Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Gun Safety for Preschoolers

Gun ownership is on the rise....
especially here in  Cowboy Country!
So, even if your family is one
that does not own a gun
or endorse gun ownership,
it would still be a good idea to
educate your kids
about guns
and gun safety!
Grace knows the basics.
 
3 Rules
 
#1: Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
#2: Always keep a gun pointed in a safe direction.
#3: Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
 
I've taught her these and will work to reinforce them
from time to time, but the most important thing
I want her to know is that if she sees a gun,
she is not to touch it. She needs to tell an adult
RIGHT AWAY! Don't wait, because waiting could
allow the gun to get into the wrong hands.
The adult needs to put the gun away and out
of reach of little ones.
 
But - it's one thing to know what to do,
and quite another thing to do it!
So, we've been practicing.
 
For practicing, I bought this BB Gun.
It has to have BB's and CO2 to make it work
and I don't have those available, so it's perfectly
safe to use as a "dummy gun".
It also looks very, very real!
When Grace was her last I left it on the
ottoman we use to store DVD's in.
Right out where I knew she would see it!
When she spotted it she jumped back, threw her
hands in the air and yelled, "GUN!"
She didn't touch it. She did exactly what
she was supposed to do and grabbed her
baby sister and held her back until I could get
the gun and get it put away.
THEN - she got a prise from the prize box,
for doing the right thing!

She chose a Memory Game!
And she wanted to play it right away!
So we played game after game
and she beat me time after time!
She took a picture of me, losing!
And I took a picture of her jumping
up and down from the excitement
of a win!
(this kid loves to WIN!)
But really, I feel like a winner, anyway!
My sweet little grand daughter is
a little more prepared to keep
herself safe in the future.
And for those of you who don't like
guns at all - think of it like this.
Few of us like fires,
yet we do fire drills.
We practice getting out of
the house although we never
really expect to become the victims
of a fire. We prepare.
It's pretty much the same thing.
I don't expect anyone to leave a loaded
gun within reach of a child.
But accidents happen.
We all have careless moments.
And a child is way more likely to be exposed
to a loaded gun than they are a fire.

4 comments:

  1. I believe in teaching children...it just seems a shame some of the things we have to teach them..now that the world has changed. But teach we do, and then think how much is too much...it's never enough. Your g.daughter is very smart. Smiles to all, Susie

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  2. I am your newest follower. I am glad I found you. Ellie

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  3. Sound advise-I grew up that way so guns are to be respected not to be toys.
    Ellie

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  4. Our friends lost their son to a gun that they thought was unloaded. He was 8 years old and they never "recovered". So sad-- xo Diana

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