And outlet covers are choking hazards
The theme on blogs lately seems to be kids and guns. A topic I’m familiar, since I have some of each. One is loud, requires regular maintenance, and is expensive to feed. Wait, actually, that’s both of them. Anyway, Laurel notes that BabyCenter tells you:
Get rid of them — they’re not safe around children.
Well, I did not get rid of mine and they are not around children. You cannot wrap the world in Nerf and your children in bubblewrap. There simply is no way to make your little darlings perfectly safe. Sure, you get rid of the guns. Then you have a home invasion. Or your child can drown in a bathtub. Or die by eating household chemicals. etc. The trick to this parenting thing is, uhm, being a parent and no amount bubblewrap can make up for using your brain.
Meanwhile, Marko ponders toy gun control:
I know there are parents out there who refuse to buy toy guns for their kids.
As a responsible gun owner, I’m of two minds on the issue. On one hand, I don’t want to encourage or even tolerate picking up the habit of unsafe gun handling. On the other hand, I don’t believe in the “pretend it doesn’t exist” prohibitionist approach to anything—guns, drugs, sex, or what-have-you—because those methods don’t work.
He continues discussing options. Now, I never really thought much about the toy gun aspect. We have toy guns. Our toy guns are even the little Nerf guns that actually shoot the little foam padded suction cups. They’re great fun. The kids and their cousins have little war with them all the time. I did the same thing when I was a kid and I handle real guns safely.
I’ve not done it with my kids yet but their older cousins (who are 9) have been shooting (airguns) with me. Their parents, who do not own guns, wanted me to teach them gun safety and I said OK under the pretense they actually go shooting too. And they did. Had a good time putting holes in cans with a Gamo. A few months later when I returned from the GSSF match and had to clean my gun. My nephews were there. They wanted to watch. I taught them how to field strip a Glock. Their mom seemed less happy about that than about the air rifle. But one thing I didn’t do was go hide the gun and act like it wasn’t there after they saw me take it out of the truck.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:41 am
take off the covers and the munchkins will poke forks in the outlet and electricute themselves. You just can’t win with the nanny state.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:25 am
There is no subject improper for humans to investigate, test, experiment upon, or learn from.
We study the worst examples of inhumanity in our recorded history, not to emulate the bad example but to learn from it how to improve our current behavior.
We experiment without end until we die, hopefully learning how better to live as we go. Getting out of bed every day is a test of our will, our preparedness to face reality, and our learned skills.
We test ourselves constantly in new ways to expand our human capacity to live successful lives.
We also do stupid things, from eating too much as adults to sticking forks in electrical outlets. Often we learn from our mistakes, when we survive to have that chance. We also learn from the mistakes of others.
Firearms are a subset of dangerous but useful tools.
Let kids play. Also, teach them the difference between imaginative play and reality. When they know the difference and can act correctly upon that understanding, let them use tools.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Let’s call it “gun proofing”. Teaching kids how to safely handle guns so they can deal with the world as they find it. If they’ve touched a gun, if a gun isn’t an exotic curiosity, if they know how where the dangers are and how to safely manage them then a child and a gun can be as safe as a child and a stove.
You can’t be certain a child will never find a gun somewhere so you teach them how to handle the situation. Sure you can tell them “No touching guns” but they’ll be alone and curious of the forbidden and we all know how “no touching your brother” works when they are in the backseat or even right in front of you.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I have an old bone to pick with Eddie Eagle. What’s with this “tell an adult” shit? Adults are as bad as 4-year-olds (I’d like to say “some” but what’s the last time you heard “some gun owners” or “some young people” from a nanny-stater?).
Here’s an experiment I suggest you don’t try: put about four teenaged boys (the most dangerous creatures on the planet, and god bless ’em) in a room with a semi-automatic, with a promise that if they don’t touch it they’ll get a good laugh. Introduce one foaming anti-gunner to the room. Eleven times out of ten, the responsible adult, shocked that there is a gun with a boy, will go to the pistol, fail to check for safety, fail to open the action, and pick it up pointed at someone, with finger on the trigger. You only get the bonus point if subject then looks down the barrel.
I have the greatest job in the country: I teach little kids to shoot guns.
Ask any of my students why you lock up your sporting tools, and they’ll tell you: to keep them away from babies and stupid grown-ups.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I’m also of two minds on the toy gun issue.
When I was a child, my mother had an allergic reaction to reality, and reverted to a more primitive mindset; She became a Progessive. She rounded up all of my “War Toys” including my beloved toy Rambo gun (which was all black and looked like a 1911, but when you pulled the trigger, the hammer would snap against the plastic and go “CLICK!”) and she stomped them into scrap.
One of the first guns I ever bought was a Kimber 1911 when I turned 21. Gee, I wonder why?
Elmer Keith wrote in Sixguns that children should be taught how to use real guns and NEVER be allowed to play with toy guns, since it taught unsafe firearms handling and irresponsible use. “Shoot your friends! It’s fun!” I can see the validity in this point.
Therefore, I think that I will only let my kids play with toys which launch painful projectiles, like Airsoft guns, because then they will understand that pulling the trigger has consequences.
June 25th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Speaking of feeding. Sportsman’s Guide has a 1000 rnd case of .223 for $370. I think that is a good deal.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/us-made-55-gr-fmj-223-ammo.aspx?a=504803
Now to read beyond the first couple of sentences.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
It’ll be ok.
Once Cap and Trade (trap and prey?) goes through, soon nobody will be able to afford the meager amount of electricity that the few remaining government-affiliated utility companies will be capable of producing.
Then we’ll all have to worry about the CPSC warning up about the hazards of open fires in the middle of our yurts.
Regards,
Rabbit.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:24 am
When mine were little, told them “When the time comes, you’ll learn to use these; until then, leave them alone.” And made sure they were put away when not in use. When they each turned 7, started with a .22 rifle. Never a problem with them.
Yeah, not only are guns not PC, but they violate the “Everything must be SAFE!!!” idea. Same attitude that caused some developed countries, a few years ago, to start having outbreaks of a disease related to a vitamin D deficiency; lots of parents had so bought into the “Too much sun will give your child cancer!” crap that every time the kids went out just about every bit of skin was covered.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Should have noted: daughter didn’t care about toy guns; son got a wood Kentucky rifle and shooting bag Grandpa made when he was five(as I recall) and loved it.