Seeking advice regarding Kids and Guns

[wqbang]

Background:

I have two sons, 3yrs and 1 yrs old. The 3 year recognizes pistols and rifles. He also knows that they are not to be touched and that they are not supposed to be pointed at people. We have shot cans and targets and he has been present. He also has pretend "pistols" that he makes out of random objects and "shoots" cans with them. Firearms Safety is taken very seriously in our household and I will be using Eddie Eagle and moving toward formal firearms training when the boys show the requisite maturity. I consider marksmanship with rifle and pistol an essential skill for all children.

My dilema:

It's not television (not much television in our home period). It's Airsoft. There is 25 acres behind my place and the owner allows neighborhood boys to play on his property. I have played there as well with teenagers from my church's youth group. It is great fun and have 3 airsoft guns myself. I am not against "toy" guns and my boys will likely get toy guns when they show maturity.

A few weeks ago I get a call from my wife while at work. It seems as though my son is very interested in what is going on behind our house and why the boys aren't shooting "cans".

1. Realistic Guns
2. People shooting people.
3. It is "real life".
4. Son is three and is still in a formative time where perception and reality cannot be easily distinguished.

Is this something I need to let pass and simply not make a big deal over? I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Please no comments if they are not constructive.

 

[Slinger]

Every child has different levels of understanding. Perhaps if you explained to him the difference between an Airsoft gun and a real gun, and that the boys behind your home are playing a game (Airsoft). The game has saftey rules and equiptment to help prevent injury. If you are morally apposed to using guns in this way (some parents don't like kids to play "war")I think this would be a fine time to explain that to him at this time. Since you obviouslly play the game yourself you could tell him when he gets older he can start playing too.

 

[Bitmap]

What Slinger said. It also seems like a good time to take the kiddo out to shoot some cans in the back yard with the Airsoft "guns" you have.

I think most kids at 3 years old are well able to understand that there are differences between real guns and toy guns and to understand that they can play games and do other stuff with toy guns that they cannot do with real guns. They still need guidance as to what is a real gun and what is a toy but they can understand that there is a difference.

I also think it is probably time you let him pull the trigger on the .22 himself instead of making him watch.

 

[OAKVILLE SHOOTER]

My son is five. I started him out shooting .22lr at two years old. He has his own BB gun, .22lr rifle, and I got him a lever action .17HMR for Chistmas. He also has water pistols, cap guns, rubberband guns, etc. He plays war, cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, etc. He is more than capable of recognizing the difference between toy guns and real guns, and he has been doing this very well since he was three-three and half. I realize that there is a big difference in a toy gun and airsoft, but like Slinger said, explain the difference to him. You may be surprised that he understands just fine.

You may also try shooting oranges or melons with airsoft, then shooting them with a real firearm so that he can see the difference in destruction.

 

[OAKVILLE SHOOTER]

Bitmap posted while I was typing. I also agree with getting him some trigger time with a .22lr. My son uses a Henry Mini-Bolt. Crickett and Chipmunk are also about the same size. they will still be a little big for him, but from a bench with a bag under the front should work just fine.

 

[Mr White]

My boys are 13 and 11 now and grew up around me and my guns. They learned from a very early age that there is a huge difference between real and play, be it guns, cars, fighting, whatever. Until they were old enough to fully grasp this concept, the guns were locked away from them. I took them shooting and showed them the water jug and water-filled pumpkin lessons, and drilled safety into their heads from about age 4 onward.

Now they are older, they have airsofts of their own and regularly have wars with them with their friends. They go shooting with me and have been through firearms safety training with 4H. I don't worry as mucch about leaving a gun sitting the vise in my workroom if its just my kids around. If they have friends over, I lock my workroom. I trust my kids, but not necessarily their friends.

 

[mekender]

my 8 year old shoots my full sized .22 all the time... i need to get him a youth rifle... as for a 3 year old... i dunno, that seems a little young to know the difference between toys and real guns... im sure he will be fine once his parents start teaching him responsible shooting practices

 

[ROMAK IV]

Just take him out and show him the difference between Airsoft and "real guns". Even with airsoft, there are precautions that must be taken to insure no one is hurt, just as there are precayttions to be taken with real guns. I'm not sure if a 22lr is real gun enough to illustrate the difference.

 

[gunsmithgirl]

My kids are ages 6,4,3,& 6 months. The older 3 all know the difference between real guns and toy ones. I have my kids treat their airsoft guns as real ones, they are very responsible with them. They have better gun handling safety than some of the customers who come in my shop.

 

[chipperi]

You may also try shooting oranges or melons with airsoft, then shooting them with a real firearm so that he can see the difference in destruction.

I was thinking the same thing. Kinda this is your brain this is your brain on drugs commercial. Visuals are very powerful to children.

 

[akodo]

Assemble a fake gun in the same way your son does.

Tell him "this is a toy, it is not a real gun" Then tell him. Those boys are playing with toy guns, but it is a BIG BOY GAME. You are not allowed to touch the BIG BOY TOY GUNS. Then take him out to see a jr high athletic event. Again, tell him that it is BIG BOY GAMES. Or show him boys riding bikes, tell him that those are BIG BOY BIKES and he will be able to ride one when he is older, but now his bigwheels is all he can ride.

Growing up on a farm, I have just a few recollections of being 3-4 years old. I recall seeing other humans I recongnized as kids and not adults doing 'stuff' that looked like fun. Example would be a 12 year old driving a tractor. I wanted to do it too! It wasn't fair! I was told that I had to be a 'big boy' first, that I wasn't old enough. Dang, I wanted to be a 'big boy'. It is an important concept youngens need to learn, that they are still real little, and even stuff other kids are allowed to do, they might not be.

I think this can actually enhance his understanding of guns, and other things. Getting his first "big boy bike" will be a right of passage, same with his first 22 rifle that's really his, etc.

 

[Commander Guineapig]

might be good to keep the concept of airsoft and toy guns away for a time...until he is old enough to distinguish between the two. (that's your call there!)
My dad raised me and my brothers with guns. We had the fear of God put into
us by dad so that we'd not even THINK of touching the guns when he wasn't around. He always told us what real guns did do, and could do, and were supposed to do. I often remember him telling us stories of kids who shot their friends by accident with an "unloaded gun" and to this day people handling guns around me unsafely makes me feel...nervous at best.
We were not allowed to play with toy guns until I was almost 13.
By then the difference was very clear in my and my brothers minds.
Toys are for running around in the back yard yelling "bang bang bang" just like the B&W war movies. Real guns were for hunting, target practice, and home defense. Never were the lines blurred in my mind.
It's hard to say for every kid, but I know for us we were shown and taught about the REAL thing before we ever were able to play with the toys. The BB gun was my first gun, a Red Ryder at that...and my dad made me as careful with that as I was with a .22 rifle. I'm not sure what age a kid starts to comprehend the difference...but once they do, and they REALLY understand it, it's not been a big deal in my fam of 6 kids.
I might add that although I was raised with guns, war movies, and in my teens good shooter games, but my dad's first lessons set the standard with how I handle real firearms. And the war movies were not overly graphic (read Pre-1970). We were taught that shooting someone is a very serious thing that is not at all like the movies. It was taught to me that the actors got up and went home, but in real life people die and get buried and are gone forever. That includes "uh-ohs" with a family member in front of the muzzle. I loved my fam, and I still do and it made me careful. I might have disliked my brother sometimes, but I didn't want him gone forever.
To this day, I like good shooter games. I like good war movies.
But I don't play Rainbow 6 around the house with my Sig. Nor do I get crazy at the range. I was taught safety, not flippancy.
All 6 kids turned out fine. I attribute this to my fathers' teaching us the RIGHT way to do things, and the RIGHT way to handle firearms. And a few really darn good spankings. when I needed them. Which was often.
GP

 

[DZL HOG]

Much like many of the members here I grew up around guns also. I was told and understood that I was not allowed to touch them without someone else around. The guns in our house were never "locked" out of reach of me or my older sister, but we knew we would get an azz whoopin if we handled them with no one around.
I remember one time at my granddads house he had his Colt 1911(same one I have with me as I type) sitting on the counter, he saw me looking at it and told me the size of the hole it would put in someone if I used it incorrectly and I should not touch it. I got the message, and still remember it. That was some 15yrs ago, whatever you tell em, they will understand and respect that. Especially if they know the consequences.
I was the youngest(9yo) in my class when I took my Hunters Edu Course. The instructor told my dad that I scored just as well as many of the older students that took the course.
I also never had a BB gun, b/c I would not have been allowed to take it out on my own. My first gun was a 20ga Mossberg, that I was only allowed to handle with dad around.
Just make sure they understand the difference in playing and real life. Im not too fond of the Airsoft and paintballin myself, mainly for the reason this thread is about. I would think an uniformed child would look upon those acts and see it as fun or "ok" to do. Not knowing those guns are different from the gun in dads gun cabinet.
Accidents happen, but breaking a lamp while playing football in the house is way different than shooting a sibling with a "real" gun while playing cops and robbers.

Matt

 

[brentn]

This is real tough because he is not going to clearly understand the real difference between an airsoft pistol and a real one. You have done an incredible job showing him gun safety and airsoft could destroy that training because he is too young to understand the real difference.

I mean if you start showing him an airsoft gun he needs to understand the actual differences. This goes into detail with the different types of actions, ejecting of magazines, things that he will need to know in order to understand what is airsoft and what is not.

What you want for your son is to pick up a pistol, and check it safely to determine if its airsoft or if its real. Thats the key, and its, IMO, too hard for a 3 year old to understand.

I would keep him away from airsoft until he is more mature and understands firearms/airsoft more clearly. In the meantime you have to tell him something, but I would tell him that "they are training with fake guns" in which that will make it clear that its ok. You'll know when he's ready when;

If he's going to play airsoft he needs to be shot by one, he's going to be hit sooner or later if he plays, but when you think its ok for him to be shot by an airsoft pistol then you'll know he's ready to play.

just my two cents.

 

[REPOMAN]

Thanks

wqbang, Thanks for this thread..... I have a 3 1/2 yr old who is very interested in shooting real guns w/ daddy...... This thread helped me alot...

 

[Mr White]

You may also try shooting oranges or melons with airsoft, then shooting them with a real firearm so that he can see the difference in destruction.

That won't be effective. He still won't grasp the difference because he won't be able to relate an orange to any personal experience. What you need to do is to take him to the range and shoot him in one leg with an airsoft and in the other leg with a .22. Then show him how small a .22 is compared to other rounds. He'll understand that because a child understands bigger/smaller relationships and physical pain. He may scream for awhile, but he'll thank you for it when he's older.

 

[wqbang]

The times I have taken my oldest out to his Grandpa's farm to shoot, he did not want to hold or be near the rifle - so I didn't push the issue.

All three year olds are different - physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. I am not sure that my son at this time is able to distinguish between toys and real. The real difficulty here is that airsoft guns look EXACTLY like the ones on daddy's hip.

Thanks for the advice so far. The perspectives are good.

 

[jamz]

I would tell him that there are "toy" guns, and "real" guns.

Toy guns people play with, and sometimes try to shoot each other, as you might with a disk gun or rubber band gun. the kids out back are "playing" with "toy" guns.

Real guns are for grownups, do not touch, eddie eagle, etc. This is what Daddy carries.

Tell him that he can't tell what is a toy and what is real yet, so everything should be treated as "real". If he thinks he can tell, test him (safely) with some small guns, polymer guns, airsoft guns, etc.

 

[Waitone]

Children age 3 are beginning to use logic. Problem is they are literally minded. Example from my own life. Mommy says while sitting on the couch, "I have a splitting headache." Juniorette hears about mommy's splitting head, runs over to mommy and says, "Can I see?"

You taught your kids to never point a firearm at someone, no qualifications. Junior sees kids playing in the back doing what? Pointing guns at each other; something you said never do. Tilt!

As mature adults you can reasonably put qualifications on rules which are perfectly sensible to you. Junior doesn't have the mental development to comprehend the meaning. Airsoft is a distinction that involves understanding the difference between hard and soft and what that difference means when hard and soft projectiles are propelled at high speed toward humans much less analogs like melons and pop bottles. Junior just doesn't have the software necessary to draw the distinctions you draw with no trouble.

Better play is to reinforce your position to tell junior what the other kids are doing is something you will not allow. You didn't say it was wrong; you just say you won't permit it for Junior. Then later on deal with the distinctions.