What’s Really Responsible for the Deaths of Our Nation’s Children?
This is part of a four-part blog series addressing Children and Guns. Part I – want to ensure your kid never commits a crime? Give him a gun. Part II addresses myths of gun safety – what you must know in order to truly protect your children. Part III addresses when it is safe to educate your child on firearms. Part IV explores what’s really responsible for the death of our nation’s children. If you enjoy what you read, please comment and share on your blog or Twitter. Thank you.
This is the final part in a series I’ve been writing on Children and Guns.
I’ll start right off with answering the question, “What is Really Responsible for the Deaths of Our Nation’s Children?” This is specifically posed to the deaths that result from guns being inappropriately used by children, and not all of the other more deadly causes of death discussed in Part II of this series. The answer is the somewhat naïve position that parents take regarding “toy guns” and the entertainment that we expose our children to. Allow me to show you why this is indeed the case.
As you well know, the media and overwhelming political powers have successfully positioned in the minds of caring parents that children and guns simply don’t mix--when in fact, children and guns collide whether you like it or not. In this regard, the only decision you really get to make is if you prepare for it by making this a positive concert or a deadly clash.
The other night I was at a family gathering watching 12 raucous boys ranging in age from 3 to 12 in the back yard. There were all kinds of “boy toys” back there such as foam swords, balls, and even a plastic gun. I was livid however, when one of the boys picked up a toy gun and began “shooting” his cousin with it. Clearly this child has not been taught anything about the proper use of guns in his environment (Yes, I did intercede and took the moment to educate…not that it will do any good unless it’s reinforced in his home as well).
Let me speak plainly. While I firmly believe and have even provided you with statistics that guns are not the “bad guy”, and are not the killer that the media and political diatribe would have you believe, they still are—100%—to be fully respected and confined to their proper perspective.
It may sound odd to some parents to know that my husband and I—who are avid shooters and in full support of their use for self-defense—have agreed that we will not have ANY toy guns in the home. A child’s desire to play with a toy gun is merely a mimicking and acting out of what he has seen on T.V. or at his friend’s home. However, the creation of toy guns is actually our nation creating a promise for disaster. In actuality it’s downright shocking that more deaths of children combined with guns do not occur. Think about it. A perfectly dangerous combination exists with all of the inconsequential violence that your children are subjected to in video games, movies, and other social activities, combined with the fact that there are over 300 million legally held guns in the U.S. and over 73 million children under the age of 18. So if we were to actually believe the picture that the media feeds us, shouldn’t there be MORE deaths involving children
and guns? I mean seriously, if the media painted overeating and refined sugar as the villains that they really are the same way they portray guns in the presence of children, we’d have a very different health status in our American youth. It’s hard to uncover any other way that children die which receives more focus by the media in America. Regardless, one life lost unnecessarily is too many in my opinion, especially when it truly is so easily avoidable. The key aspect of this problem is that our nation has come to accept a dichotomous position, yet the two sides of this position simply cannot coexist and still foster gun safety with children.
There’s NO Such Thing as a “Toy” Gun
It defies logic to think that we can simply teach children that “play” guns are acceptable but “real” guns are not, when “play” guns always instill the physical action of pointing and shooting! Parents have an even tougher challenge in this regard when we consider that “play” guns are expertly mimicking the appearance of real guns today. Parents, you simply cannot have it both ways. You can’t successfully have a world of toy guns and a world of real guns. Remember, you can’t control what your children will find outside of your home. The rules for guns need to be consistent, and deliberate whether it’s a “play gun” or a “real gun.” Teach your children that there’s no such thing as a “toy” gun. Non-real guns can be used to teach skills, safety awareness, etc. But every gun your child comes into contact with should be viewed with the same safety rules and respect as a gun which shoots real bullets and can take another’s life, otherwise it’s playing Russian Roulette in it’s truest form. There’s too much else that your child is exposed to which is relentlessly fighting against your message to your children of gun safety. As such, you can’t afford for there to be any confusion on the subject. You are either going to teach your children unequivocal truths about gun safety, with no exceptions, or you are going to fail miserably. Does this mean that you shouldn’t teach you children how to shoot, how to clean a gun, how to hunt, how to enjoy shooting sports, and how to defend themselves? Absolutely not. In fact, quite to the contrary.
When a child is old enough to pick up a toy gun and begin playing with it, this is the perfect time to take him into the education process of teaching him the REAL world of guns. Start teaching him how to clean them. Teach him the safety rules, all of them, again and again. Take him shooting. Take him to a REAL gun training class (like the kind that Women of Caliber offers to children 5 and up with a parent present). My husband and I even bought our niece a BB gun when she was 5 (with her mother’s permission, of course) and taught her how to shoot it. Bottom line, you can’t successfully outlaw all guns, period, because of what they will be exposed to elsewhere. So you’ve got to educate them with one set of rules which applies to all guns.
From the beginning of the 1800’s and through the 1970’s you rarely heard of accidental shootings with children. Why? Because the combination of gun usage and children was a necessary and integral way of life for a significant portion of our youth during that time. Children had to regularly learn to shoot on their farms, for hunting, in sporting events, and yes, even to defend themselves. Don’t you recall the abundance of “children” that attempted to enlist during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and even World War I? It was also custom at the time that when a boy turned 4 years old, he was taught how to shoot rabbits to put food on the table. Additionally, children were not exposed to the kind of “entertainment” and pervasive television like they are now either. Guns weren’t vilified during these years as they are now. Think about it. Our nation lasted over a century without this prevalent kind of problem in our midst. Why is that? Because guns had their proper, respected place in society.
I wholeheartedly encourage parents to teach their children about guns, consistently, and to be sure that their rules apply to ALL kinds of guns. This will ensure your safety and that of your children in many more ways than one.
Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.
This is part of a four-part blog series addressing Children and Guns. Part I – want to ensure your kid never commits a crime? Give him a gun. Part II addresses myths of gun safety – what you must know in order to truly protect your children. Part III addresses when it is safe to educate your child on firearms. Part IV explores what’s really responsible for the death of our nation’s children. If you enjoy what you read, please comment and share on your blog or Twitter. Thank you.
This is the final part in a series I’ve been writing on Children and Guns.
I’ll start right off with answering the question, “What is Really Responsible for the Deaths of Our Nation’s Children?” This is specifically posed to the deaths that result from guns being inappropriately used by children, and not all of the other more deadly causes of death discussed in Part II of this series. The answer is the somewhat naïve position that parents take regarding “toy guns” and the entertainment that we expose our children to. Allow me to show you why this is indeed the case.As you well know, the media and overwhelming political powers have successfully positioned in the minds of caring parents that children and guns simply don’t mix--when in fact, children and guns collide whether you like it or not. In this regard, the only decision you really get to make is if you prepare for it by making this a positive concert or a deadly clash.
The other night I was at a family gathering watching 12 raucous boys ranging in age from 3 to 12 in the back yard. There were all kinds of “boy toys” back there such as foam swords, balls, and even a plastic gun. I was livid however, when one of the boys picked up a toy gun and began “shooting” his cousin with it. Clearly this child has not been taught anything about the proper use of guns in his environment (Yes, I did intercede and took the moment to educate…not that it will do any good unless it’s reinforced in his home as well).Let me speak plainly. While I firmly believe and have even provided you with statistics that guns are not the “bad guy”, and are not the killer that the media and political diatribe would have you believe, they still are—100%—to be fully respected and confined to their proper perspective.
It may sound odd to some parents to know that my husband and I—who are avid shooters and in full support of their use for self-defense—have agreed that we will not have ANY toy guns in the home. A child’s desire to play with a toy gun is merely a mimicking and acting out of what he has seen on T.V. or at his friend’s home. However, the creation of toy guns is actually our nation creating a promise for disaster. In actuality it’s downright shocking that more deaths of children combined with guns do not occur. Think about it. A perfectly dangerous combination exists with all of the inconsequential violence that your children are subjected to in video games, movies, and other social activities, combined with the fact that there are over 300 million legally held guns in the U.S. and over 73 million children under the age of 18. So if we were to actually believe the picture that the media feeds us, shouldn’t there be MORE deaths involving children
and guns? I mean seriously, if the media painted overeating and refined sugar as the villains that they really are the same way they portray guns in the presence of children, we’d have a very different health status in our American youth. It’s hard to uncover any other way that children die which receives more focus by the media in America. Regardless, one life lost unnecessarily is too many in my opinion, especially when it truly is so easily avoidable. The key aspect of this problem is that our nation has come to accept a dichotomous position, yet the two sides of this position simply cannot coexist and still foster gun safety with children.There’s NO Such Thing as a “Toy” Gun
It defies logic to think that we can simply teach children that “play” guns are acceptable but “real” guns are not, when “play” guns always instill the physical action of pointing and shooting! Parents have an even tougher challenge in this regard when we consider that “play” guns are expertly mimicking the appearance of real guns today. Parents, you simply cannot have it both ways. You can’t successfully have a world of toy guns and a world of real guns. Remember, you can’t control what your children will find outside of your home. The rules for guns need to be consistent, and deliberate whether it’s a “play gun” or a “real gun.” Teach your children that there’s no such thing as a “toy” gun. Non-real guns can be used to teach skills, safety awareness, etc. But every gun your child comes into contact with should be viewed with the same safety rules and respect as a gun which shoots real bullets and can take another’s life, otherwise it’s playing Russian Roulette in it’s truest form. There’s too much else that your child is exposed to which is relentlessly fighting against your message to your children of gun safety. As such, you can’t afford for there to be any confusion on the subject. You are either going to teach your children unequivocal truths about gun safety, with no exceptions, or you are going to fail miserably. Does this mean that you shouldn’t teach you children how to shoot, how to clean a gun, how to hunt, how to enjoy shooting sports, and how to defend themselves? Absolutely not. In fact, quite to the contrary.
When a child is old enough to pick up a toy gun and begin playing with it, this is the perfect time to take him into the education process of teaching him the REAL world of guns. Start teaching him how to clean them. Teach him the safety rules, all of them, again and again. Take him shooting. Take him to a REAL gun training class (like the kind that Women of Caliber offers to children 5 and up with a parent present). My husband and I even bought our niece a BB gun when she was 5 (with her mother’s permission, of course) and taught her how to shoot it. Bottom line, you can’t successfully outlaw all guns, period, because of what they will be exposed to elsewhere. So you’ve got to educate them with one set of rules which applies to all guns.
From the beginning of the 1800’s and through the 1970’s you rarely heard of accidental shootings with children. Why? Because the combination of gun usage and children was a necessary and integral way of life for a significant portion of our youth during that time. Children had to regularly learn to shoot on their farms, for hunting, in sporting events, and yes, even to defend themselves. Don’t you recall the abundance of “children” that attempted to enlist during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and even World War I? It was also custom at the time that when a boy turned 4 years old, he was taught how to shoot rabbits to put food on the table. Additionally, children were not exposed to the kind of “entertainment” and pervasive television like they are now either. Guns weren’t vilified during these years as they are now. Think about it. Our nation lasted over a century without this prevalent kind of problem in our midst. Why is that? Because guns had their proper, respected place in society.I wholeheartedly encourage parents to teach their children about guns, consistently, and to be sure that their rules apply to ALL kinds of guns. This will ensure your safety and that of your children in many more ways than one.
Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.
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