How and when you teach children firearm safety might not be something you think of as a “fun” topic. Sadly, many people only own a firearm for self-defense; they do not enjoy the shooting sports, or even recreational plinking. This means young people miss out on a lot of fun, and adults who did not grow up around firearms only have a “danger” umbrella under which to place their understanding of guns. That seems like a very dark filter from which to look at guns.
Here are ways to bring our family’s understanding of firearm ownership and use of them into a positive framework.
Building a Framework to Understand Guns and Their Usefulness
If every adult looked at guns only as something needed to protect himself or herself, or their family, from imminent danger, it could seem contradictory for one to suggest, “guns can be fun.”
However, there are many tools in the modern world that make things better for humanity, even if they, too, can be dangerous when used improperly or in an unsafe manner. For example, it’s dangerous to drive cars, operate chainsaws or run power tools—but we use them and we teach children about them. Even the internet holds dangers, but we still teach children to use it.
Guns are another tool. They secure food when used for hunting, and they can secure our person and property by means of creating an equality of force. Guns give the user a level of power that can stop a threat.
To use them safely, we should be capable and competent. We need to understand their power and function. But that understanding doesn’t have to be dark or some topic about which we don’t speak.
Gun ownership should be accompanied by training. Training means being capable of using and handling the gun you own. The type of training you take part in will depend on your reason for owning a gun. But understanding the basics of safety should be universal to all gun owners. And if you want your children to understand how to conduct themselves around firearms, giving them safe, hands-on instruction in firearm safety is a must, even if you do not have a firearm in your own home.
Avenues to Teach Children Firearm Safety
There are as many opinions on teaching children about firearms as there are methods of teaching. Here are a few ways to incorporate teaching firearm safety into family time.
1. Very small children and toddlers. Young children are generally not able to use reason the same way that older children and adults can, but they are able to understand danger. This is why you must lock firearms when you have small children; no amount of instruction can overcome their inability to reason. We teach them that fire is bad (but we don’t show them how to light fires), we teach them not to play in the car (even though they see us drive), and firearms should be the same. We must teach them that this tool is NOT for children. Teach them to get an adult if they see a gun. Never touch it. Don’t let other kids touch it. There are resources like Eddie Eagle videos, but if your toddler is curious about what mom or dad are doing, explain it to them like you would some other dangerous tool.
2. Children “old enough to know better.” It is a common belief that the “age of reason” is about 7 years old. Usually most children of this age are capable of understanding right and wrong, and concepts like life and death. Children at this age should still be taught that firearms are not for them. They should be taught to never handle one without an adult. But they can start to understand their utility.
Children often play with make-believe toy guns. They might turn sticks into “guns,” and even children of parents who do not own guns engage in this type of play. It’s such a common tool in the media, that they will likely see them, even if not in real life.
Parents should ensure that their children’s first experience with a firearm is in their presence, so that they can instill respect for the dangers inherent in such a powerful tool. You can teach them about why you personally use them and how you use them. Hopefully they’ve had the excitement of going to the range with you or sitting in the deer stand, or going squirrel hunting. This is a great age for BB guns and soda cans and learning the basics of firearm safety while doing something fun.
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This is also a great age to instill a sense of responsibility, to teach children that we have freedom to care for ourselves by using a gun to hunt, or to protect our family, but in many parts of the world, people do not have that ability to provide food and safety. It’s a great conversation to have with young kids about the “big picture” of life—what’s important and worth protecting? What’s our job as parents and what will be their job when they have children?
3. Pre-teen to Teenager to Young Adult. This age group is where big strides can be made in positive gun ownership. It’s also a risky time if your children have never had exposure to guns. No parent wants their child to encounter a gun unlocked, in a friend’s house, having never learned about them ... but teens are exploratory and old enough to be home alone. They might pose more danger to themselves than a toddler if they are not taught firearm safety from a young age.
Teens that come from a family that owns guns for hunting or sport have probably taken a Hunter Safety course and likely already know how to shoot. In past decades, teenagers used to go hunting in the early mornings and store their firearm in the car they drove themselves to school in. This is a part of American history that’s not too far gone. even in the 80s and 90s there were high school shooting teams where kids shot .22 rifles in the school gym! And high school shotgun sports are big! “Today, the USA Clay Target League has nearly 1,500 school-based competitive shotgun teams across the country and is 100-percent school approved.” In 2022, just the USA Clay Target League saw “31,688 student-athletes are competing” and they introduce over 10,000 NEW students each year. This tells you that not only do teenagers have the mental and physical ability to handle guns and understand them, but the numbers also show that teens and their families find shooting sports very enjoyable!
For teens and pre-teens, it’s not unreasonable to switch out “family game night” for family range night, or maybe even investing in something better than a board game, like a Mantis dry-fire training tool. These tools are great for introducing new participants to the shooting sports, but are also useful for teaching someone new to firearms the basics of safety. How much easier is it to understand “jerking the trigger” than by seeing a laser on the target suddenly snap down in your field of view—and having an app on your phone that shows you all the movement made before, during and after the trigger was pulled!
You don’t have to spend too much money to enjoy time with firearms with your children. Some of my fondest memories of learning about sight picture and trigger control were made with friends in our basement with old school BB guns and targets made from the plastic farm animals every family in the 80s owned. As kids we established our own “range officer” with the older kids enforcing the firing line, making sure all were wearing safety glasses, and ensuring everyone set guns down as we ran “downrange” to reset our targets. We even recycled as we picked up all the BBs on the basement floor so we could shoot again.
Firearms do not have to be dark and shrouded by the fear of needing to use one for self-defense. There is a whole world of shooting sports and enjoying the outdoors with your family and friends while hunting, plinking, and just having fun. Some kids race dirt bikes, some kids shoot shotgun sports or USPSA. Have conversations with your kids and family so they understand that safety comes first, but then as they master safety and skills, there’s a whole world of enjoyment with firearms in which to participate.
