Kids & Gun Safety
There IS Power in Knowledge.
Most people keep their kids away from guns all the time, PERIOD!
This is a big problem for a number of reasons;
1. A child unfamiliar with guns finds one and has no idea how to handle it safely or what to do with it. This is a sure recipe for disaster. These are the stories you hear on the news about a child shooting and killing a sibling or himself. This should never happen.
2. A child (I’m talking teenager) who does not know how to handle a firearm during a home invasion or other incident, might end up on the wrong end of the gun. I’ve read many news stories of teenagers who’ve used a firearm to defend their homes and their families.
3. In a survival situation if a child suddenly has to use a firearm to provide food for the family and they don’t doesn’t know the basics of sight- alignment, sight-picture, and trigger press, they’ll find themselves wasting valuable ammo trying to get ‘good’.
We all know someone that as a kid, they grew up with guns.
There’s a lot of us out there like that and we take our knowledge of guns and safety and pass is on to other family members.
The worlds largest army is right here in America and those that would wish us harm know this. The quote, “There would be a gun behind every blade of grass” for any army that might attack us on our home turf is true. It’s estimate there are 12.7 million hunters in America and that doesn’t include people that have firearms for self-defense, recreation or collecting!
Teach Your Kids Gun Safety
When my Grandson was just 4 years old, I started off with the Eddie Eagle NRA program and taught him, “Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave the Area, Tell an Adult”
We use mnemonics to help children remember how to be safe.
Some popular sayings no only for children are ‘Stop, Drop, Roll’, and ‘Stop, Look, and Listen. We use mnemonics to help us remember and it’s no different with guns.
Stop!
Don’t Touch!
Leave the Area!
Tell an Adult!
I tell people in class, a gun that’s been altered by someone who didn’t know what they were doing can cause the gun to fire all by itself.
This is why we follow the Four Universal Gun Safety Rules:
1. All Guns Are Always Loaded!
2. Never Point The Gun At Something You’re Not Willing To Destroy.
3. Never Put Your Finger On The Trigger Until You’re Sights Are On The Target And You’ve Made The Consience Decision To Fire.
4. Be Aware Of Your Target And What’s Behind It.
Teaching our children the responsibility of firearms handling I believe, should be taught in school.
We teach our children how to evacuate during a fire, how to cover during an earthquake, and how to run and fight if a stranger tries to abduct us. We should teach them gun safety.
We teach our kids to not to play with fire, not to mess around with electricity, and how not to injure ourselves by doing something stupid.
Firearms are no different.
Teach your kids gun safety and to appreciate the power and utility of firearms!
My first grandson used to go with me a lot to the indoor range. We brought his coloring books, ipod, and other items to keep him busy while I practiced on the range.
There was a window where he could look in and see me and it became very routine for him to go with me.
Then a year later, it was his turn.
Being on the range gave him excitement and the feeling, “I finally get to shoot!”.
He had already been shooting .22’s, but this time it was for real, a real defensive cartridge to fire.
He acted like, “Yeah, I’ve seen this a hundred times….I got this!”
I put one round in a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, properly position myself to his firing side and had him slowly press the trigger.
The look on his face was priceless! The shock and dismay surprised him. Firing a powerful handgun was WAY MORE DIFFERENT than seeing it!
He’s now grown and has handgun skills that at times, will challenge my capabilities!
He has also announced he has signed up and is going into the Marines! I’m very proud of him!
On a final note for the parents, I offer FREE gun safety classes for children under the age of 18.
This is giving back and the responsibility of those parents who want their kids to know gun safety strikes a good chord with me and thus I offer them for free!
Contact me about my ‘Kids and Gun Safety’ classes.
Rick Cross
Be Safe Firearms Instruction
