Guns and Sleep Overs

Parents may have misgivings about their kids sleeping over at a friend's home, whose parents own guns. I may be able to address the concerns of non gun owning parents or even parents who do own guns. I have handled guns since I was around 12 years old, am a member of the NRA, and used to be a licensed gun dealer.

I firmly believe that gun safety classes should be taught in public schools but since they are not here is my advice. Kids should take a gun safety class whether they plan a sleepover at a friend's house that contains guns or not. You may not know when their friend's parents have guns in the home. And a sleepover is not your only issue, even spending 10 minutes at a home that does not safely store guns, can lead to tragedy. Use your favorite search engine to find gun classes in your area, or contact a local gun shop for information on gun safety classes for kids.

But if that isn't the route you want to take then have a discussion with the parents of your child's friends. Ask them to tell (better yet show) you what they do to safely store their guns to keep them out of the hands of kids.

Guns can be stored in a safe matter and should be. Ask the parent if their guns are in gun safes or gun boxes. See if they have trigger locks on the gun. A trigger lock is easily used, is effective and is very economical to buy. You can even offer to buy the gun owner one if they don't have one.

Even if you hate the very thought of guns but still want your child to be happy then ask questions in a respectful matter. Don't go off on an anti gun rant to the parents of your child's friend. If you do ask gun safety questions in a respectful manner and the parent still gets defensive and won't talk about it, then don't let your child sleep over. Instead ask that the other child come stay with your kid.

All children should be taught to be respectful of guns and to treat each one as loaded. They are not toys and should not be played with. Stress this to your kids even if you don't know their friends have guns in the home. If your child knows guns freak you out, he/she may not even tell you that their friend has guns in their home.

Sleepovers with a gun in the house don't have to be dangerous. Just make sure your child respects guns and knows they are not toys. Also make sure your child knows to tell a responsible adult if he or she sees another kids playing with real guns.

Sources

My own experience