Recently in San Francisco (where I live) a six-year-old boy was caught with a gun in his backpack at school. The boy brought the gun to his first grade class thinking that it was a toy and that it was safe. When teachers learned about the gun, the authorities were called in to handle the situation. And in an even more shocking twist of fate, this wasn’t the first incident this week of a child bringing a gun to school in San Francisco. As you can imagine, a massive media frenzy has surrounded these stories and an even more massive amount of fear has hit the parenting community.

Kids bringing weapons to school is not an uncommon occurrence, but it is an extremely alarming one. Thoughts of Columbine and other tragedies spring to mind when the words gun and school are mentioned in the same sentence. To call it horrifying would be an understatement.

What are parents to do when they send their kids to school thinking their child is safe only to learn that a classmate has brought a gun to the school grounds? How can parents keep their children safe in these types of scenarios? The most important thing is for parents to talk to their kids about guns and to explain that they are not toys and not to touch them, ever.

Gun Safety Tips

• It is not recommended that guns be stored in a home where children live.
• If guns are in the home, they should be disassembled, locked and stored in a locked compartment that is out of reach of children. Ammunition should be stored separately from guns, in a locked place, also out of reach of children.
• If guns are present in the home, parents should explain to all children in that residence that guns are not toys, that they can seriously hurt people and that they are off limits to children.
• Parents should explain to children that if they see a child playing with a gun (whether they think it is real or fake) to tell an adult immediately.
• Kids need to understand that guns are dangerous for children and guns should never be touched or played with. Parents and teachers should address this topic with children by the age of 4.
• Parents should talk about guns and other weapons with kids and explain that if a child sees a weapon in a school setting, he or she should tell a teacher, counselor or other safe adult about the gun immediately. Weapons do not belong on school grounds, period.
• Adults should communicate with the parents of their child’s friends about guns being in the home. When your child goes over to a friend’s house to play, ask a parent if there is a gun in the home and if so, where and how it is stored. If you do not feel comfortable with your child playing in a home where there is a gun, have the children play at your home.

Unfortunately guns, drugs and other dangers will never go away, so it is important for parents to follow the best safety practices and to never assume that everyone else is. To decrease the likelihood of guns being a threat to our children, parents can share helpful information, resources and safety practices with each other.

Schools can be safe places if parents, teachers and the community work together to stay informed about the dangers and safety precautions involved with guns. It is up to gun owners to be responsible for their weapons and to take the necessary steps to ensure that these objects stay out of children’s hands, but it is also up to parents to teach their children that guns are dangerous. In a world of unlimited possibilities, parents will feel much more at ease knowing their child is safe if they regularly communicate with the parents of their child’s friends, take preventative measures to increase their child’s safety and take the time to talk about the dangers of guns with their own children.

Gun Safety Resources

For more information about gun safety visit :
www.kidsandguns.org
www.paxusa.org
www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety6.htm