How I chose to teach my children.

[rj31]

While I understand that people have different opinions about guns and kids this is how I decided to teach my children.

At 5 I started them with a .22 youth rifle. They went with me to the range and i taught them proper safety, shooting and the basics. At around 6 or 7 they were shooting most of my guns and getting good. They proved to me that they understood the safety and proper handling. They also proved to me they would take care of them regular cleaning even when money was tight and we couldn't afford to shoot we had to clean every weekend.

So at this point I have two daughters ages 9 and 12. When my oldest was 9 she had shown enough responsibility I decided to buy her a 9mm and holster. She had been using my equipment up till this time and knew it was mine and also knew it had a home of it's own. I now introduced her to her very own equipment expecting things to stay the same what I wasn't counting on is I had also taught her well. She insisted to carry like me and used the argument that it was her responsibility as it was her gun. So we came up with some rules about her carrying. We started with an empty gun and within weeks started allowing her to carry loaded and only at home with me or my wife present.

My youngest daughter was almost the same other than the argument. Now while at home both my daughters proudly carry their own pistol. They have shown extreme self discipline and responsibility. They follow the rules to the letter and still clean the guns weekly even if it is just simply dusting them off. They are helping teach their younger brother everything they have learned. He turns five in a month!

[customloaded]

AWESOME! Rep to ya


CL

[internet troll]

Kids often live up to or down to a parents expectations. Don't give them opportunities and they won't learn. Good for you to give them expectations and something to strive towards.

[priell3]

That is wonderful! I taught my son when he was 5 years old too. Teach them young and you'll never have to worry later. + rep to you.

[BimmerJon]

You let a 9 year old walk around with a loaded 9mm holstered to them?

I obviously disagree but I won't go further than that.

[gummy jones]

while i congratulate you for teaching gun safety to your children, i have mixed feelings on the situation. if there are guns in the house, at the very least, EVERY adult should be proficient with them and they should be secured from those (small children) who may not be proficient or are incapable of being so. it is an added bonus if you have taught your children to be safe/proficient with those weapons.

however, i am not sure that a child's mind is capable or should be expected to be capable of grasping the amazing responsibility of frequently carrying a firearm. whether in the house or at the mall, no matter how responsible we think our kids are, they are still kids and will make many mistakes in life just as we did. they will also exercise their curiosities just as all of us did.

it is no doubt that you love your children and obviously want to train them to be safe with weapons. i just think that carrying a firearm (other than while at the range) implies another type of maturity that i have never seen in ANY child in my life. a maturity that is not even frequently seen in most adults i know. just my $0.02.

thanks for the conversation starter.

[M&P Chris]

I believe the previous post from gummy jones said it.

[rj31]

Some more back ground I live in rural pa and we are mostly self sustaining family. We raise and grow about 89% of our food. My children are in possession of tools far more dangerous than their holster loaded firearm. They run help cut split stack wood feed animals shovel snow and process harvested food plant and animal. If my kids want chicken for dinner they need to know this before they are hungry as it requires them to kill pluck and clean their dinner. My children are far more responsible than most Americans. My oldest daughter wanted to compete for national American miss because a friend told het about it. We let her but she had to figure out how to get the 700 dollars for registration and optionals. She had 4 months to do it and did it. I paid for gas and stay. Her mother paid the sitter for the other two for the weekend.

I can understand all reactions and can also handle all opinions. I just thought I would share a few more details about what I expect of my kids. We are most definitely not the average American family and I am personally proud to say that.

[edsollen]

Right on Dad. Rep Sent. I have 4 grandsons and I pray someone is raising good girls for them to marry. There are times when I look around in despair but accounts like this give me hope, keep up the good work!

[customloaded]

Some more back ground I live in rural pa and we are mostly self sustaining family. We raise and grow about 89% of our food. My children are in possession of tools far more dangerous than their holster loaded firearm. They run help cut split stack wood feed animals shovel snow and process harvested food plant and animal. If my kids want chicken for dinner they need to know this before they are hungry as it requires them to kill pluck and clean their dinner. My children are far more responsible than most Americans. My oldest daughter wanted to compete for national American miss because a friend told het about it. We let her but she had to figure out how to get the 700 dollars for registration and optionals. She had 4 months to do it and did it. I paid for gas and stay. Her mother paid the sitter for the other two for the weekend.

I can understand all reactions and can also handle all opinions. I just thought I would share a few more details about what I expect of my kids. We are most definitely not the average American family and I am personally proud to say that.

Awesome. So your kids are where most kids were 150 years ago....and here I thought our society had advanced!

Kudos for you and for the nanny staters, pay no attention. I admire you and wish you the best. We raise a huge portion of our food, both plant and animal on our place. We believe in teaching them young too.

It's a shame that so many are so ignorant about "Dangerous" items around a farm but get bent out of shape over gun. Really? LMAO. Again, 150 years ago this was normal. I have carried guns since I was 6 or 7. Mostly by myself, unsupervised, getting dinner. Guess we all have different perspectives but nanny staters just won't get it, EVER.

I often use the comparison but I have no factural evidence to support it other than the news but kids 100 years ago were adults. They worked in Factories, held full time jobs, gave the money to their parents to survive as a family...only after WWII did our society really take off and create a middle class. Point is, learning about life and death at a young age is good. Caring for an animal and have it suddenly die is one hell of a life teacher, not to mention if you want to eat, you got to kill it yourself. Makes the value of human life increase ten fold. Now, today, ahhh, people kill each other over "NOTHING" with no remorse, no fore thought, no nothing. Tell me we are better off today than yester year with families being raised like the OP's kids vs todays cluster fuck kids and educational system we have today. Ain't no way to compare the two, OP is light years ahead of "Main Stream."

CL