Not surprisingly, gun-owning parents may want to teach their children about gun safety and proper gun use—since 2020, gun-related injuries have become the leading cause of death among children in the United States. However, a new study shows that parents who teach their children how to properly handle guns are also less likely to store weapons safely, a safety hazard that puts children at greater risk of injury and death.
In a study published Monday JAMA PediatricsResearchers found that parents who demonstrated and practiced proper gun handling with their children and taught them how to shoot a gun were more likely to have at least one unlocked and loaded gun stored in their home than other gun-owning parents. firearms.
The study, conducted by scientists at Rutgers University, surveyed participants from nine states – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Colorado and Washington State – This included participants who reported having at least one gun in or around their home, and at least one child living in the home.
Among the 870 parents, 47.3% showed their children the correct way to use a gun, 36.8% let their children practice gun use under their supervision, and 37.3% taught their children how to shoot a gun. Each of these parents’ behaviors was associated with storing at least one unlocked and loaded gun, the study showed, at more than twice the rate of other gun-owning parents.
The researchers noted that the study was limited by the inability to control for child characteristics such as age and mental health problems, and that results in other states may differ.
So you might be thinking: If parents teach their kids about gun safety, isn’t that enough to protect them? Many parents believe this to be the case—focus groups show that gun-owning parents tend to believe that teaching their children gun safety is more important than safely protecting their weapons, and ultimately reduce the need to protect their children with safes and locks.
But the truth is, researchers aren’t sure whether teaching gun safety reduces injuries, but there’s strong evidence that storing guns safely (locked, unloaded, and separated from ammunition) reduces the risk of injury in children and teens.
Gun control can be a hot-button issue. But at the end of the day, whether a parent owns a gun or not, the reason behind it is probably to protect your children. Demonstrating gun safety is certainly a good thing, but taking extra steps to lock your weapons and separate ammunition is the best way to keep your children safe.
