Everybody has their own opinions about how to teach their kids. And, I don't advocate "my" way to anyone.
My son was shown and allowed to handle my guns when he was 3-4 years old. I told him about safety and how dangerous they could be. I also told him that the guns would be his one day. He held them and realized they were kind of heavy and then he got bored. A few months later, when some other kids were visiting, my son came running up to me and told me that one of the other kids was "touching my rifle".
Well, there was an unloaded Savage 99 on a wall rack in the spare bedroom. I immediately removed the rifle and thanked my son for telling me. I told him he could see and touch the guns whenever he wanted. It ended up to be more than a few years before he ever showed interest and we started going to the range.
I guess my point is that I never hid the guns from my son and actually offered access whenever he wanted. He's 26 now, and everything turned out fine. I believe that when you hear the stories about kids "finding" a gun at home, and someone gets shot, it happens out of curiosity. In my case, I eliminated the curiosity. Good luck.
My son was shown and allowed to handle my guns when he was 3-4 years old. I told him about safety and how dangerous they could be. I also told him that the guns would be his one day. He held them and realized they were kind of heavy and then he got bored. A few months later, when some other kids were visiting, my son came running up to me and told me that one of the other kids was "touching my rifle".
Well, there was an unloaded Savage 99 on a wall rack in the spare bedroom. I immediately removed the rifle and thanked my son for telling me. I told him he could see and touch the guns whenever he wanted. It ended up to be more than a few years before he ever showed interest and we started going to the range.
I guess my point is that I never hid the guns from my son and actually offered access whenever he wanted. He's 26 now, and everything turned out fine. I believe that when you hear the stories about kids "finding" a gun at home, and someone gets shot, it happens out of curiosity. In my case, I eliminated the curiosity. Good luck.
