Daily Defense 3-14: Teaching Children Firearm Safety

Deciding to introduce children to firearms, when to do it, and how to teach them gun safety is an extremely important decision for parents. Of course, you want to share your love of firearms with your kids, but any firearm activities with children must be AGE-APPROPRIATE. Kids need to be mature enough to understand the consequences of a negligent discharge. Don't hit them with too much information too fast. Break it into "bite sized" pieces kids can handle and develop a timeline that introduces them to firearms gradually and constructively.

 

Start with SAFETY. Have them learn and memorize the four cardinal Rules of Gun Safety. Memorization doesn't mean comprehension. But after they know the rules, you can teach kids what they MEAN and how the rules relate to them. The NRA's Eddie Eagle program is a big help here: If the child finds an unattended firearm, they are to STOP, don't touch it, leave the area immediately, and go tell an adult. This system really works, as Jeff illustrates with an experience involving his own son.

 

Teach kids the names of the parts of a gun and how to identify them. Then introduce them to firearm operation - loading, unloading, performing a safety check. Finally, visit the range to actually shoot a gun. A small, single-shot .22 rifle is great for kids to shoot at that first range session.