I suggest a gun safety class. For you and for your child. You do not know if your child will ever be around a gun. You cannot police everyone. Make sure your kids know how to behave around firearms, or around any kind of weapon, for that matter. My kids were required to be certified in firearm safety. Knowledge is power.

Anonymous wrote:We have guns. I’m a very liberal, peace-loving, hippy type Dem and a huge supporter of strict gun laws. You would never know we own guns. And I would never offer the information. They are safely locked up.

This is us too. But I would disclose that I have guns if asked. And assure other parents that they are locked up and hidden. My children do not know we have guns.

Anonymous wrote:We have guns. I’m a very liberal, peace-loving, hippy type Dem and a huge supporter of strict gun laws. You would never know we own guns. And I would never offer the information. They are safely locked up.

But I would still ask you if my child was invited to your home for a play date. I ask every parent if my child is going to their house. If you do support strict firearm legiothan I am sure you would give me an honest answer.

Anonymous wrote:We have guns. I’m a very liberal, peace-loving, hippy type Dem and a huge supporter of strict gun laws. You would never know we own guns. And I would never offer the information. They are safely locked up.

But you’d be honest if a fellow parent asked, right?

We no longer keep guns in our home, but DH owns them. If we had guns on site, we’d be honest if someone asked.

We have guns. I’m a very liberal, peace-loving, hippy type Dem and a huge supporter of strict gun laws. You would never know we own guns. And I would never offer the information. They are safely locked up.

Anonymous wrote:According to Gallup, 43 percent of US households have a gun. You should always assume there is a gun in your neighbor's house, because the odds are pretty good. Whether they are stored safely, with ammo locked and separate from the weapon, is a different story. Teach your kids about gun safety, about not touching, leaving the room, telling an adult.

You need to look deeper into that 43% statistic. Over 60% of gun owners are over 65 which pretty much precludes most parents of young children. They are also primarily in the deep Southern states.

You can lecture your child until he’ll freezes over and most will still touch the gun. It’s just a kid’s nature and underdeveloped brain. Still tell the child but don’t count on it.

So much better just to have an open discussion with the gun-owning parents. No responsible gun owner would mind in the least. And with new parents -ask. Ask if they have firearms in their home. One second of discomfort is worth saving your child’s life.

My father, in Florida, has loaded firearms in his home for protection. Even he completely understands why we won’t go into his home when we visit much less stay there. He’s too afraid to have his guns unloaded or locked for fear he wouldn’t get to them in time. Sad but true. However my point is that he understands why my boys can’t go to his home.

I only let my kids go to houses that I know (or at least feel reasonably certain) have no weapons or what I perceive to be dangerous animals. That’s my right, and duty, as a parent.

And I’d have no problem telling people that I’m not comfortable for xyz reason.

I actually do trust my own kids to be smarter than to touch one but I’d never say the same about someone else’s kid. And it just takes one second. Watch some rescue 911 episodes on YouTube, accidental gunshots happen all the time in this country. Someone can be shot before even really knowing what’s happening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to Gallup, 43 percent of US households have a gun. You should always assume there is a gun in your neighbor's house, because the odds are pretty good. Whether they are stored safely, with ammo locked and separate from the weapon, is a different story. Teach your kids about gun safety, about not touching, leaving the room, telling an adult.

ITA. We have a gun and I doubt anyone would guess. It is secure. I would be happy to describe how, if asked by a fellow parent or neighbor. I have never been.

We also have a pool and it is FAR more dangerous to potential young visitors than our locked up gun. Our youngest child just turned 9.

Ask the neighbors if you want to- I doubt they will mind.

I do wonder- do you trust your child? It is not fail proof but you seem to leave him/her out of the equation. Have that conversation.

I didn't leave him out of the equation. I already said he could not be trusted. He would pick up a gun and handle it if he saw it, no matter what kind of conversation I had about gun safety before hand. That's the kind of kid he is. And since I do not trust my child to be around a gun, I can't leave it up to my neighbors to make sure the gun is safely put away. We had guns when I was growing up. The rule was, no ammo in the house. And yet ammo sometimes appeared. That's life with humans and guns....

Anyway, I told my DC why he was not going over there. Also told him to keep it to himself, as I don't know who else knows about the guns or if our neighbor would want that info out there.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Just wanted to add that once one of my kids had a gun safety presentation in elementary school and came home with some worksheets about it. All of my kids agreed that it would be okay to handle the gun before they left the room to tell an adult. Crazy.