again?
 

I get really tired of hearing about these things, I don't understand how hard it is for parents to keep guns away from their kids. When I was a kid if I even looked at my dad guns he smacked me against my head, I wasn't allowed to shoot until I 9. It really makes me wonder what in the hell the kid was thinking... or not.

3 kindergartners wounded when gun discharges at Houston school - CNN.com

Well, I don't think many people fully realize(especially inexperienced

parents, or children raising children) that kids have a magical, mystical talent for

trouble and the verboten.

They just don't understand that hiding it, covering it, or putting it

on a high shelf isn't enough.

If you "get it", you lock up the guns, lock up the ammo, and keep the keys

on your person at all times.

Another way to protect your kids is to take the mystery away form the "forbidden" objects.
I always told my kids if they wanted to see or touch one of my guns to just ask. I stopped what I was doing and spent time with them. I started my kids shooting very early and it paid off with my youngest. He did 3 tours in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan and came home in one piece.
If you want the kids to respect a weapon then spend time with them.
"lecture over"

All three of my kids (7, 10, 12) fully understand about guns and the consequences of touching a gun in my house without my permission. My 10 year old boy got a 20 gauge shotgun for his 10th birthday and that gun is in the cabinet with all the other guns. My 7 year old fired his first shots from a .22 this week. He has been to my range several times when we have been shooting and would not dare lay a finger on a gun without my say so. Finally I let him shoot a few times this week after going several times.

I have taken the mystery out of guns in my house. I don't hide them and never speak of them. I don't give exceedingly long lectures on the dangers of guns. I don't act like some a-hole trying to show off with a gun. I treat them for what they are, tools and inanimate objects, and expect my children to treat them with the respect that they deserve.

Its all about discipline.

I grew up like Oldshooter described. No mystique about our guns. I could tell my stepfather at any time that I wanted to see the guns and he would put aside whatever he was doing and get them all out. We would clean and oil them, he would explain how they all worked and then we would put them away again. Together.

Unfortunately, many people seem to think "discipline" just means you

have to beat your kids.

It's about letting them know what your expectations are, and

conditioning them to respond properly.

As oldshooter said, it's about spending your time with them.

Very true.

I'm not saying that people should beat there kids it's just what my dad did you know old days, now a days it abuse. I can understand why people are worried about there kids, I can understand why some people beat there kids. When I was younger I spent most of my time doing stupid stuff that got me in trouble, I wouldn't have trusted me around guns then either.

Honestly if your kid(s) was doing stupid stuff on a regular basis would you really trust them with a weapon at least at a young age. This kid should not have been able to get a hold of the gun, I'm not saying that the parents are bad parents just that they could have taken more step to make sure that something like this didn't happen.

Same here! ;)