subject: Child Dangers: Guns Left Available To Childen Kill 48 Children Each Year [print this page] Nearly two out of every 5 American households with children have guns and many of those guns are left loaded or unlocked. Each day an average of 8 children die and at least 48 are injured due to lack of parental supervision.
Since firearm injuries increase during the summer months, the children's safety advocacy group, SafeKids, sponsored National ASK Day on June 21, 2010.
National ASK Day is an awareness campaign that brings awareness to parents to ask the responsible adults in the household where the child plays, whether there are loaded firearms in the home. I think this is a good step to take every day.
If you are a parent, you are probably familiar with the typical questions you ask when your child is invited to a play date; will there be an adult present, do you have a pool, etc. In addition to the other questions, it is important to ask about firearms as well.
Last month a young girl was tragically killed by her friend in a Southern California community. The friend was playing with a gun that he thought was unloaded when it accidentally discharged, killing his friend. Kids and Guns is a safety organization that educates gun owners and children about gun safety tips and makes the following recommendations.
Parents who own a gun: - Unload your gun and lock it up - Lock and store ammunition separately - Hide keys where children can't find them
All Parents: - Ask if guns are safely stored at places your children visit or plays - Talk with your children about guns - Teach young children not to touch guns, and to tell and adult if they find one.
In additional to lethal firearms, many children are playing with "Airsoft guns" such as pellet or BB guns. These toys are manufactured to look like real hand guns, rifles and machine guns. Although classified as a toy, these projectile weapons are capable of causing personal injury.
Each year approximately 20,000 kids have sustained injuries serious enough to go to the hospital emergency room. These toy guns are capable of firing BBs at fast speeds; hundreds of feet per second and if the gun is pointed towards the eyes or face, it can cause injuries. Last month a 10 year old boy was suspended from school after he brought a pellet gun to school and shot at another child in the leg.
Fortunately the injury was not serious, but this incident does draw attention to the problem. To make matters worse, when asked where he purchased the gun, the young boy said he purchased it from the ice cream truck in his neighborhood. The Whittier school district has suspended the boy.
Lastly, since this toy guns look so real, the additional danger is that law enforcement can't always discern the difference when called to the scene. This can obviously lead to tragic consequences. As always, good supervision is the key to ensuring your child is in a safe environment.
by: James Ballidis
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