We argue that firearm deaths in small children merit similar legislative and educational efforts. Children Young children lack the developmental ability to understand the permanence and severity of firearm injury. Younger children may mistakenly believe that they can expertly handle a firearm despite their lack of motor coordination and knowledge of firearm safety. A study of children involved in accidental shootings has shown that in many cases the children did not know that the gun was loaded or believed that it was a toy gun. The most important factor in these shootings was the availability of a loaded, unlocked gun in the home.
Children have a natural curiosity about objects in their environment, particularly forbidden ones.
Regardless of rules or education about firearm safety, young children do not have the internalised self-control required to avoid playing with a tempting, forbidden object. A child may act impulsively and be totally unconcerned with potentially devastating consequences of his or her actions. Smoking cigarettes and drinking are examples of this type of behaviour, and using a gun also may make the teen feel more grown up. In addition to wanting to see themselves as more adult, they want their peers to respect and admire them as well, and using a gun may be a way to impress their peers. The chance of harm from a firearm is clearly greater than many other forms of risk-taking.