Federal statistics indicate that 50% of all U.S. households contain guns. If your household is not one of them, the chances are that your neighbor, family member or friends do own some sort of firearm. Your child could come into contact with guns almost anywhere at anytime. It is critical for your child to know what to do if he or she encounters a firearm anywhere, and it is the parents' responsibility to provide that training.

Talking with your child about gun safety should be done when your child first expresses curiosity about firearms. Discuss guns and gun safety openly and honestly with your child. Telling your child to simply stay away from the gun may just spark more curiosity to investigate. Give him or her a safety lesson explaining the rules and answering any questions. Be sure that your child understands that the rules apply to all friends and visitors.

Television and movies often show firearms being mishandled as well as violent scenes of actors being shot. This may lead to your child's confusion between the Hollywood and real life effect guns have. Discuss the gun use on television as opposed to the gun use in real life. Demonstrate safe gun handling, even with toy guns. Here are some more gun safety tips:

• Treat every Gun as a Loaded Gun!!
• Take personal responsibility for your firearm.
• Misuse of a firearm can cause serious injury or death. Take precautions to protect yourself, your family, and visitors to your home.
• Enroll in a Firearm Safety Course.
• Know how to safely clean, load, lock, store, and handle your gun. Understand federal, state, and local firearm laws. Know the conditions under which you may be liable to civil penalties for any deaths or injuries caused by your firearm.
• Strictly enforce gun safety rules in your home.
• If you own a firearm, take firm control. Do not let your gun fall into the wrong hands. Protect yourself, your family, and visitors to your home. Lock up your firearm.
• Guns seem like toys to children who see them fired in countless movies and television programs. Guns have a strong - sometimes fatal - fascination for teenagers. If you have children or young adults living in your home or visiting, protect them. Lock up your firearm.
• A person suffering from depression or mental illness may use your gun to commit suicide. Suicide attempts involving firearms are usually fatal - there is no second chance. Someone addicted to alcohol or drugs may use your gun to harm others. Lock up your firearm.
• A flare-up of anger can lead to tragedy if a loaded gun can be grabbed quickly. A quarrel that would have blown over by morning can lead to death, injury, a lifetime of regret. Lock up your firearm.
• Children or adolescents who use a firearm for hunting or target practice should have adult supervision and must obtain the appropriate instruction and certification for gun safety and use. Young people must be taught to respect a firearm as a dangerous weapon. They must assume - the gun is always loaded. Even if they know for certain the gun is not loaded, they must handle it as if it were. Be a responsible gun owner. If your children use guns, teach them to use them properly and supervise their activity.
• Tell your children that if they see someone pull out a gun at a party or on the street - leave the area immediately.
• Tell your children that if they see a gun to:

Stop

Don't Touch

Remove yourself from the area

Go tell an adult

• Empty the ammunition from your firearm. Use a trigger lock, barrel lock, cylinder lock, a locking firearm case, or keep your firearm in a locked gun safe. Locking devices cost between $7 and $20; gun safes range in price from $100 to $1,000.
• Store ammunition separately in a locked container away from heat or moisture. Never throw ammunition in the trash.
• Carry the keys for the gun and the ammunition on your person at all times or keep the keys locked in a location known only to you.
• Never store a firearm on a bedside table or under a mattress or pillow.
• Do not store a firearm among valuables such as jewelry or silver where it might be stolen. Don't let your gun be used to commit a crime!
• Handle every firearm as if it were loaded. Never point a gun at yourself or at anyone else.
• Never display your gun at a social gathering.
• Never allow your gun to be present when alcohol or drugs are being used.
• Clean your gun alone and in a safe place. Do not leave your gun unattended even for a moment.
• Load your gun only if, and when, you intend to fire it.