Gun Safety: An Important Lesson for Children

Keeping our children safe is our number one priority as a parent. In today's society, that task seems to get harder and harder to accomplish. It has been estimated that there are firearms in at least half of all United States houses. That can make our job of keeping the next generation safe even harder.

Educating your children on gun safety is extremely important. Even if you do not have a gun in your home, they may find one at a friend's home or a family member's food that they visit. Having a firearm in your house can cause a significant risk of injury or even death if handled improperly. Firearm related injuries are a leading cause of death in children. That statistic includes deaths from unintentional injuries as well as homicide and suicide.

If your child is educated on gun safety, you can reduce the risk of injury from happening. Fear can cause injury as well so teaching your children to stay away from guns is a great starting place.

The National Rifle Association, or NRA, has a program called Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program. This program teaches children from pre-K to third grade four important steps to take if they find a gun. They teach children to: Stop! Don't touch!! Leave the area and tell an adult!!

This program began in 1988 and has reached more than 20 million children in the United States. The program was developed through the combined efforts of psychologists, reading specialists, teachers, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials and law enforcement.

The NRA also holds basic training and gun safety classes to teach the safety principles and to help you develop the knowledge and skills one should have when a gun is involved. They hold these courses in all different areas.

Another program designed to help keep children safe is Project ChildSafe. This is the nation's largest firearm safety education program. Project ChildSafe reminds gun owners to:

Properly store firearms in the home

Practice safe firearm storage option in the home

Make certain that firearms in the home are not casually accessible to anyone, especially a child