jr_roosa
Member
MBT:
22 months is almost a two year old. From a medical perspective, I'd start to get concerned if a kid isn't running by then. They wallk and talk (one word at a time) and get into EVERYTHING, and EVERYTHING is a potential toy: pots, pans, garbage, boxes, dog poop, guns, EVERYTHING.
Also, if we're wondering if the kid shot and killed himself, we're assuming the barrel was pointing at his head/chest/pelvis at the time...probably not a traditional one-handed bullseye grip. My 9 month old could probably do the job with a toe in the trigger guard, god forbid. Any way you cut it, somebody without the requisite maturity (22 months or 22 years or both) got hold of a gun.
My baby can barely crawl, but I lock up all the guns and ammo. It's not that she might get into them, but that there's an ever so slight chance that somebody else (company's kids? the plumber? who knows? who cares?) might get into them and do something dumb.
I advise all my patients who have guns and a baby to lock up the guns. Start when the baby comes home and you'll be good at it by the time they start digging though your closet. It's a matter of epidemiology: not that many kids get shot by home invaders, but lots of kids shoot themselves (accidentally or suicide), shoot each other (accidental or homicide, in or out of the home), or are shot by family members or other adults they know (accidental or homicide).
Sure, there's the argument that a locked-up gun can't protect you. I put that argument in with "I don't wear a seat belt because I might have to jump out of the car when it catches fire after a horrific accident." There are good ways to secure a gun so that you can get to it quickly but nobody else can.
-J.
Post-script: I want to qualify what I wrote about advising patients before anybody jumps down my throat about seat belts or gun locks. If somebody comes to me and asks me what the best strategy is to stay healthy longest, or to keep their kid healthy, then the correct answer is lock up your guns, wear your seatbelt, and don't smoke, and those are the answers you'll get from me all day every day and twice on Sunday. What you do with that advice is up to you.
22 months is almost a two year old. From a medical perspective, I'd start to get concerned if a kid isn't running by then. They wallk and talk (one word at a time) and get into EVERYTHING, and EVERYTHING is a potential toy: pots, pans, garbage, boxes, dog poop, guns, EVERYTHING.
Also, if we're wondering if the kid shot and killed himself, we're assuming the barrel was pointing at his head/chest/pelvis at the time...probably not a traditional one-handed bullseye grip. My 9 month old could probably do the job with a toe in the trigger guard, god forbid. Any way you cut it, somebody without the requisite maturity (22 months or 22 years or both) got hold of a gun.
My baby can barely crawl, but I lock up all the guns and ammo. It's not that she might get into them, but that there's an ever so slight chance that somebody else (company's kids? the plumber? who knows? who cares?) might get into them and do something dumb.
I advise all my patients who have guns and a baby to lock up the guns. Start when the baby comes home and you'll be good at it by the time they start digging though your closet. It's a matter of epidemiology: not that many kids get shot by home invaders, but lots of kids shoot themselves (accidentally or suicide), shoot each other (accidental or homicide, in or out of the home), or are shot by family members or other adults they know (accidental or homicide).
Sure, there's the argument that a locked-up gun can't protect you. I put that argument in with "I don't wear a seat belt because I might have to jump out of the car when it catches fire after a horrific accident." There are good ways to secure a gun so that you can get to it quickly but nobody else can.
-J.
Post-script: I want to qualify what I wrote about advising patients before anybody jumps down my throat about seat belts or gun locks. If somebody comes to me and asks me what the best strategy is to stay healthy longest, or to keep their kid healthy, then the correct answer is lock up your guns, wear your seatbelt, and don't smoke, and those are the answers you'll get from me all day every day and twice on Sunday. What you do with that advice is up to you.
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