Getting ready to be a new dad.

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I was a test monkey for child-proofness when I was a, well, kid. And according to my parents, I got through each of the "child locks." Then again, my parent's let me learn the hard way, if I insisted that stoves were hot (they did warn me, and stop me, but I was a persistant brat), corners could be painful to run my noggin into, and oh, yeah, it hurt to fall.

Protect kids from the truely nasty stuff, be there to guide them as well as you can, and patch up the bumps and scrapes as they happen.
 
I was a test monkey for child-proofness when I was a, well, kid. And according to my parents, I got through each of the "child locks." Then again, my parent's let me learn the hard way, if I insisted that stoves were hot (they did warn me, and stop me, but I was a persistant brat), corners could be painful to run my noggin into, and oh, yeah, it hurt to fall.

Protect kids from the truely nasty stuff, be there to guide them as well as you can, and patch up the bumps and scrapes as they happen.
Click to expand...

HA.. Thanks for painting that pleasant picture lol. Like I'm not vomitting nervous anyways, 4 more days!!!:barf:

Thanks for all of the tips guys and I lucked into having alot of the other things in my home already child "resistant" when I bought it. Previous home owners already had cabinet and drawer latches installed and outlet covers and so on.
 
I could always post the pictures my parents took of me after they found me at the end of a very sooty path that started in the (cold) fireplace. Why clean off your little munchin before taking amusing photos, right? :p

If it is any consolation, the fact that you are getting nervous seems to be common amongst first time parents, and is probably a good thing. Kind of like how I'd be a tad bit worried if my parent's were at least a bit concerned when I got a motorcycle. Or when I signed up for the military. I'd more worried about a truly unconcerned first time parent. Just have 5 kids, and I promise you will be old hat, and well practiced.

...

Or in a straight jacket.:evil:

BTW, you're welcome! (Says the young, unmarried, unattached bachelor living out of hotel rooms) ;)
 
A few tips based on raising my sons...
  1. Everything that can go *bang* inside my house is secured or on my person. That's #1 to childproofing a house
  2. I've never had any issues with carrying whilst holding my kids. The only time I don't carry with them is when it's time for a tickle-fight, then I put what I have on inside a GunVault safe.
  3. What time you start depends on the kid. My oldest son (6) has no interest in guns. I'll still teach him how to shoot this year, but I can tell it's not his thing. My youngest son, (4) is constantly talking about guns, and will pantomine out an IPSC stage with his Nerf guns. He could probably shoot now, but I want to wait just a bit first.

The important thing to remember is that your kids come first, not your sport. I met a guy at a match last week who shoots IPSC four times a week. That means two nights a week and every Saturday and Sunday, he's out shooting. I appreciate his passion, but what effect is that having on his family?
 
I started my boys at seven years at the outdoor range.
The DNR guy gave us a hard time & got off our back after we helped him on a project.
As others here we started on a .22 single shot.
that was 37 years ago--time flies.
My 2 boys & I will be going rifle shooting tomorrow.
This is the first time in 18 years that all 3 of us have been able to go together to the rifle range. It's a 70 mile drive now but well worth it.
Take good care of that baby---I know you will-----------------:):):):):)
 
Congratulations, first off. Becoming a father is a life changing experience in many ways.

Get plenty of sleep, eat well, and enjoy the baby while he/she is young and immobile... Things tend to get a little hairy when the little ones start running around, I know. I'm going through it with my son now, and I'll have a new little girl the first week of January as well (scary, I know!)

I only have 2 guns right now (4 if you count pellet guns). One stays on my hip at all times and I let my son see and touch it but only when holstered (no access to trigger) or unloaded with no ammunition in the room. I don't want it to be a mystery and don't want my son's curiosity piqued by hiding it from him. My CO2 pellet pistol has a full magazine and a pellet in the chamber for pest control, but is kept well out of reach and sight of my child. The pellet rifle and the .22 are kept in the open, but again out of reach of my child as well as being unloaded, safe, and disabled in some way or another. (I remove the bolt from my .22 and the pellet gun must be pumped at least 3 times before firing... he can't even lift it much less generate the 20+lbs of force required to pump it)

My EDC remains on my person at all times, loaded and chambered but I won't hold my son if I'm not carrying in a holster.

Those are just my methods of childproofing my guns until I can "gunproof" my children.
 
I saw a web site maybe a year ago which gave a very detailed step-by-step method for gun-proofing kids. It was a long read, but seemed to be very well thought out. It wasn't just a list of safety rules, but more of a program you would work through with your kid over a period of time which eventually involved him handling and shooting the gun. I believe it was written by a woman.

I thought I had saved it to share with my friends with guns and kids, but can't find the link. Any idea which site I'm referring to?

Thanks!

David
 
As a father of six, I guess I could help...

I started them out as soon as they could walk and talk...

They started with water guns. Practicing safe gun handling and setting up sight picture, trigger control, and such.
Then with airsoft replicas.
Then on to the Daisy and Crossman .177 bb guns.
After that it's trigger time on a .22 lr
Next came the big stuff.

The youngest is 7 and the oldest is 16, they all have their own .22lr that will go with them when they leave home...

Not one of my kids "play around" when it comes to firearms, but they sure do have a ton of fun using them...

As to the baby getting at your CC gun, don't worry about their little fingers being able to work a safety and/or a trigger untill they're older, worry more about what baby drool and other newborn body secretions will do to your gun when that gets on it...
 
I can't remember exactly how old the kids were, but they knew even at a very young age that guns are Daddy's tools and we don't play with them. I've never even let them play with toy guns or point fingers at each other as if to "play guns."

When it came to shooting, we started out with an airsoft 1911 that actually fired in semi-auto mode. It was magazine fed and the slide cycled so there even a little "recoil" to deal with. .177 pellet guns were next on the list. Kids were about 6 and 9. Moved up to a .22 rimfire a couple of years later.

Now the kids are 15 and 18. Both have their "own" guns. 15 year-old has a Romanian 1969 .22 trainer, Ruger 10/22, and Colt/Umarex M4 .22 rimfire. He likes the bolt-gun the best. 18 year-old has a Marvel Unit 1 on a RIA frame. She also has a Romanian .22 trainer but doesn't care for it. Likes pistols more than rifles. They don't care to shoot centerfire ammo which is OK with me. Saves me money.
 
Here's my take on things:

1. No matter how much training you give your children.....remember that they are children...not miniature adults. Kids will do stupid things. Have full control of your firearms at all times. It's either on your person.....or in the safe.

2. Add "Rule 5" to your "Four Rules of Gun Safety". Rule 5: When others are home, keep your firearm holstered. Only unholster if needed for self-defense. (Do your cleaning and dry-firing when no one else is at home.) The holster (a good one that is) can act as a extra "safety" preventing accidental discharge. The whole notion that " the only safety I need is between the ears" ignores Mr. Murphy.
 
Well guys this isn't gun related but... The Baby is here!!!

She was 8 lbs and 3 ounces! Beatiful baby girl, my heart melted when I first heard and seen her.

Thanks for all of your advice guys.
 
The day my son was born, I left the hospital and bought him a Ruger Mk II with a bull barrel. It stayed in my safe, and when he was old enough to start showing an interest in firearms I told him it was his. He knew he had one and he knew it was in the safe. He started to learn to shoot about 6 or 7. He is now in the army and owns almost as many guns as I do. He still has that Ruger. He can knock the hair off a fly at 100 meter! Great shot. My duaghter never showed an interest until this year, even though I tried. Her birthday was in July and when asked what she wanted for her B-Day this year she told me a "Pink gun". I asked why and she told me that I'd gotten Justin a gun and she wanted one. So away we went to the local gun shop. We picked out a pink Walther P22 and headed to the range. I was on my last day of leave and was headed back to Afghanistan the next day. She had never fired a weapon in her life (she's 17) and out of 200 rounds she only missed 10! It was one of the proudest days in my life!!! She was great at handeling a weapon. She observed all the saftey training that we went over before going to the range, handleing it the right way and was shooting! She knows that it's in the safe and that while I'm gone she cant shoot it. Now, if I can just get my wife to learn to shoot! I think that's a lost cause!!!
 
The beauty of having a newborn, besides the things already mentioned, is that you will be carrying around a diaper bag. What that means is you can CCW a larger easier to shoot handgun and more ammo :).

Congratulations on being a new Dad.
 
LeonCarr said:
The beauty of having a newborn, besides the things already mentioned, is that you will be carrying around a diaper bag. What that means is you can CCW a larger easier to shoot handgun and more ammo :).

Congratulations on being a new Dad.
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Congratulations to the OP!
I still use my 5 yo son's diaper bag (more of a backpack, really) for CCW to the pool. Those pockets in the front for bottles and juice cups work really well with a S&W 642 in an Uncle Mikes IWB holster w/ a clip.
 
Congratulations on your impending fatherhood! It will be the greatest ride of your life . . . just don't expect it to end when your kids leave home.

I only have only one pearl of wisdom. First, always--absolutely always--make sure your guns are secured. Speaking as one who grew up on a farm, where guns were a part of our everyday existence and as one whose parents made sure I knew the rules, I still screwed around with them. Yep, I remember distinctly standing precariously on top of a recliner in the family room and reaching up to the top of a valance to grab the little Beretta .25 that my dad kept there.

It was loaded. I screwed around with it. Multiple times.

I guess I was smart enough not to shoot myself or anything else, but these memories have certainly had an impact on my thinking as a parent.
 
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Congrats on Fatherhood!!!

Well congrats on the new child! It's a girl!! buy a shotgun!

Ok all seriousness and jokes aside. For pistols I love my v-line pistol safe. Stack-on makes a great rifle safe and you can get it with a key lock or a combo (electric or manual) and they are about 130 -140 for a safe that will hold 3 or 4 rifles and ammo and maybe a pistol or 2.

My son just turned 4 a few weeks ago. I frequent the front-sight videos and online info and my boy has watched with me since he was 2. I clean my weapons in front of my child and when he asks questions I tell him what the parts of the weapon are and that they are not toys and must never be touched.
My boy doesn't listen well enough for me to be comfortable teaching him to shoot yet. Also I don't own a .22, just my 1911 and a lever gun and a 7.62 I keep away from home for just in case.

Buy more diapers than you think you will need. Buy clothes on Ebay because they grow to fast to justify the prices for new baby clothes that will only fit 2 months! and try to nap when the baby does.

congrats and remember to always use common sense, no one knows your baby better than you and your better half. your best judgement is all you can use. and try to enjoy it as much as you can, they grow like weeds and before you know it your baby will be 4 or 5 LOL.


OG
aka
John
 
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