Teaching Kids Gun Safety: D-Day’s Lasting Influence

Hey, what’s up, everybody! In this post, I’m going to talk about teaching kids gun safety and why D-Day is still important to all Americans. Let’s go ahead and get started.

In the United States on the second Sunday in June, we observe Children’s Day, a special day where we focus on improving their health and safety. This special day for kids predates both Mother’s and Father’s Day with celebrations in America dating from the 1860s and earlier. So in honor of this special day, I wanted to talk about something I take very seriously — firearm safety.

Childhood “War” Games: Ignoring Safety

I’ve been playing with guns since I was a young boy when we would dress up and “play war” with the boys in the neighborhood. Sometimes it was sticks and sometimes it was BBs, but one thing we NEVER thought about was safety.

As I got older I learned a bit more about firearms and safety and didn’t want my kids making the same mistake I made. I started teaching my boys about guns and safety when they were about three and five years old and continue to test their knowledge.

Leading as a Cub Scout Leader

Next, in teaching kids gun safety, I’ve also had the opportunity as a Cub Scout leader and public speaker to talk to groups of children and make sure they understand the basics of firearm safety. There are a few things I’ve found repeatedly after these talks with the parents.

1. If they don’t like guns, they don’t want/need their kids to learn gun safety because they would “never have a gun in their home!” or

2. The parents have guns in the home, loaded, and in a place their kids “could never reach/find.”

And now we know why we hear about how Jimmy shot his friend Timmy when they found his parents’ gun…

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