Keeping kids safe around guns
12/11/2023 by Matthew Bernard, M.D.
Kids are curious and quick. That's why guns and kids can be a deadly combination.
- It's estimated that about one-third of households with children ages 18 and under have a gun in the home.
- Children and adolescents who live in or visit homes with firearms are at an increased risk of fatal and non-fatal firearm-related injuries, suicide and homicide.
If you, as a parent, grandparent or other caregiver, keep guns in your home, here are some steps you can take to make sure kids are safe:
- Make sure guns are not loaded.
- Store them in a locked location, such as a gun safe, out of the reach and sight of children.
- Store ammunition in a separate locked location that's also out of the reach and sight of children.
- Hide the keys and combinations.
- When a gun isn't in its lock box, keep your eye on it. Don't leave guns on a nightstand, table or other place a child can find or reach it.
- Make sure all guns have effective, child-resistant gun locks.
- If a visitor has a gun in a backpack, briefcase, handbag or unlocked case, provide them with a locked place to store it while they're in your home.
- If you decide to remove a gun from your home, dispose of it safely. To find out how to do that, contact your local law enforcement department.
Also, take time to talk with your kids. Explain how a gun they might see on television or a video game is different from a gun in real life, which can hurt people. Teach them never to touch a gun and to tell an adult immediately if they see one. Once you think your child is ready, enroll them in a gun safety training class.
Matthew Bernard, M.D., is a physician in Family Medicine at Mayo Family Clinic Northwest. He enjoys hunting for deer, pheasant, grouse, squirrel, elk and caribou.