Learn Gun Safety With Eddie Eagle

     I mentioned in one of my news posts that parents are responsible for keeping firearms out of the hands of unsupervised children. I will now take that statement one step further. For parents, it is vitally important to teach children that firearms are dangerous. The key to this is teaching kids to respect guns rather than fear them. For my boys, a key component in their gun education came early thanks to the NRA.
    I learned about this video when taking a personal protection class from a gentleman that has been a certified NRA instructor longer than I have been alive. The class qualifies in my state toward obtaining a concealed carry permit, but is as much about how to defend your home and property as it is firearms. It is an old cartoon and this YouTube version degrades the quality, but it is good enough to show to parents, aunts, uncles, grandchildren, etc. I implore you to take a few moments and watch this no matter how old you are or your parental status. It really is the best approach I have come across to educating young kids in the armed household.



     Now let me tell you, when I saw this video I thought it might be too cheesy to have the desired effect. I could not have been more wrong. My two young boys were singing right along with Eddie by the end of the video and asked to watch it again. The skeptic in me then pondered whether the message was really understood, or if the boys were just enamored with the character.
     About a week after the boys (6 and 3 years old at the time) watched this, I put it to the test. I cleared my hunting rifle, removed the bolt, verified the chamber was clear, and put the safety on. Needless to say, there was absolutely no way that the rifle could be fired in this state. While the boys were in the tub, I placed the stripped rifle on their dresser. Once bath time was done, I sent them into their room to get pajamas while I waited just around the corner.
     At first, they didn't even notice. After a few moments, the older boy spots it. The initial reaction I hear is, "Wow! Look!" However, just as I was about to walk in and expect to) find him touching it I hear, "Oh wait! If you see a gun.... Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!" He comes running out of the room calling me, and tells me that he sees a gun in his room. I was ecstatic.
     I still keep my firearms out of reach and hidden. But after that test and a couple of subsequent checks, I feel a lot better about having guns in the house. The boys are still immensely curious about firearms, but are good at only being inquisitive when I have one on me and under my control. They are aware that they can ask questions, but can only touch if fully supervised by an adult (although that request is usually denied.) They have not watched the video in quite a while, but if I asked them to, they could recite the ditty today.