All in all not bad, but the author still shows the typical activist attitude that one is too many. It doens't matter if the subject is gun accidents, DUI, smoking etc. Some people will not accept that as long as there are people and the thing they want to ban, bad things will sometimes happen.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...dline=Parents+are+key+to+ending+gun+accidents
Parents are key to ending gun accidents
08/23/2004
When it comes to children and guns, there is some good news to report: According to a national study published in June in the journal Pediatrics, the rate of fatal and nonfatal injuries inflicted by guns on children 14 and younger declined by more than 50 percent in the 1990s.
But as promising as that statistic may sound, it is far from good enough. From 1993 through 2000, the study revealed, 22,661 children in that age group were treated in hospital emergency rooms in the United States for nonfatal injuries caused by a firearm. In four out of five cases, the injuries were inflicted by the child, a friend, a relative or another person known to the child.
During that same period, 5,542 children died of gunshot wounds. More than half of these deaths were homicides, 22 percent of them were suicides and the rest were accidents.
A study published in May in Pediatrics revealed that each year about 3,200 children who survive gunshot wounds are permanently disabled as a result. So, despite the decline, firearm injuries to children remain a serious public health concern, and the sooner American families and communities recognize this and do something truly constructive to counter it, the better.
Gun control at home
More than three-fourths of unintentional firearm injuries to children occur in private dwellings. In most cases, that means children got their hands on a loaded gun in their own home or the home of a friend or relative. And that means guns in people's homes are not properly stored - separate from their ammunition, with locked triggers, in locked cabinets unusable by children.
There have been some broad efforts to teach children or their families how to prevent youngsters from gaining access to a loaded gun, and some of those initiatives have been the subject of research. But not one has succeeded well enough to be declared a public-health victory.
Since 1988, the National Rifle Association has underwritten the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, which uses age-appropriate activities to teach children safe ways to behave when they encounter a gun. Its basic tenets are: "Stop. Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult."
Since its introduction, the NRA program has been presented to about 15 million children nationwide and is used to teach firearm injury prevention to 700,000 children each year, said Michael B. Himle, Dr. Raymond G. Miltenberger and fellow psychologists at North Dakota State University. But as they noted in the January issue of Pediatrics, developers of the NRA program "offer little evidence concerning its effectiveness." As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics is discouraging its use until its value can be documented.
The psychologists at North Dakota State compared the NRA program with one they devised that taught 4- and 5-year-olds behavioral skills to prevent firearm injuries. Although the children were able to repeat the lessons in supervised role-playing after the sessions, "learning these skills is of limited value if the child does not use them in real-life situations," the team wrote. The authors suggested that such lessons were best taught at home, where most gun-related injuries occur.
A broader approach
At the University of North Carolina, Dr. Tamera Coyne-Beasley and colleagues devised a community-based firearm safety program for adults that included distribution of gun locks and instructions on how to use them. Through an advertising campaign, the team recruited 112 adult gun owners, 58 percent of them with children living at home.
Before undertaking the program, "Love Our Kids, Lock Your Guns," the researchers were astonished to find that participants with children were more likely to store their weapons unlocked and loaded than were participants without children.
The six-hour program was held in a shopping mall parking lot, where participants completed a questionnaire about their gun storage practices. Based on the responses, each participant then received 10 to 15 minutes of individual counseling from a firearm safety instructor.
For example, if the participant said the gun was kept at home for protection, the instructor suggested alternatives.
A packet of information on firearm safety was provided to each participant, and a video was shown about improper gun storage and the dangers of firearms. Each participant then was given up to four gun locks free of charge, with instructions on how to use them, and a T-shirt with the program motto.Finally, a raffle was held for a gun safe.
In a follow-up survey six to 12 months later, the researchers found that "few participants were willing to get rid of their firearms." Only 6 percent of participants, including 10 percent of parents, said they had disposed of their guns as a result of the program.
But of those who retained their guns, "only 7 percent, down from 18 percent, said they were storing their guns loaded and unlocked."
As many as 77 percent of participants, up from 48 percent, reported storing their guns in a locked compartment, and 72 percent said they used the gun lock. None who used the lock said they had any difficulty using it, and some asked about where they could get more locks.
Those who used locks also reported unloading their guns and storing them in a locked compartment. And participants with children were more likely to lock their guns than were participants without children.
In addition, 88 percent of participants with children, up from 28 percent, said they had asked their friends and family members about their gun ownership and storage practices.
As the North Dakota State team concluded from its program to teach children safe gun practices, child-based programs must be accompanied by parental education. "Parents," they wrote, "are the first line of defense for children, and programs that are designed to increase parents' safe storage of firearms are a must."
Jane Brody is a New York Times columnist.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...dline=Parents+are+key+to+ending+gun+accidents
Parents are key to ending gun accidents
08/23/2004
When it comes to children and guns, there is some good news to report: According to a national study published in June in the journal Pediatrics, the rate of fatal and nonfatal injuries inflicted by guns on children 14 and younger declined by more than 50 percent in the 1990s.
But as promising as that statistic may sound, it is far from good enough. From 1993 through 2000, the study revealed, 22,661 children in that age group were treated in hospital emergency rooms in the United States for nonfatal injuries caused by a firearm. In four out of five cases, the injuries were inflicted by the child, a friend, a relative or another person known to the child.
During that same period, 5,542 children died of gunshot wounds. More than half of these deaths were homicides, 22 percent of them were suicides and the rest were accidents.
A study published in May in Pediatrics revealed that each year about 3,200 children who survive gunshot wounds are permanently disabled as a result. So, despite the decline, firearm injuries to children remain a serious public health concern, and the sooner American families and communities recognize this and do something truly constructive to counter it, the better.
Gun control at home
More than three-fourths of unintentional firearm injuries to children occur in private dwellings. In most cases, that means children got their hands on a loaded gun in their own home or the home of a friend or relative. And that means guns in people's homes are not properly stored - separate from their ammunition, with locked triggers, in locked cabinets unusable by children.
There have been some broad efforts to teach children or their families how to prevent youngsters from gaining access to a loaded gun, and some of those initiatives have been the subject of research. But not one has succeeded well enough to be declared a public-health victory.
Since 1988, the National Rifle Association has underwritten the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, which uses age-appropriate activities to teach children safe ways to behave when they encounter a gun. Its basic tenets are: "Stop. Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult."
Since its introduction, the NRA program has been presented to about 15 million children nationwide and is used to teach firearm injury prevention to 700,000 children each year, said Michael B. Himle, Dr. Raymond G. Miltenberger and fellow psychologists at North Dakota State University. But as they noted in the January issue of Pediatrics, developers of the NRA program "offer little evidence concerning its effectiveness." As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics is discouraging its use until its value can be documented.
The psychologists at North Dakota State compared the NRA program with one they devised that taught 4- and 5-year-olds behavioral skills to prevent firearm injuries. Although the children were able to repeat the lessons in supervised role-playing after the sessions, "learning these skills is of limited value if the child does not use them in real-life situations," the team wrote. The authors suggested that such lessons were best taught at home, where most gun-related injuries occur.
A broader approach
At the University of North Carolina, Dr. Tamera Coyne-Beasley and colleagues devised a community-based firearm safety program for adults that included distribution of gun locks and instructions on how to use them. Through an advertising campaign, the team recruited 112 adult gun owners, 58 percent of them with children living at home.
Before undertaking the program, "Love Our Kids, Lock Your Guns," the researchers were astonished to find that participants with children were more likely to store their weapons unlocked and loaded than were participants without children.
The six-hour program was held in a shopping mall parking lot, where participants completed a questionnaire about their gun storage practices. Based on the responses, each participant then received 10 to 15 minutes of individual counseling from a firearm safety instructor.
For example, if the participant said the gun was kept at home for protection, the instructor suggested alternatives.
A packet of information on firearm safety was provided to each participant, and a video was shown about improper gun storage and the dangers of firearms. Each participant then was given up to four gun locks free of charge, with instructions on how to use them, and a T-shirt with the program motto.Finally, a raffle was held for a gun safe.
In a follow-up survey six to 12 months later, the researchers found that "few participants were willing to get rid of their firearms." Only 6 percent of participants, including 10 percent of parents, said they had disposed of their guns as a result of the program.
But of those who retained their guns, "only 7 percent, down from 18 percent, said they were storing their guns loaded and unlocked."
As many as 77 percent of participants, up from 48 percent, reported storing their guns in a locked compartment, and 72 percent said they used the gun lock. None who used the lock said they had any difficulty using it, and some asked about where they could get more locks.
Those who used locks also reported unloading their guns and storing them in a locked compartment. And participants with children were more likely to lock their guns than were participants without children.
In addition, 88 percent of participants with children, up from 28 percent, said they had asked their friends and family members about their gun ownership and storage practices.
As the North Dakota State team concluded from its program to teach children safe gun practices, child-based programs must be accompanied by parental education. "Parents," they wrote, "are the first line of defense for children, and programs that are designed to increase parents' safe storage of firearms are a must."
Jane Brody is a New York Times columnist.
