gun safety and children

Al.ginger · Jul 29, 2011

If you think in advance, 10-year-old will be a teenager soon with all their rebellious attitudes. and he will know about gun. definitely no!

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

I can't find any scholarly references that agree or disagree with me, and certainly nothing that points to it being developmentally inappropriate.

Weird question, might be trying to throw you off with the firearms. Nothing appears developmentally inappropriate though.

momto2j's · Jul 29, 2011

I would concentrate on the developmental aspect. Find assessment tools that talk about what is reasonable for a 10 year old. Think about brain development and the capcity of a 10 year old to reason and make choices. Is a 10 year old able to understand the long term implications of choices. Maybe use Eriksons or Piaget and draw some conclusions about what they would think??

I would compare learning to operate a gun to learning to operate a car. Both have deadly implications. Our policy makers have made it clear that a 10 year old should not operate a car even under close supervision.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jul 29, 2011

I grew up around guns, and from earliest childhood I was taught how to handle them with respect, as well as when NOT to handle them (which was anytime an adult wasn't available to supervise). I remember plinking away at tin cans and old lightbulbs perched on fenceposts with a .22 when I was still in grade school.

The guns, ammo, and cleaning equipment were all kept in a built-in gun cabinet in the living room, and to the best of my memory I cannot remember a time it was ever kept locked up; we lived on a farm, and sometimes a firearm would be needed in an emergency such as when a coyote attacked the chickens. But I never once opened that cabinet, let alone touched the guns, without my parents' OK; firearms were simply tools, like a pitchfork or a tractor, and nobody made a big deal about them.

It might benefit everyone if we went back to that attitude, IMHO. When something is forbidden, it takes on a certain intrigue, and that's when we get into trouble. Although I must say that forty or fifty years ago, firearms were not viewed as a symbol for everything that's wrong with the world, and they weren't abused like they are now........I just don't see anything wrong with teaching the average 10-year-old what guns are for nor how to use one, so long as they've got their normal complement of adult support in place and they can be made to understand why firearms must be respected. :twocents:

Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

Have you tried searching on Ebscohost? I've found a few resources that you might be able to use. Though, most of the ones I've sifted through are biased in certain directions (but what scholarly paper isn't?).

I grew up around guns, and from earliest childhood I was taught how to handle them with respect, ......

If I could give you 10,000 kudos right now I would. :up: However, this is a debate left for another day.

RKpianoman, APRN · Jul 29, 2011

Good luck finding a "scholarly" source that thinks anyone without a badge should have a gun. It took me over 5 hours last year to find a source that even mentioned the benefits of firearms education for kids....I can normally whip out a 10 page paper with a full reference page in that amount of time.

But, EBSCOhost and CINAHL are both pretty much the best out there.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 29, 2011

There are very few "scholarly" resources on this that are truly "scholarly", meaning "well-researched" and without bias. There is a professor at UC Davis that does his studies and he's biased towards no guns. There's John Lott who is biased pro gun. As stated above, your best bet is to look at developmental issues and cultural issues.

I think you'll find that developmentally, kids and young teens lack the decision-making skills to handle firearms (or any other dangerous item) without adequate adult supervision. Boy Scouts aren't allowed to start fires without having been trained and observed for a while, using fire safely.

I think you'll also find some societal/cultural issues as well. Those kids that live in homes where firearms are just a tool, like a rake or spade and aren't to be played with tend to be safer around firearms because there's no mystery about them. Where guns are kept locked away and are treated like a forbidden item, there's an allure to them...

But for good, academically rigorous, unbiased studies? I doubt that you'll be able to find many, if any.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Jul 29, 2011

If you think in advance, 10-year-old will be a teenager soon with all their rebellious attitudes. and he will know about gun. definitely no!

That is nonsensical. Research has shown that if a kid finds an unsecured gun, chances are they are going to pick it up. I don't want my kids to have access to guns, and my kids know that if they ever saw a gun, they are not to touch it, and immediately find a trusted adult.

However, I also know that kids are pretty dumb sometimes, and if I kept guns in the house, I think it INCREASES the safety factor if they know how to use it. Even though they should theoretically never, ever have access without an adult.

I think you'll find that developmentally, kids and young teens lack the decision-making skills to handle firearms (or any other dangerous item) without adequate adult supervision. Boy Scouts aren't allowed to start fires without having been trained and observed for a while, using fire safely.

Agreed. But I think it is developmentally appropriate for a school aged child, who lives in a gun-owning household, to be taught how to safely use the gun under the supervision of his/her parents. Because parents make mistakes and might leave the gun unsecured, and kids are KIDS and will likely pick it up if they see it. They are less likely to shoot themselves or their friends if they know how to properly use the gun.

It's like the birth control argument. Of course I don't want my kid to have sex when they are young, but I will teach them about birth control anyway!

Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

Most of the articles I browsed through on Ebsco had surveys from firearm owning households containing children stating that anywhere between 20-30% don't lock their firearms. I believe 100% that you should teach your children at an early age about gun safety, but at the end of the day, children are still children and some will get curious. According to Himle & Miltenberger's article (Preventing Unintentional Firearm Injury in Children: The Need for Behavioral Skill Training. Education and Treatment of Children, Vol. 27 No.2 May 2004), they found 19% of 48 children surveyed admitted to playing with their parents guns without their knowledge.

In general, I don't think you can really trust children as they are curious and imaginative beings. So teach them safety and lock up the guns, parents!

BelleNscrubs04 · Jul 29, 2011

I'm curious...this was on your exam today, was it covered in any of the material you were responsible for? Were developmental stages and abilities covered? I hope I'm not going to be thrown questions from out of left field in nursing school. : )

Since this is for a nursing class exam, I'm guessing they don't want opinion, or advocacy but just an understanding of developmental abilities at age 10.

Please update us when you get the answer!

Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

I'm curious...this was on your exam today, was it covered in any of the material you were responsible for? Were developmental stages and abilities covered? I hope I'm not going to be thrown questions from out of left field in nursing school. : )
Since this is for a nursing class exam, I'm guessing they don't want opinion, or advocacy but just an understanding of developmental abilities at age 10.
Please update us when you get the answer!

Going by Erikson, off the top of my head, a 10 year old is in Industry vs Inferiority (ages 7-11). Generally, this stage is where a child starts to learn rules and social constructs. They enjoy things like board games that heavily utilize them. Erikson might say this is an age group that is perfect for teaching firearm safety because of strict rules and guidelines.

Piaget might say differently as the this stage requires concrete information to make rational decisions. The next stage, during adolescence, is where one can take hypothetical ideas and rationalize them.

Though each child develops at a different rate, some may be more mature than others. Depending on which theorist your subscribe to, you can argue either way.