Always keep your guns unloaded and locked out of sight. Keep the lock key with you, not in a desk or dresser drawer. Keep the ammunition locked up in a different place as well. Do not show your child where you keep the gun(s) and ammunition.
- Never let your child play with guns.
- If your family hunts, enroll your child in a gun safety class. Education is vital if your child is going to be around guns or hunting.
- Find out if there are guns in the homes of your child's friends before letting your child go to the home to play or spend the night.
- Teach your child what to do if he is at a friend's house and the friend wants to show off a gun. Make a plan with your child to say "no," tell an adult in the house, or call you to go home. Guns can accidentally fire, especially when being mishandled.
Source: Allina Health's Patient Education Department, Guide for the Care of Children: Ages Birth to 5 Years Old, fifth edition. To avoid awkward sentences, instead of referring to your child as "he/she" or "him/her," this guide will alternate between "he" or "she" and "him" or "her."
First Published: 02/01/2010
Last Reviewed: 01/01/2016