Training your kids...

C-pher

They sometimes only see their own ignorance and can't see common sense.


Yea, and it's funny how some of the people will look at me weird. When I tell them that there's really no such thing as an "accidental" shooting. That if all kids knew gun safety like they were taught when I was young....they would know that you don't play with them.

Then they ask how old was I... I tell them that I was 6 when I got my first .22 and you get that... "I hope that I don't live next to you." I just either let them go on their way. Or I will respond, "Why? My kids will be a lot safer than the any one else on the block." If they get snarky I'll even add, "And if my kids were around yours and there was a gun...I'll bet that they would be safer because they know to get an adult and not play with them." But I usually leave that one out because I don't like to tell people they don't know how to raise their kids.

To each their own. And like you said...sometimes they can't see the forest through the trees.


If you are in a state that requires licenses, make sure she gets one - one that covers ALL your guns.

In other words, if you have handguns or "large capacity" long arms in MA, she needs an LTC; not a mere FID card. She will then be fully legal to own guns if YOU cannot, due to death, incapacity or loss of license.

Man, I've been BEGGING my wife to get her LTC. But she doesn't even like to look into my safe when I open it... I have to pray that I have trustworthy friends that will keep them until my kids are older...

MAN I need to write up a good will....our family lawyer keeps asking who do we want to watch our kids before he's comfy to move forward with it... And that's a harder question to answer than who to hold my guns. LOL!
 
I have been shooting since I was old enough to hold a gun (Thanks to my dad).

I own and have owned many different guns. I got my LTC when I was 16 through a loohole in the law (That I do not believe is there now.) I could not buy a gun from a dealer but I could from a private party, and yes I could buy ammo...You should have seen the look on the face of the gun shop owners faces when I went in to buy ammo.

I now have a daughter of my own, not quite a year old. When she is old enough she will learn about guns. I would love for her to become so type of professional shooter (No not a hitman or a spy, Daddys Dream) but I am ok with it if she doesn't even like them. But she will respect them and know how to be safe around them.

My wife does not have an LTC, but we have talked about it as a part of of getting prepared for the rest of our lives. She is willing to take the course and get her license so that in the event of something happening to me she would get to keep my guns for my daughter and so that if something ever happened she could "legally" defend herself in the house.

I am a instructor, I could have her sit in on one of my classes and give her the certificate but I feel that it would be a conflict of interest so I will be finding her another instructor to do the class for her.

Maybe we can work out a class for all those significant others who are not "gun" people to take it together somewhere so that they will all feel like they have something in common??
 
If you are in a state that requires licenses, make sure she gets one - one that covers ALL your guns.

In other words, if you have handguns or "large capacity" long arms in MA, she needs an LTC; not a mere FID card. She will then be fully legal to own guns if YOU cannot, due to death, incapacity or loss of license.

I'm a certified Ma**h*** so I kind figured that was the way it would have to be done. Thanks for the advice Scrivener
 
Cannot find it in writing but I was under the impression that under age 11 firearms other than air rifles should not be used by kids due to lead exposure (this may be range not hunting)
 
I had my brother in-law and 6 year old son in town and asked them to come to the range the other day. My brother in-law is a gun owner and had taken his son shooting one other time, but we still went over the operation of my guns and range rules for good measure. We started him off with a ruger 22/45 and he did a fine job using a rest to help keep the gun stable. We moved him on to my 5 inch 38 with some downloaded 38 special again using the rest and he was hitting an 8 inch circle at 30 feet. So I had my AR with me and asked his father if it was ok if he shot it, he approved and we set the little guy up with the red do sight. The whole time he was shooting I was on his right side stabalizing the guns on the rest while he aimed and shot. His father was on his left sideand we were watching him very carefully. He was very good about keeping his trigger finger out of the trigger to the point that he would take aim move his finger in and realize he was aimed wrong and remove it to re-aim. I saw another member look over with a strange look on his face but ignored him. On our way out we stopped to wash up and I could here some conversation going on between the other member and my brother in-law. When I asked him what the guy said he told me the guy asked his son if he liked shooting to which he replied yes (NO SHIT) and he then looked at my brother in-law and said "You could have waited until he was at least fifty punds." I found this out after the fact and was pretty pissed. I thought the kid was safer than most of the members that I see around the club and I don't think he shot anything that he was not capable of shooting. He displayed great safety skills and very good trigger control and outshot his father with the AR hitting bulseyes at 50 feet. I hope the guy was just not used to being around kids.
 
My $.02

I started my boy when he was six with the traditional Daisy Red Ryder. We went over the first four rules and when he had them down pat we gave him the BB gun for his birthday. We had some real fun plinking cans and clays in the backyard for awhile and I took him to the range a couple of times and let him shoot a couple of my .22's.

I've tried to take the mystery of firearms out of the equation by telling him he can handle or shoot anything I own whenever he asks (within reason) and I am present. We've gone over the reasons why both Mommy and Daddy carry and why its not a good idea to tell others if we own guns, have a pistol on us at the time, what we have and especially where we keep them, even to those of his friends whose parents own firearms. - This was/is a tough concept for a kid to grasp but to his credit, he understands.

I've taken him out hunting a couple of times (Always going over the concept of a "safe shot". ) and he liked it enough to write an essay on his experience as a homework assignment about a trip we took last year. ( I was expecting a call from the school on that one but it never came. - Life is different outside the hub.[smile] )

Both my wife and I have told him when he consistently shows safe handling skills he will be rewarded with a .22 of his choice.

*Teaser alert*
Boy, is he gonna be one happy kid when he opens his birthday present next month.No, I ain't telling...
 
My 2cents. I have nephews. One is 15, one is 10 and the other two are under the age of 6 so I don't feel it's appropriate yet. The two older ones, however, are taught to dissamble my gun and put it back together. They watch me clean it and know that they can handle them so long as they know the rules.
1. Never aim it at anybody.
2. I always have to be around.
3. Always clear the weapon.

The idea is that if you take away the awe of weapons but still teach them to respect them, they won't sneak behind your back and think it's "so cool" to show their friends. Just my humble opinion. They know they can "play" with it whenever they want. So, they don't have to break the rules.

What worries me is that my older nephew took a look at my revolver, and handed it back to me saying "cool". He looked at it for all of fifteen seconds. I remember when I was 15, you couldn't tear a gun away from me. I told him I'd take him to the range the moment he reaches 18. I don't have land to take him somewhere to shoot and I can't take him to the range unless his mom takes him and that takes too much effort. LOL.
 
Cannot find it in writing but I was under the impression that under age 11 firearms other than air rifles should not be used by kids due to lead exposure (this may be range not hunting)

You raise a very interesting point. When I was a kid (not all that long ago), the amount of lead exposure which was permissible (at least around my house) was a lot higher than what I'm willing to allow my kids to come in contact with. Maybe it's just paranoia, but when I see how much lead gets smeared on my fingers while loading up .22LR magazines, I'm amazed to think that I did the same thing as a young kid. I'm starting to think that keeping a package of handi-wipes in my range bag is probably a really good idea.

My $0.02: I'm planning on bringing my daughter to the range when she's ~8-9. Old enough to understand the principles of safe gun handling and to begin appreciating the art of marksmanship. Young enough to (hopefully) still enjoy going out with Dad, and to (hopefully) not have yet been completely brainwashed by the public school propaganda (which I remember all to well).
 
The only "child proof" items in our house are the doorknob devices we've put on a few doors that we don't want him into (ie. The cellar stars and the closet that has all the chemicals.)

Beyond that, it's vigilance and training.

I've seen some out of control kids and vowed never to allow that. So far, so good. (^_^)
 
when my kid gets older (now few months old). I will allow weapons laying around in my house. All it takes is discipline and respect. plenty of those 2 at early ages, will lead onto a good life, with out those how are we going to live?

I dont care about child proof bs.... No means no right? I'd never would want to get my kid tempted into anything. I believe that when a kid sees a lock or some sort of closet that they are not allowed to go in.... they will be tempted from time to time. Eventually something will happen and i wouldn't want that. heck, i'll teach, play with my kid and have him become adrenaline junkie aswell. ahaha
 
I grew up with the rifles hanging on the walls, the ammo next to it. I shot my first rifle at about 6 or 7. No one ever touched the rifles without permission but we all knew if we felt threatened by an animal or person to pull one down and load her up! I grew up in a very rural area of Maine and Mom and Dad weren't always around because they WORKED to provide for 8 kids and usually one or two extra whose parents couldn't be bothered themselves.

My husband and I recently got licensed. My son probably 'handled' his first gun 6 years ago (he's 10 now) with his uncle (no wise cracks here). We do have a BB gun and love to shoot them darn rodents (squirrels) off my bird feeders. Used this to teach him the safety rules. He knows how to keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction and keep his finger off the trigger until he's ready to shoot. He also knows the difference between a real gun and a toy. We just bought a Marlin 22 bolt action for him to learn with. As soon as we get our membership approved he'll be down there with us all the time shooting as long as he acts responsibly and listens. The minute he stops listening he stops shooting until he can listen.
 
Growing up, I always knew were the guns were. No locks, no trying to hide it.

At an early age (I don't even remember when) my dad started me in the back yard with a BB gun and the Sunday Comics. I remember enjoying shooting at Bluto in the Popeye comics particularly. (^_^)

I never remember a time that I didn't understand what a real gun did and what TV guns were. There were just certain things in the house that you NEVER touched. Guns, Booze, dad's hunting knives, etc. You want to see them, just ask. Never a mystery, never a draw.

And I grew up knowing there were two levels of rules. One level you get punished and another level you simply never wanted to know the consequences.

+1 That's pretty much the way I grew up. My parents never believed in "child proofing" the house. There were breakable things within easy reach all the time, and my dad's .38 sat in his unlocked desk drawer with a box of cartridges. I think we all knew exactly what "No" meant (and that it was almost always a permanent injunction) long before we could walk. I stopped shooting for close to 10 years during the 70's when it had lost its fun, and didn't have any of my guns in our house. When I noticed my son showing some curiosity, I turned it back on again, bringing in all the guns and taking him and his younger sister shooting. They too could see and handle the guns any time they wanted just by asking. Even thinking about touching them under any other circumstances risked unimaginable horrors.

Ken
 
Title 17-A: MAINE CRIMINAL CODE
Part 2: SUBSTANTIVE OFFENSES
Chapter 23: OFFENSES AGAINST THE FAMILY
§554. Endangering the welfare of a child

1. A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child if that person:
A. Knowingly permits a child under 16 years of age to enter or remain in a house of prostitution; [1991, c. 672, §1 (NEW).]
B. Knowingly sells, furnishes, gives away or offers to sell, furnish or give away to a child under 16 years of age any intoxicating liquor, cigarettes, tobacco, air rifles, gunpowder, smokeless powder or ammunition for firearms; [1999, c. 11, §1 (AMD).]B-1. Being the parent, foster parent, guardian or other person having the care and custody of the child, cruelly treats that child by abuse, neglect or extreme punishment; [2001, c. 429, §1 (AMD).]
B-2. Being a parent, foster parent, guardian or other person responsible for the long-term general care and welfare of a child under 16, recklessly fails to take reasonable measures to protect the child from the risk of further bodily injury after knowing:
(1) That the child had, in fact, sustained serious bodily injury or bodily injury under circumstances posing a substantial risk of serious bodily injury; and
(2) That such bodily injury was, in fact, caused by the unlawful use of physical force by another person; [2005, c. 373, §1 (AMD).]
B-3. Being the parent, foster parent, guardian or other person having the care and custody of the child, knowingly deprives the child of necessary health care, with the result that the child is placed in danger of serious harm; or [2005, c. 373, §2 (NEW).]
C. Otherwise recklessly endangers the health, safety or welfare of a child under 16 years of age by violating a duty of care or protection. [1991, c. 672, §1 (NEW).]
[ 2005, c. 373, §§1, 2 (AMD) .]
2. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that:
A. The defendant was the parent, foster parent, guardian or other similar person responsible for the long-term general care and welfare of a child under 16 years of age who furnished the child cigarettes, tobacco or a reasonable amount of intoxicating liquor in the actor's home and presence; [1991, c. 672, §2 (AMD).]
B. The defendant was a person acting pursuant to authority expressly or impliedly granted in Title 22; or [1991, c. 672, §2 (AMD).]
C. The defendant was the parent, foster parent, guardian or an adult approved by the parent, foster parent or guardian who furnished a child under 16 years of age an air rifle, gunpowder, smokeless powder or ammunition for a firearm for use in a supervised manner. [1999, c. 11, §2 (AMD).]
[ 1999, c. 11, §2 (AMD) .]
3. Endangering the welfare of a child is a Class D crime, except that a violation of subsection 1, paragraph B-2 is a Class C crime.
 
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