Every parent asks themselves this question.
If you're lucky enough to be brought up with firearms around,
this probably isn't a big deal for you.
However, within the last five years, more Americans are
first-time gun owners with little to no experience.
This can be a challenging issue for a parent, trying to find
that balance between safety, having firearms in your home and on
your person.
I am a former marine and carry every day.
So naturally my five-year-old daughter has always been around
guns.
She started to ask questions about them around age three.
Being curious about seeing dad cleaning them and one always on
my side, she wanted to know what they were.
There is no magic age when children are ready to be introduced
to firearms.
If you're a parent, you know that some children mature faster
than others.
The best thing to do is start them when you feel they can
respect the weapon for what it is capable of.
If you try it and see signs that they are not ready, don't be
disappointed.
Just give it some more time and try again. It's better to wait
until they can safely handle a gun than risk an accident.
Gun Safety is a Must
And a huge part of ensuring your family’s safety is
keeping your guns in good working order.
I found some great videos to help you maintain your
firearms.
The American Gunsmithing Institute has been training gun
owners how to maintain and repair their firearms for 20
years. They have video courses on over 100 specific
firearms.
Take a minute and see if they have training for yours:
http://survivallife.com/gun-safety
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One mistake a lot of parents make with guns when it comes to
their kids is that they make them so off limits they end up
accomplishing just the opposite of goal.
Let me put it this way- if you tell a child not to do something,
what do they do quite often?
The child will do exactly what you said not to.
The best way to cure their curiosity is to make sure they know
never to touch them without your permission but at the same time
can see them if they simply ask.
Removing this "forbidden fruit" and showing them the destructive
power they possess can prevent an accident.
When I was about eight years old, my father took me out to the
field behind our house and set a gallon jug of punch on a fence
post. He then took his .357 magnum (that I'd seen him carry
practically every day) and shot it.
It completely destroyed the jug and sent red punch everywhere.
He then said to me, "Son, now that's what can happen to someone
you care about if you play around with them, but you also know
we need guns for things like your dad getting meat for us to eat
and for people like policemen to keep us safe from the bad guys,
right?"
This may seem like a dramatic or morbid way to teach a child
about gun safety, but I'll tell you one thing- I never forgot
that...
Read on here.
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