Q: How can parents keep their kids safe around guns?
A recent study found that there are between 192 and 200 million privately owned guns in the United States and more than 33 percent of all U.S. homes have at least one gun. With those numbers, you have to assume that your children could run across guns, according to Paradise Valley Hospital pediatrician Albert Pepka, M.D.
Anyone who owns guns needs to be very careful, Pepka says. “Guns are dangerous tools, just like power saws or automobiles. Various devices, including safes and gun locks, exist to safeguard guns. If you simply store a gun on the top shelf of a closet, you are taking a chance. Kids explore. They know the secret places.”
Gun safety should be foremost in the minds of all parents—even those who do not own guns. “I encourage parents to start educating their children about guns at a very young age,” he says. “When their child is 18 months old, I give parents a National Rifle Association handout to get them thinking about storing [guns] safely so kids do not come into contact with them haphazardly.”
Prejudices against gun ownership can actually put a child at risk. “A child who was never taught about gun safety or respect for firearms who then finds a gun is probably more likely to pick it up and imitate behaviors seen on TV or in video games,” Pepka says. “It simply becomes an object of curiosity for a child. Never assume that kids understand the difference between a real firearm and a toy.” Before you send your child to anyone else’s home, get to know the parents. Visit yourself and look for dangers—an unfenced pool, a vicious dog—and ask if guns are stored in the home. For more tips on understanding gun safety, visit the National Rifle Association’s Eddie the Eagle GunSafe program or contact the Scottsdale Gun Club at 480-348-1111.
