Dear Abby, I'm in the doghouse...

Yesterday was my son's 5th Birthday.

His "wish list" for gifts were things related to being a Pirate or Cowboy.

He had a party for his friends last Saturday and afterwards told us (the parents) that the wish he made before blowing out the candles was to get a "weapon" for his Birthday.

Well, before he got home yesterday, my daughter and I went to the store to see what we could find. Not much in the toy department (that do nothing but make noise). I moved up to the type that shoot plastic pellets. They were heavy, complicated... I then looked at a small Daisy BB gun. Hmmm. Less expensive than the plastic pellet gun. He can't cock it himself (so I control if/when loaded/fired). Well, that seemed like the right choice to me so I got it.

My son and Mrs. Zoom got home last night while his sister and I were outside. We had the gift with us and let him open it. He was estatic!!!

Mrs. Zoom pulled me aside and ripped me a new A-Hole. I didn't catch all of it but it was mostly to the effect that she didn't want him turning into a hick and playing with guns for fun (although she gave him a plastic gun the day before ) and becoming a hunter and such.

I got it for him so he can learn gun safety and such. I don't hunt anymore since Mrs. Zoom doesn't eat venison.

I still don't see the issue.

Advise appreciated.

Signed,
Dad-in-the-doghouse

Dear Dad-in-the-dog house,

It's a reaction to the "You'll shoot your eye out, kid" syndrome. See "A Christmas Story" for further information.

The cure is time and a perfect safety record.

I suggest trading in the old wife for a newer model with more tolerance for boys will be boys. By the way, just don't give him any BB's and keep the real guns away from her......

Junkman said:

I suggest trading in the old wife for a newer model with more tolerance for boys will be boys. By the way, just don't give him any BB's and keep the real guns away from her......

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Sounds like good advise to me.... My son had a .22 when he was 5 .. Safety is the key, you may also want to use the defence of all the recent shootings making guns out to be sort of a curious toy.. Having one he can learn to respect will significantly lower the likelyhood that an accident will happen... My son(not a hick by any stretch of the word) has been around guns and dead deer his whole life.. He knows what a gun can do and respects it.. I have absoloutly no worries about him and gun saftey.. His freinds on the other hand, with parents that are leary of guns, are atotally different story... Good luck..

Dear Abby,

An update after 24 hours.

Mrs. Zoom and I barely spoke this morning. The obligatory good morning was about all that was said unless it was in direct reference to who's doing what to get the kids out the door for school and such.

Mrs. Zoom had to work late tonight.

I then gathered the kids and took them out to shoot the new BB gun. We had a blast (pun intended). So much so that I think I'm going to get my daughter a nice BB gun (since they're much cheaper to shoot than the .22 she's shooting now) as well as one for myself.

Please advise on the reprecussions I'm going to experience. I do have alternate sleeping facilities (the shop, truck...).

Thanks
Dad-in-the-doghouse.

Well, you're going on the 2nd time around, ya know the 3rd time will be a real "charm". Better fix up the shop.. I think its cool, if you want my opinion. As long as you teach them to respect it and show them movies or such on how it can harm you too. You might even check out your local gun club and see if they have some advise for you on how to teach children to respect guns.

Dad-in-the-doghouse,
This is only my opinion, but when you hide the "real thing" from the youngster, they will only try to seek it out and play with it. My thought was always to show them early on what things are and what destruction they can do. Show them respect in handling said "real thing". If it's a mystery they will only learn about it themselves without you knowing it.

But on the other hand.......pick a nice warm blanket to take out with you to your alternative sleeping quarters.

Thanks Pigtails,

Pigtails said:

As long as you teach them to respect it and show them movies or such on how it can harm you too.

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I spend a lot of time teaching the kids safety. I'm not shy about my response when they do something they shouldn't either. They do learn and respect it.

I put a can out today and put a hole through it. The little guy in particular now knows what it can do.

The neighbors (dad and son) were over shooting their BB gun as well. They all then got to learn more range safety of having multiple shooters on the line.

Actually, these things are in a way a bit more dangerous than the bigger calibers. I don't know how many times I hear/feel/see the BB's coming back at us after hitting a target. It's an ABSOLUTE requirement that everyone within 80 yards have eye protection, regardless of where you are or what you're doing when we're shooting these things. I've also moved the targets and adjusted the angles to try and make it where any ricochet is deflected at a safe angle instead of coming back at the shooter(s).

Well, we taught both or son and daughter how to shoot and each took hunters safety courses. My son's first BB gun, he was shooting at cans on our campout and he seen a robin in a tree. He decided he'd see how close he could get. He shot it. My daughter and him came running to our campsite and he was crying his eyes out. He sobbed, "I shot a bird, and Kris, our daughter, and I just buried it. I said a prayer too." It broke by heart but he learned the hard way. But that was even after all that we had taught them and even showed him what it could do if it was aimed at any living thing.

OhioTC18 said:

Dad-in-the-doghouse,
This is only my opinion, but when you hide the "real thing" from the youngster, they will only try to seek it out and play with it. My thought was always to show them early on what things are and what destruction they can do. Show them respect in handling said "real thing". If it's a mystery they will only learn about it themselves without you knowing it.

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Thanks for the confirmation AbbyTC18. That's pretty much my intention.

OhioTC18 said:

But on the other hand.......pick a nice warm blanket to take out with you to your alternative sleeping quarters.

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I did that today... The bunker is still warm this time of year so I might head there instead.