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Talking with Your Neighbors
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VersionWhen our children go to another house to play, we may ask the parents to limit the snacks, limit the TV, and make sure they have sunscreen on if they go outside. But very few think to check if there is a gun in the house and how it's stored. Two in five of all U.S. households with children have guns in the house and one-quarter of those guns are kept loaded. So chances are your child will be or has already been playing in a home with a gun. Before you send children over to play at a friend's house, ask their parents whether they have a gun in the home, and if so, how it is stored. All guns must be unloaded and locked. The ammunition must be locked and stored separately. Hiding guns or putting on the "safety" is not enough. There are countless tragic stories of kids finding guns that parents thought were well hidden.
The Asking Saves Kids (ASK) Campaign
has these
two suggestions: If there is a gun unsafely stored, or the parent will not tell you, you can choose to not allow your child to play in that house. Instead, you can invite that friend to play at your house. To ensure the safety of children, we need to make sure all gun-owning homes where our children visit or play do three things: Below are some additional resources about the importance of talking to your neighbors about how they store their firearms. St. Petersburg Times, 9/12/1999  Know Where a Neighbor's Gun Is? Your Kid Just MightAn article touching on ways to ask friends, neighbors, and relatives about how guns are stored in their homes. PAX, The Movement to End Gun Violence The ASK Campaign (Asking Saves Kids)Just talking to kids about the dangers of firearms is not enough. Kids are naturally curious and fascinated about guns. If a gun is accessible, there is a good chance that kids will find it and play with it. If you are a parent, here's how to ASK. Boston Parents' Paper, 8/1/1999 Guns in Your Homes and Others (excerpt) Read what a Boston parents magazine says about talking to your kids about gun safety and safely storing firearms and ammunition. ParenthoodWeb.com Guns: A Hidden Danger This article tells of how one mother, after the shooting in San Diego, took the extra step to talk to another mother about the guns in the home, before her daughter played in the woman's house. HealthAtoZ.com, 2/19/2000 Keeping Guns Out of Kids' Hands Would you ever think of asking the parents of your child’s best friend if they have a gun in their house? It’s something you ought to know, because there’s a gun in two out of every five American households. And in 20 percent of those households, the guns are kept unlocked and loaded. National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign, 7/17/2007 National Youth Violence Prevention Week The National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign is having a week long education initiative with various activities that will demonstrate the positive role young people can have in making their schools and communities safer. The initiative, intended to be held within individual schools, will offer advice on how to form in-school coalitions, engage communities, gain publicity, and conduct activities. The Christian Science Monitor, 5/26/1999 Parent-to-Parent: Is the Gun Safely Stored? In the wake of recent school shootings, Jody Pawel is advising and encouraging parents on how to talk to one another about guns at home.
Please note: Common Sense and its endorsing organizations do not necessarily endorse all content stemming from the links provided in this page. All resources in these web pages are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. Advice and opinions on mental health and other medical issues should be obtained through consultation with a licensed and trained professional. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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