Bringing up kids with *them* in the house

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
129
Location
Montana
My boss wrote this for his daughter when she had a problem with a few ladies not understanding her being active with guns. I thought you might like reading it too. My wife and I certainly did.

Prologue:
By the age of 5 Tommy was convinced that his dad was hiding something very special in the closet on the top shelf. "Tommy, don't you ever go into that closet. Stay out! Something bad is in there".
At 5 Tommy was definitely afraid to go into that closet..... but Tommy didn't stay 5 years old. Tommy grew, and so did his curiosity. He had stood in front of that closet a number of times when his dad came into the room and sternly warned. "Tommy!! Don't you dare!!" And Tommy didn't dare..... at least not then. But that day did come.... at age 8.

Dad and mom were gone shopping. His Aunt was baby sitting and she was outside in the garden. Tommy was alone.
Dragging a kitchen chair to the closet, he opened it, pushed the chair inside, climbed up and stood on his tiptoes. Nothing there......... nothing but a shoebox. Could that be it?? He carefully removed the box from the shelf, climbed down from the chair, sat on the closet floor and opened the box.
*Wow! How cool! Its just like the cops use on TV!* He found that the cylinder rotated and made a clicking sound. The trigger was too hard to pull so he gave up trying, but..... the hammer! That thing at the back! He was able to pull it back. But now what? Looking at the muzzle of the pistol, he carefully squeezed the trigger. CLICK! *Wow! How cool* Click..... again.
A scream from his Aunt caused him to drop the revolver. "What are you doing!!?? Give me that!!" Tommy dropped the pistol in fear. What had he done? It couldn't be that bad.... besides it looked so cool!
Tommy's dad had made two serious mistakes. First and foremost..... Tommy knew nothing about the dangerous weapon he'd been holding. Secondly, and fortunately for Tommy....... it wasn't loaded.

__________________________________________________ _____________

She had just turned 5 years old, and I knew it was time. She knew there were firearms in the house because she'd seen them from the time she was aware of her surroundings, and they were always well out of reach, but her time had now come.
First came the simple explanation of how any of the firearms in the house could hurt her, or Mommy or Dad. Nodding her head she signified that she understood.......... but she didn't. Not at that age.
She followed me outside and thought the huge hearing protective headset I put on her was pretty neat. I placed a milk jug full of water just 10 feet away. Donning my own ear protection, I put her both of her hands around the grips on the huge .44 pistol. Covering both of her hands with mine, I held the pistol as far away from her little body as I could and slowly squeezed the trigger.
Despite the headsets the noise and concussion were horrendous, at least for that little girl they were. The milkjug exploded in a vapor of water leaving Rosemary wide eyed and trembling.
Not a word was said at that moment. I unloaded the pistol, took off her headset and we went to where the jug had been. She looked up at me and I asked her if she understood how dangerous any of our firearms could be. She solemnly nodded her head and from that day until she received her own firearms she never went near any of them in the house.
The odd and surprising thing was when I heard her tell her visiting friends to "stay away from all the firearms in the house!!" And she kept a weather eye on any young visitors.
Fortunately all of her friends had parents who had provided an early education to their children as well.

Mystery provokes curiosity. Education removes mystery.


Among her peers and their families, we've never in our Family history heard of a child injured by a firearm in our area. Rosemary carrys a pistol with her wherever she goes, as does her Brother. We live a long way from town and in the past 10 years or so there are a lot of newcomers from the west coast cities, and with them comes their baggage, IE: crime.
Both of my children were required to read two books before owning their own pistols. "In the Gravest Extreme" , Masaad Ayoob and "No Second Place Winners", Bill Jordan. Books outling the seriousness of carrying firearms and the legal implications involved.
Both of them were taught use and respect of both pistols and rifles. Both have their own pistols and rifles.
I'll go into their education another time, but rest assured that both of them were taught respect for firearms at a very early age.

Mystery provokes curiosity and potential disater. Education removes mystery and ingrains understanding. Think about this one with logic and practical application, Ladies.

Thanks
Allen
SP
 
Great post! I grew up with guns, my kids grew up with them and now my grandkids. I didn't use the same method as the OP, but my children and now my grandchildren all know about guns and gun saftey.
 
I do a firearms safety presentation for the Cub Scouts. I request that the parents be there also.
I bring a few pieces from my collection as a display, revolvers, semi-autos, rifles and shotguns. My basic speech is the Eddie Eagle mantra of:

DON'T touch

Leave the room

TELL an adult
I also cover the four rues of gun handling.

But I also ask the parents present if thier parents could hide something from them, and they would not be able to find it. Most, 90%, confessed that they knew the hiding places. I ask them if they think that thier kids are any different. That gets them to thinking!!
I tell them that to hide something is to present a challenge to the inqusitive young minds. That it creates a aura of mystery that challenges them.

At the end I announce that I would be breaking the mystery of firearms with knowledge. That, with thier permission, I would be handing out guns to the Scouts to handle!! This would satisfy thier need to know, and that would help to keep them safe.
Only one or two have ever refused permission. The Scouts would handle the weapons and find that they are wood and metal, heavy, and NOT magic! The parents watched tham and made sure that that barrels were pointed up, and that they didn't DROP them.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas


PS To do this the Cub Pack must NOT meet in a school!! We generally do this at a clubhouse or at a residence.
 
It should have been locked in some kind of pistol box you can buy at cabelas, kids know all of the hiding places.
 
SP, your boss is a talented writer. From my own youth, I can reinforce that education beats the heck out of the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.
 
My dad did almost the exact same thing with me when I was about 4 with a 16 gauge shotgun. I'm sure if DHS knew how I was raised my parents would both be in jail, but I have no criminal record, no unwanted children, I have a job, I don't hit women, and I understand right and wrong are not always legal and illegal. I've seen the kids my age that were raised by liberal dogooders get arrested, kick dogs, hit women, have no concept of wrong, and just don't get the whole punishment concept. Spank your kids, make them do family stuff, make them do chores, teach them how to respect a woman, and how to shoot and do other "guy things". They WILL thank you down the road.
 
You don't get it, Jackmead.

Good parenting does not revolve around looking for better ways to hide things from kids. It involves helping kids learn how to become responsible adults who don't need to rely on their parents.

No matter what Hillary Clinton wants you to believe, it's impossible to "childproof" the world. While you're trying to do that, a good parent works on "worldproofing" the child. It can't be done by hiding temptations and lecturing kids not to be led into them.
 
Great advice. I agree that education is key to keeping children safe.

My 4yo will be getting her first rifle when she turns 5 later this month. She has demonstrated that she can follow the rules when we allow her to handle our guns, which is whenever she asks to see them. The mystery/curiosity is gone now that she knows she can see them whenever she wants. She now mostly only asks to handle them when I already have them out.
 
No matter what Hillary Clinton wants you to believe, it's impossible to "childproof" the world. While you're trying to do that, a good parent works on "worldproofing" the child. It can't be done by hiding temptations and lecturing kids not to be led into them.

Exactly. What happens when your child is over at another kids house? You have to prepare and educate them so that they can make the right choices when they are outside of your normal environment.
 
I carry a firearm every day. I have a 21mo son at home. He knows I have guns, sees them all the time, and is very accustomed to seeing them. He doesn't understand, but we have talks. I read all my gun mags to him. Tell him about the Bill of Rights. He watches me load ammo.

Any time I take out a gun (except my loaded carry gun to put on) I let him check it out, carefully. I go over the safety stuff, always move his finger off the trigger, show him the proper way to hand over a firearm.

I showed him the life/death caused by firearms by trapping and killing a rabbit in front of him. Then I showed him how to skin it, clean it, and cook it. We had a good snack. He likes venison better.

I'm raising my son to know that this is our way of life. This is how things are meant to be. Last weekend we sat in my deer blind and watched the deer come in to feed. He loved it.
 
excellent post anyone that does not understand this post should never have kids or should just get rid of there firearms if they have any. its all about education.. my two boys are excellent shooters. same time they respect the gun.
 
Great post! I was introduced to guns at an early age and taught gun safety. My son was introduced at an early age. Mine stayed locked up until he was older, but the fact that he knew what they were took away some of the curiosity. Education included teaching him to respect all firearms.
 
Works the same with a .270 Winchester and a 5 gallon can of water. I don't remember too much about my life prior to age 10 anymore without some reflection, but the destruction of that can I remember vividly.
 
Great post! Thank you for posting it.

It validates the way I taught my boys about firearms. I always believed, much to the dismay of several family members, that turning the firearms into a hidden, forbidden fruit only serves to increase childrens' curiousity.

My boys each got the milk jug and pumpkin demo at age 6. They're 13 and 11 now and I don't think twice about leaving guns unsecured in the house. They've both been thru 4H firearm safety training and have heard me preach safety for several years.

They both know what to do in the event that 'something very bad' happens. They both know not to run their mouths about the fact that we own guns, or that they know how to use them.
 
We used to teach the same thing...

.. in the fire service. Want to prevent kids from experimenting with fire? Take them early, in a controlled environment, and let them experience fire. Show them what it can do. Answer questions, let them see things burn, remove all curiousity. Studies show children exposed carefully to campfires or other "teaching" fires are much less likely to become accidental (or otherwise) firesetters themselves.
 
.. in the fire service. Want to prevent kids from experimenting with fire? Take them early, in a controlled environment, and let them experience fire. Show them what it can do. Answer questions, let them see things burn, remove all curiousity. Studies show children exposed carefully to campfires or other "teaching" fires are much less likely to become accidental (or otherwise) firesetters themselves.

My two kids (now ages 5 and 8) learned a fire lesson in a similar manner - only it was uncontrolled and by accident. My wife was burning some sticks in our burn barrel when she accidentally caught our front yard on fire. Although nobody was in any real danger - the kids (and my wife) got a real taste of what fire was capable of. Now I find my kids cautioning me about the use of fire. It was a very good lesson for everyone.

And, I have been teaching my kids about guns in the same way. I don't try to hide the guns - just teach the kids. Education is the only way to go....

But I do keep everything locked up if not in my immediate possession...
 
I totally agree!

One thing Ill say is in my situation the firearms were not hidden or locked away. All firearms including 2 revolvers were in a glass gun cabinet in the living room always unlocked, as a matter of fact i don't think there was a key! I knew what they were for, Hunting,. I had friends over all the time without parents around never once was there a time we felt it necessary to investigate. By the time I was Hunting age I could take the pistols out and go up into the woods with friends, as long as I told my father what we were doing. By the time I was driving those guns were as good as mine, I still have the Rem 700 he gave me.

My good friend has a gun cabinet ( like my father had) in his living room as we speak, His 2 year old knows there for "shooten deers".
When he is old enough I'm sure we will be out shooting the 22's

His dad is not as enthusiastic as i am about guns but his two sons Will get plenty of trigger time if I have anything to say about it.
 
What we're talking about here relates to parenting in general.

For the past two generations parents have engaged in trying to protect their children from the world instead of teaching the kids to survive in it. They've done a pretty fair job, I think. Those kids have been so well protected that when they grow up they can't survive. They don't know how.

So their helicopter parents hover around them long past the time when it's anything but pathetic to observe. Their kids, being helpless idiots, don't know what to do on their own and can't figure out what's worth doing with their lives. So they make noises.

They cluster around similarly handicapped young people they call "friends" and sort of ooze through life. Instead of learning to distinguish between friends and acquaintances, for example, they "hang out." (It's a remarkably appropriate term for what they do.) They "hook up" instead of experiencing romantic relationships that might help them grow and flower. ("Hooking up" is a truly graphic image that aptly suggests the temporay linkage needed for transferring liquids.) Instead of families they have babies, "baby mommas," and "baby poppas" or whatever the males are called. Those mommas and the poppas can't sing or do much of anything else either except make babies, hang out, and hook up.

What a life.
 
Psyopspec, he's definitely that. Since going to work for the business I've had access to a lot of things he's written, and there's a wealth of published or posted storys about the family and where they live and how their kids grew up. Pretty amazing stuff. They call them the "lost prairie chronicles".

Thanks
Allen
SP
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top