Do you ask about guns in the house before a playdate?

[Anonymous]

There are probably a multitude of reasons for it- but one is probably that the germs from their mouth go into the milk and can multiply/etc.

That's the reason given for not re-using baby food that is fed out of the jar but not finished- yet it's fine to store the remainder of baby food if the baby food that is used for the feeding was removed from its original container and put in a bowl.

[Anonymous]

pp here:

how on earth that reply ended up on this thread I honestly don't know! Very odd! Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not the PP you are "correcting" but if you are going to give gun violence statistics, those can't be compared to accidental deaths by firearm, which must be a smaller group. If the PP was underinclusive, your numbers are way overinclusive for this discussion.

If you want to argue whether we should have guns in society at all, the gun violence stats are relevant. For playdates, the question OP is asking is about the risk of accidental gun exposure, not intentional gun violence.

I gave that stat. Reread my post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are probably a multitude of reasons for it- but one is probably that the germs from their mouth go into the milk and can multiply/etc.

That's the reason given for not re-using baby food that is fed out of the jar but not finished- yet it's fine to store the remainder of baby food if the baby food that is used for the feeding was removed from its original container and put in a bowl.

LOL. This is from the thread I just read about throwing away formula after an hour. At first I was thinking...germs from the gun in their mouth...WHAA??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pp here:

how on earth that reply ended up on this thread I honestly don't know! Very odd! Sorry.

No, no, thank you! You have me laughing hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, it would never even occur to me to think about this. Where do you live? West Virginia?

OP here. I don't live in West Virginia, no. Pretty much the opposite. But the thread in OT made me think about this because a number of posters on that thread say they do have guns in this house. Presumably those posters live primarily in this area. I am making no judgments about gun ownership. I'm just curious to know if other parents ask this question and how they handle the issue. That's why I asked.

I was just reading in a parenting magazine that it's important to always ask about guns before a playdate. I'm glad OP posted this, because I have no idea how I would go about this gracefully. I don't think it's a crazy question because I have watched several news stories over the years about young children getting access to a gun and accidentally killing a friend/family member. I believe the children were in elementary and middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, it would never even occur to me to think about this. Where do you live? West Virginia?

OP here. I don't live in West Virginia, no. Pretty much the opposite. But the thread in OT made me think about this because a number of posters on that thread say they do have guns in this house. Presumably those posters live primarily in this area. I am making no judgments about gun ownership. I'm just curious to know if other parents ask this question and how they handle the issue. That's why I asked.

I was just reading in a parenting magazine that it's important to always ask about guns before a playdate. I'm glad OP posted this, because I have no idea how I would go about this gracefully. I don't think it's a crazy question because I have watched several news stories over the years about young children getting access to a gun and accidentally killing a friend/family member. I believe the children were in elementary and middle school.

PP again...that being said, I don't think I personally could bring myself to ask.

[Anonymous]

I've asked and I'm not ashamed that I did. I've been in homes where people keep guns in their top dresser drawer, LOADED, with small children around. In some homes the father hunts, the guns are a fact of life for the kids, they see guns on a daily basis and know not to touch them. We don't live on the prairie, so do not own guns and my 5 yo has not been exposed to a real gun. He knows guns are not toys and if he ever encounters a gun at someone's house he is not to touch it, pick it up, etc. But I'm convinced all of my teachings would go out the window if he ever did see a gun.

I'm not willing to take THAT risk because I'm sure if he ever saw a gun he would pick it up (and potentially harm someone else or himself). I consider myself a very liberal person who thinks people sometimes take things too far, but when it comes to the safety of my children I am willing to be the kooky mom.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a perfectly reasonable question. If someone took offense to it whether or not they have a gun, I doubt I want my kid hanging out w/ their family anyway.

[Anonymous]

It's probably worth pointing out that swimming pools are more dangerous than guns in the house. I know that a lot of people are sensitive about guns, but pools are a more statistically dangerous feature of a house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's probably worth pointing out that swimming pools are more dangerous than guns in the house. I know that a lot of people are sensitive about guns, but pools are a more statistically dangerous feature of a house.

I think that is only true if you look at accidental gun deaths. One gun problem is that a certain number of domestic violence situations escalate to a death because a gun is present. It is too easy to pull a trigger out of anger. It takes more to kill people by other means.

But your statement may be true if you are only looking at deaths of children. I would bet that more children are drowned than intentionally killed.

[Anonymous]

I meant "drown", not "are drowned"

[Anonymous]

Just weighing in as another mom that would ask and would in no way be offended by the question. To date I have not asked, but we do not really do drop off playdates yet with families we do not know well.

[Anonymous]

Our babysitting co-op asks on the application and having a gun in the home is grounds for expulsion from the group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have guns in the house (live in DC) but if a mom asked me if I did before they came over for a play date, I'd probably lie and say that we did and we display them proudly on the coffee table just to get her not to come. A question like that is just stupid.

A friend of mine was advised by her pediatrician to always ask if there was a gun in the house before a playdate. It's not a bizarre question. We have very good friends who hunt regularly, and I know that they keep their guns locked and unloaded. For the moment, I feel very safe having my kids at their house. I would feel less comfortable when the kids are teenagers and if they were to be unsupervised in the house.

Since my kids are not old enough to do drop-off playdates, I haven't asked this question yet, but I do think it's a good question to ask. Thanks to OP for posting the question.