either the gun safe, or the quick access nightstand safe.

When he is physcially able to handle the size and weight of a youth gun, I will start taking him to the range. I'm am looking forward to that day.

As far as when will he get a real gun of his own... Already has. He got a single shot youth .22LR / .410 interchangeable Rossi from his Poppy when he was 9 months old. He does not know it yet, but in a couple years when he can hold it on his own, we will begin the training and the rule of "with supervision ONLY" will go into effect.

I got my first .22 when I was nine and my first 12GA when I was 12. I obeyed the rule of supervision until I was 18 and it worked great for me.

19 ?!?!?!?!?!?!?

We start at birth in our family. We have many generations
of this tradition.

My 11 year old yawns at the notion of a gun. He gets scared
that he is gonna have to stay up late the night before and load
mags. How many 11 year olds find the notion of loading up M16
mags to be a chore?

I am often at a lose for words when trying to argue against
sex ed at an early age when people say it will make
sex seem like school and hence prevent kids from having
sex when I think about how my kids respond to guns. I know
the do so because they were ' indoctronated' at an early age.

my oldest son was about 10 i guess when i got my first revolver... a s&w model 13 .357 magnum.... i told him about guns by having him with me when i shot it and letting him expereince the muzzle blast,the flash, and the damage such a gun can do first hand....... i never had any problem with him trying to get away with anything as far as guns were concerned...... he KNEW the power of the weapon first hand.......... when the second son came along he kinda quided him from it.......... i say let them see the power and show them the capabilities (sp) of the guns............

There have been guns in my houses well before my kids were born. I don't know if I ever formally introduced the kids to guns but they saw them, they saw me handle them and went on hunts with me so they understood what they were for and what they could do. It was just another tool like the hammer and saw. I never made a big deal about them and the kids never "fiddled".. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe because I used them for their utilitarian purpose the kids have true understanding of what they are.

As the kids have gotten older (24,23,16) we've discussed the rights and responsibilities that come with gun ownership and from what I can tell they each have a healthy respect and understanding of the rules..

My 23 year old daughter has her CCW and uses a Kimber 45, my youngest daughter shoots with me at the range, likes my lever gun but prefers her bow, and my son has a Ruger P89 but likes to shoot my 357 wheel...

This is just my world it may or may not work for you.

C

All this reminds me that when the nieces come over we are always extra extra careful. They know nothing about guns and are at the curious just big enough age to be really dangerous.

Although there was humor around the homestead one morning when the they were last visting. I was at work and everyone else was having breakfast. The wife looked out the kitchen window and saw the rabbits in her vegtable garden. She ran and grabbed her .22 and did what you are supposed to do with bunnies that are eating your peas. What she didn't know was that some city folk actually keep rabbits as pets including the nieces...

I've got 3 boys, ages 8, 6, and 3.

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I've got girls the same age. The 2 oldest know Eddie Eagle rules. Its about time to teach the young one.

Both also shoot a BB gun. Before they were able to touch the rifle they had to be able to recite the 4 gun handling rules. They really like having their own "cool" yellow shooting glasses.

I'm looking for a CZ 452 Scout .22 for a birthday present now.

We have an air gun shoot every Thanksgiving. Some of the family was not too sure about it at first but after they saw I was running a "strict" range and insisted on safety, order, instruction and fun they lossened up and became a cheering section.

I guess I started on cap pistols around age four or five? Lordy, that's so long back I'm not sure. I had a Daisy Red Ryder at age 7, but I'd alredy shot my grandfather's .22 rifle.

I guess my son was around age four when I first let him mess with my 1911. He agreed that it was too big for him. I told him that when HE thought he was big enough, yes, we'd go and shoot it.

He could hit okay with a Ruger Blackhawk, light loads, around age seven or so.

My main idea was to take the mystique out of the whole gun thing. No mysteries, no lure of the illict. Guns were merely tools, like saws and hammers. And since he got to help with "autopsying" deer, he easily understood that real guns weren't toys.

And there was never any problem at all.

Art

Henry has "grown up" with guns. Although all firearms ( and air rifles) are in the safe, he knows that at any time he can ask and we will pull out whatever and look at it and talk. He got his first bb gun at 7 and an air rifle after that. He learned at an early age about muzzle control and "the stiff finger" and always treated any "gun" be it air powered or a firearm like it was loaded. It is great watching him shift into a focused little man when we start shooting! He is 10 now and has a Mk2, a Henry youth LA .22 and a 10/22, the kid is a GREAT shot. By bringing him up with firearms I believe I am taking away the novelty. I think it is the novelty that gets kids killed in gun accidents. If a kid ever tells my son that "he knows where his dad keeps a gun" Hank isnt going to go see it. He recognizes that as trouble, and can go home and hold a MG if he wants. If they are old enough to start talking with about drugs, they are old enough to talk to about guns. ... my 2cents!

How old is old enough. When they are old enough to understand. 9 years old for my son was approaching too old when I told him and instructed him in the safety and the use of firearms.

Under strict supervision, my 19 month old daughter has been allowed to handle the unloaded guns that the hubby and I own that aren't too heavy for her to pick up easily.

Actually, I think it varies from one individaul too the next~! For example,
my 30 year old daughter learned at a very early age (3 or 4, I think?)
that firearms are off limits. As she got older and could understand plain
Ole' Gun Gospel (if you will), that if she wanted too look at a particular
firearm to let me know; and I would make it SAFE, and let her hold it~!
At 'bout nine she shot her first gun, which was a .22 rifle; and right at
14, she shot her first handgun.

Before teachers in Municipal indoctrination centers convince them guns themselves, are inherently evil!