Most parents know how to keep cleaning agents and other poisons away from children, and how to cover electric outlets. However, more children under 10 years of age are killed by guns than by poison or electrocution. Gunshot wounds are second only to car accidents as a cause of fatal injury in children. This means that gun safety in your home is as important as using car seats and seat belts in your car. If there is a gun in your home, it must be kept out reach of your children and their friends.
Children are naturally curious and like to explore.
If there is a gun in your home, keep it unloaded and locked away, separate from the bullets, with the key available only to responsible adults. Teach your children what to do if they find a gun, even if they are not sure if it is real or a toy. Before your child visits the home of a friend or a baby sitter, ask the parents at that home if they have a gun in the house and, if so, if the gun is unloaded and locked away. Teenagers often act without thinking first. When teenagers are angry or depressed, they are more likely to kill themselves or harm themselves if they can easily get a gun.