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Talking to kids why we are carrying a gun

sudden valley gunner

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I thought I might bring this subject up because I have been running into it a lot with my kids freinds who come over. And last night when at my freinds for superbowel.

I find it easy to talk to my own kids about my political views and the reasons why I am open carrying plus they like it, and I bet most kids especially boys do, (Boys like guns) even when their parents are against firearms.

Last night a freind brought his 3 step kids over to our freinds house for super bowel and one of the kids ( I think his age was around 8) asked my buddy why I was carrying, he looked at me and said here you handle this. I jokingly said because its my right as an american, then asked the young one if some broke in and was going to hurt him or his family I would be able to stop that. He said thats what I thought and it was pretty much the end of that thread of discussion. Sometimes kids get simple laws and rules of life easier than adults. But this got me to thinking maybe I can get some better Ideas from folks here on good ways to explain things to kids. Especially since they get a lot of propaganda from school and t.v. and anti-parents.

My mother was a anti and when I was a kid I saw someone open carrying and asked her why and she said because this state allows it ( she said it like it was a dumb law) and that has made me want to do that since I was 6. Now here I am 32 yrs. later finally taking stand for what I believe in.
 

shad0wfax

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My answer woulddepend on the age of the child. If it was a very young child I would say, "So that if bad people try to hurt me or my friends I can stop the bad people."

The older the child gets, the more inellectual and idealogical the response is going to be.
 

Cougar125

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My daughters friends all come from victim only homes...i mean...gun free zones.

They ask me about it sometimes cuz I'll be cleaning the guns or doing something with them. I explain it pretty much to stop people that I don't want in my house from coming in. They don't mind it...only one of them laughs and says "don't shoot"...I simply tell her shit splatters. (I don't like this one friend much).

My son's friends ask if they can play with the BB guns and stuff. They want to "play" with my guns, but the boy has shot the Mosin and said "Ouch". That was after he told VLR4 that the AR hit him too hard...Then I had him shoot the Mosin Nagant. I gave him the physical comparison of his 4 yr old brother punching him in the face (AR-15) vs me punching him in the face (Mosin Nagant). He quit complaining.
 

sudden valley gunner

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shad0wfax wrote:
My answer woulddepend on the age of the child. If it was a very young child I would say, "So that if bad people try to hurt me or my friends I can stop the bad people."

The older the child gets, the more inellectual and idealogical the response is going to be.

That was basically the answer I gave him he was 8 and he got it quickly. I have gotten into lengthier discussions with my kids having pizza one time about politics, what they teach in school and guns while eating at a pizza place here a couple of the looks from the parents next to me made me laugh. Like how dare I be truthful with my kids and not shelter them from real life, especially since thier kids were coming over and hanging out with mine. But when my kids ask questionsI give truthful answers to fit their age and I remember understanding alot more than grown ups gave me credit for when I was young so I try not to water down or patronize them. One thing alot of kids can do is smell BS from a mile away.

I thought it would be good to get others input too, the wise man takes the counsel of many.
 

3/325

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I don't think there's any detailed formula for discussing the subject with a kid. There's just too many possible variables in addition to the fact that kids mature by leaps and bounds over a short period of time. You would have to take it on a one-by-one basis.

My step-daughter was looking at college scholarships online and found the NRA's essay contest (Why is the Second Amendment important to America?). She wanted to compete and asked if I would talk with her about the subject and send her in the right direction for resources.

That was an outstanding moment in my step-parenthood. She wrote a good essay, too!
 

sudden valley gunner

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I agree I don't think there is a detailed formula either, I think it's good just to get input and sometimes others have said or have good ideas that it would be good to recall when talking to younglings.
 

Nosrac

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My response to that question is always the same, "why do you think someone would carry a gun?" It gives me a chance to determine what the childs initial thoughts are and what direction I need to go in explaining it so they are interested and can understand it on their own level.
 

sudden valley gunner

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Nosrac wrote:
My response to that question is always the same, "why do you think someone would carry a gun?" It gives me a chance to determine what the childs initial thoughts are and what direction I need to go in explaining it so they are interested and can understand it on their own level.
Excellent idea. And putting it 3rd party like that is a good idea too because you can get a variety of explanations.
 

gsx1138

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I just told my daughter (7) that it's to keep her and the family safe. She knows the names of the pieces on my pistol and how to field strip it. She also knows not to touch it unless I'm supervising her. Education is always the answer.
 

sudden valley gunner

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Yea I am very open with my kids they know all about them I clean them in the open, I am a firm beleiver when you make something super taboo often times it has the opposite effect and attracts.
 

Nosrac

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I agree. My son is 7 but there is no taboo subject that we won't discuss, drugs, guns, sex...doesn't matter. Much different from how it was when I was growing up.
 

3/325

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Some folks believe that if a kid is old enough to ask the question, they're old enough to hear the answer. I agree, although real parenting skill comes in HOW you handle the question. Sometimes it can be difficult to take an adult-level topic and boil it down to kid-level understanding without oversimplifying or leaving out critical information.

Parents who try to constantly shield their children from the truth by using denial or supporting an unrealistic perspective on life end up raising a generation of kool-aid drinkers.

As we've all recently seen. :banghead:
 
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