Would you let your child have a playdate in a house where guns were kept?

Question

Just wondering. I'll post my thoughts later..just curious how other moms feel about this. If possible, can you put what area you are from too.

Answer 1

I would first arm my children with Uzis and flash grenades and dress them in bulletproof Teletubby vests. You can't be too careful these days.

Answer 2

I won't let my daughters have any kind of date until they are past menopause.

Answer 3

No way...not worth the risks.  Kids are smart, and if your kids know you have a gun in the home I wouldn't trust that they "know to leave it alone".  Kids are kids, and they will do what they want to do sometimes out of curiosity and I don't want my son to be around to take a chance like that.  I live in the Houston area.

**EDIT**  I can't get over how many people that have responded with a "no" are getting a thumbs down.  I guess ya'll are just way more trusting than I am.  I'm not willing to gamble on the fact that it could happen.  Pathetic.

Answer 4

Absolutely not!!  You always hear about children accidently shooting one another cause the parent didn't know the gun was loaded or the safe was unlocked....not a good situation. It's better to stay away and not put yourself into that predictament.

Answer 5

Interesting question.  Like many others, I would be uncomfortable having my kids playing in a house where I knew there were guns.  But I wonder how many people actually ask about guns before they send their kid for a playdate? I can't say that I do.

Answer 6

Well, I'm not a mom...but yes, I would let my child have a playdate there as long as the guns were kept in a locked gunsafe, as any responsible gun owner would do.

Answer 7

Depends, if they are kept in a large safe. Also only if you know the parents well.  There are responisble gun owners.

Answer 8

Only if I knew the parents (my friends) and if I knew for a 100% fact that all the guns were in a locked cabinet and knew the key was in no way accessible to the children!

Also you have to have enough brains to teach your children not to play with guns!

I may change my tune when my daughter is old enough to play at a friends house without me there supervising the entire time?!

Maine

Great Question Jili!

Answer 9

No.

Boston.

Answer 10

hellz yizaaa i would!!  i know dat house be safe!!  someone try to rob dem and booom night night, dat's it and dats all... so d**n right i would!  Chyeah holla at me in the 189

Answer 11

Yes - provided they are locked in a gun safe.

There are so many potential dangers out there for kids, that are far more likely to happen than a gun accident.  For anyone that answered no to this - would you let your child play at a friend's house that lived on a very busy street?  that had a pool?  That have knives in the house?  that have legal medications in the house?  that don't keep cabinets with cleaning products locked up?

My main concern is that my child is at a friend's house where he/she will be well supervised.

Answer 12

It depends on how well I know all of the people who are at that house and how well you know your child.

My father always had guns in his house.  These were hunting rifles and shotguns and they were always locked up.  There was never a pistol in a drawer are under a mattress.  He had the only key to the gun cabinet and it stayed on his person at all times.  He doesn't have the guns at his house anymore but if he did I wouldn't think twice about letting one of my children stay in that house alone or with friends.

Other than that I can't think of anyone I trust to have guns and my child in their house at the same time.

Answer 13

Wow great question.  And I just realized what I hypocrite I am :(  My husband has guns (he's a hunter, plus he has a LTC and a handgun).  We welcome children at our home and our house is the neighborhood hot spot for the kids!  Note:  Everything is to-the-letter secure at my home.  But I would definitely hesitate to let the kids to to another house.  Tough one.  I guess I'd have to say no, until I'm confident in the security measures made at the home.  Once that fear is eased, then sure.  Most gun owners aren't leaving them on the kitchen table.  Especially with children.  What we read in the paper are bizzare statistics.  In fact, gun owners are usually the most safety conscious ones the the room because they're SO aware of potential dangers.

You know though, this question assumes we already know this about all our neighbors and kids' friends.  We don't.  I don't tell everyone I know that my husband has guns.  I dont know anyone who does.

Answer 14

As long as they were locked up I wouldn't have a problem with it. I'm sure the parents wouldn't go around waving the guns for all to see.

My father has ALWAYS had guns in the house. However, they were always in gun cases locked up and out of reach. We learned not to touch them or play with them and never had an accident with us or friends coming over.

Answer 15

I most likely would not allow my child to play there.  Kids often see guns as toys, b/c there are so many toy guns that look real.  But if they see a knife they will usually know it is real and is dangerous.  And for the swimming pool issue that was mentioned, most people have a fence around their pool, and most people watch little kids when they are outside playing, and don't let them play in the pool area, if there was no fence around the pool, I might not let my kid play there unless I am guaranteed a parent will be outside with them at all times.  With guns, you don't know how well the guns are locked up, if the child knows right where to get them and is capable, if a child lock is used, if they are left in easily accessible areas, and you can't really ask a parent how well they lock these things up b/c everyone would say they do a good job keeping them put away.  I think kids definitely are way too curious and play with guns too much, because they might think it is a toy, my kids will most likely not have toy guns either.

Answer 16

If it were someone I knew real well.  My husband is a hunter, so there are guns in our house, but they are in the attic, which the kids can't get into, never loaded and the bullets are in a different location.  Most hunters are conscientious gun owners.

Michigan

Answer 17

I think it depends on the child, and how responsible the other adults are. My parents recently kept both of my kids (6 and 4) for a week (and have for every summer). My dad is a hunter and keeps guns in the house. My son(6) was even able to shoot one of my dads guns with his dad, uncle and Papa. Immediately after he shot the gun we discussed how powerful guns are, and what they can do...and what they would do to a person if you play with them. He knows that they are unavailable if he is not with an adult. He knows that they are not to be played with because he has seen the damage they do. I grew up in a home with guns, I always knew that you didn't even go into the same room!!!!! Regardless if you like guns or don't, they are a part of our world. I would rather my son know that they are dangerous than to one day stumble upon it saying "what's this?".  So, obviously I do not mind that my kids play at a house where there are guns- but who is with him does matter!!!

-Texas

Answer 18

Sure.  Why not? If I have done my task in teaching my children gun safety then they will be safe.

I was out target shooting with my dad and grandpa when I was six or seven years old and my dad always taught me about safety with guns. Even when I  was 17 I was not allowed to touch his guns without his permission but he would take them out to show me any time I asked him.  That was always the deal. And he kept his ammo separate from the guns only loading them when he was using them.

So...I do not see any problem at all.  I live in the upper Midwest where lots of people have guns. I think my kids would be pretty lonely if I forbade them to play at a house with guns. Plus they would never have seen their own grandpa LOL.

I think unilateral rules like never allowing your kid to play in a house where the adults have guns is totally stupid and naive.

It is like forbidding them to play outside because cars are going by on the street.

Answer 19

Alot, alot of people have guns in there home, chances are your child has been in a home with guns and you didn't know about it.  If there are guns, ask to see where they are kept.  If they are locked in a safe high away from children, I don't see the problem.  If they are kept in the drawer of a nightstand, no flipping way.  See where I'm going with this??  It's the same if someone has a pool.  Are there alarms on the doors when they're opened?  Is there a gate around the pool??  Or are the kids running in and out of the house willy-nilly?  What if someone has large dogs?  Are they well trained and friendly or are the menacing and short tempered??  There are dangers EVERYWHERE....all we can do is make the most responsible choices possible for our children.  But if we start prohibiting them from playing anywhere were some maybe possibly will happen, our poor children will be locked in their rooms every day.

Answer 20

No, never, not in a million years I don't care how deep they are buried in a gun safe.

Answer 21

Yes.

Before I will let my daugher go to friends' houses to play, I plan on knowing the family and the parents. If I have doubts about my daughter's safety, then the answer is that her friends can play at our house, or we can do play dates at the park. But if I feel safe at that house then the answer would probably be yes.

Guns are not an enemy, and I plan to teach my daughter how to use them responsibly and to leave them alone when mom and dad are not around. (Not that we have guns at our house, but our relatives are hunters, and have guns.) I also plan to teach her that if she feels uncomfortable to call and come home. Then if she finds ANYTHING dangerous and doesn't feel comfortable, she can stay safe. Guns are not the only dangerous thing out there!

Answer 22

never. you just cant trust anyone when it comes to the safty of your child. if something did happen you could never forgive yourself and it would not be fair to the child. if the people with the guns cant understand that then i think that it is time to find more responsible friends. maybe just have the playdate at another house or at a park.

Answer 23

Yes, as long as they were kept in a locked location and the ammo was kept seperate.

West Virginia

Answer 24

Only if the play date would include skeet shooting or target practice, but if they're going to lock up the guns and not let my kids play with their toys, then forget it.

Answer 25

If they were put away like mine is. I have a digital fingerprint read safe for mine. It is loaded, but is put away out of reach by my kids. There isn't anyways for it to get taken out without swiping my finger over the sensor. I'd feel fine with something like that. Safety is my only concern. The stand-up gun cabinets with glass doors...I don't like that idea at all. I prefer the fingerprint digital ones.

Answer 26

You wouldn't even know I owned a gun. I have 5 children I call my own, and am regularly visited by friends and family. I don't even think they would know I owned one. It isn't really something I advertise.

I would say yes, IF I knew they had their gun in a safe, and the bullets were else were. Where I live (Tasmania, Australia), it's illegal to have a gun and bullets kept in the same safe, and there are so many regulations here that I have no fear in sending my child to their house.

My children have never even seen my gun, so I find if people have a problem with me, because I own one, I don't really want them around. We don't have it in the house, and I can assure anyone and everyone that they are perfectly safe. I'd never harm my children or anyone else for that matter.

I say if they are responsible, and the gun is in a safe, I have no problem.

Answer 27

Yes, I would.

We have guns in our home, and our children have been taught to respect guns.  They know that if they come across one to assume that it is real and to tell an adult, but NOT to touch it.  They will not come across one in our home, without their father or I there, because our guns are stored unloaded, in a locked safe, with the ammunition locked elsewhere.  

Guns are no more dangerous than other articles, if they are used properly, or left alone.  Children should be taught to leave them alone.  Chances are you let your children play in homes where there are knives, chemicals, pools-all of those can be just as deadly as a gun if not treated responsibly.  In fact, more children die each year from drownings than do from gun shots.

Right now, a lot of children are dying from "dusting" (inhaling the air from aerosol cans meant for blowing dust off of electronic components) or from choking themselves (a 'game').  Do you prevent them from going into homes where tehre are such cans of air, or homes that have rope or neckties or the like?  No.  We can only hope that we taught our children to make safe, responsible decisions when they are not in our care.

How many parents that said no actually ask if there are guns in a home before they allow their children to play there or spend the night?  Just a curious sub-question to this one.

Our family lives in South Carolina, USA.

Answer 28

freak accidents happen all the time so expect the unexpected and if u dont stay on your guard terrible tragedies will happen

Answer 29

As long as the guns were kept in a gun safe, with trigger guards, and ammo kept elsewhere, I see no issues.

Answer 30

I live in a rural area and actually help my father run a gun business. I would be upset if someone wouldn't let their child play with mine because we owned guns. In my opinion that is ignorant. Most gun owners are responsible people who lock their guns and or keep them in a safe place. I live in an area of the country that 99% of the population owns guns and guns out number people. My father is a reserve police officer and so are most of the men in my family. From the time we were young we were taught gun safety and respect for all fire arms. I believe that this is the problem with society. The reason we have so many problems with children and guns is because we hide them from our children and never let them know that they are not toys and are for experienced adults ONLY. As a child I was given a gun safety course as were my younger brothers. They started hunting with my father as soon as they were old enough to decide if they wanted to or not. THis is the norm in our area. And just so you know, my home county has not had a gun related death in more then ten years. I think if more people learned about gun safety and didn't try to shelter their children from the reality that is irresponsible gun ownership our country would have far less accidental deaths of children due to guns.

Answer 31

No and I think that is just justified without any explanition.