Re: [unschoolingbasics] More questions... Guns and children
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Hello to the Mom with the son that is interested in guns!
Just because someone is interested in guns or weapons of any kind doesn't
mean that they are a violent person and certainly not that they will ever become
violent. Violent people are people who are hurting terribly inside for
whatever reason. People are taught violence from other people, not guns or weapons.
I hated guns and anything that had to deal with them growing up. (my brothers
hunted, EEEK! I HATED that!) My Dad also filled our freezer with animals that
we raised, (to me, at that time, that was worse than guns & hunting) as soon
as that took place for the first time, I immediately quit eating meat and
became a vegetarian at the young age of 10, much to my parents frustration and
anger I might add! (Of course, I will admit now, that also may have had a very
tiny bit to do with my rebellious tendencies that I had, ok, I mean have<BG>) As
I got older though, I decided to get more educated about guns and to my
surprise, I actually started to enjoy shooting them!
I have trophies now from competitions and when I met my husband, he was
thrilled to learn that I enjoyed the "sport" of shooting also. We now enjoy the
sport as a family.
I do not hunt and never will, my husband does hunt, we use all of what he
brings home. (I am no longer a vegetarian, I will eat meat, mostly organic and a
very little bit of what my husband brings home, which usually is only one
deer per yr., he doesn't hunt that often) Our daughters both shoot and are very
knowledgeable about guns. Even if I still had the same thoughts about firearms
as I did when I was younger, I would still rather they were educated about
them than just say they are "off limits" because of the dangers they do have. I
want them to know those dangers and also how to handle themselves in any
situation when in contact with a firearm. Until just recently, our daughters have
both been to young to hunt. Now, our oldest is getting closer to that age and
she has expressed that she might be interested in hunting. I still SHUDDER at
the thought of myself (or her!) ever killing anything, but if that is what SHE
wants, then I will give her my blessings and of course continued support on
obtaining the knowledge she needs to be safe and successful. Our youngest also
LOVES to shoot but I have a feeling that hunting will not be something in her
future, she's like her Mom on that one for sure! (and I'm still not too sure
about my oldest either!:o)
Firearms are "dangerous", ALWAYS, PERIOD.The kids know that when handling a
firearm, no matter what, first and formost :
#1: They are ALWAYS LOADED, PERIOD. (even if you "know" that they are not. and
#2: YOU NEVER POINT ONE AT ANYTHING THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL!
If your son is interested in them, my suggestion is (only a suggestion!:o)
that you find a way that will allow him to explore them under your terms, which
I'm sure is, safely, you don't want him to satisfy his curiosity and try to
explore them on his own.
They can become a wonderful sport to take part in, and, like a few have
already mentioned here, they can also be a wonderful learning tool for MANY topics.
Not only that, don't it seem that the "forbidden" fruit is always the one ya
want most?
I'm loving this group more everyday, many thanks to you, the moderators and
the rest of this group!
Nancy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hello to the Mom with the son that is interested in guns!
Just because someone is interested in guns or weapons of any kind doesn't
mean that they are a violent person and certainly not that they will ever become
violent. Violent people are people who are hurting terribly inside for
whatever reason. People are taught violence from other people, not guns or weapons.
I hated guns and anything that had to deal with them growing up. (my brothers
hunted, EEEK! I HATED that!) My Dad also filled our freezer with animals that
we raised, (to me, at that time, that was worse than guns & hunting) as soon
as that took place for the first time, I immediately quit eating meat and
became a vegetarian at the young age of 10, much to my parents frustration and
anger I might add! (Of course, I will admit now, that also may have had a very
tiny bit to do with my rebellious tendencies that I had, ok, I mean have<BG>) As
I got older though, I decided to get more educated about guns and to my
surprise, I actually started to enjoy shooting them!
I have trophies now from competitions and when I met my husband, he was
thrilled to learn that I enjoyed the "sport" of shooting also. We now enjoy the
sport as a family.
I do not hunt and never will, my husband does hunt, we use all of what he
brings home. (I am no longer a vegetarian, I will eat meat, mostly organic and a
very little bit of what my husband brings home, which usually is only one
deer per yr., he doesn't hunt that often) Our daughters both shoot and are very
knowledgeable about guns. Even if I still had the same thoughts about firearms
as I did when I was younger, I would still rather they were educated about
them than just say they are "off limits" because of the dangers they do have. I
want them to know those dangers and also how to handle themselves in any
situation when in contact with a firearm. Until just recently, our daughters have
both been to young to hunt. Now, our oldest is getting closer to that age and
she has expressed that she might be interested in hunting. I still SHUDDER at
the thought of myself (or her!) ever killing anything, but if that is what SHE
wants, then I will give her my blessings and of course continued support on
obtaining the knowledge she needs to be safe and successful. Our youngest also
LOVES to shoot but I have a feeling that hunting will not be something in her
future, she's like her Mom on that one for sure! (and I'm still not too sure
about my oldest either!:o)
Firearms are "dangerous", ALWAYS, PERIOD.The kids know that when handling a
firearm, no matter what, first and formost :
#1: They are ALWAYS LOADED, PERIOD. (even if you "know" that they are not. and
#2: YOU NEVER POINT ONE AT ANYTHING THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL!
If your son is interested in them, my suggestion is (only a suggestion!:o)
that you find a way that will allow him to explore them under your terms, which
I'm sure is, safely, you don't want him to satisfy his curiosity and try to
explore them on his own.
They can become a wonderful sport to take part in, and, like a few have
already mentioned here, they can also be a wonderful learning tool for MANY topics.
Not only that, don't it seem that the "forbidden" fruit is always the one ya
want most?
I'm loving this group more everyday, many thanks to you, the moderators and
the rest of this group!
Nancy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
>>Firearms are "dangerous", ALWAYS, PERIOD.The kids know that when handling afirearm, no matter what, first and formost :
#1: They are ALWAYS LOADED, PERIOD. (even if you "know" that they are not. and
#2: YOU NEVER POINT ONE AT ANYTHING THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL!>>
Oh yeah, I forgot to include this when I responded. When we saw how Conor was fascinated with toy guns, we made sure he knew about real guns. We even talked about what to do if he came across a gun unexpectedly including the instance of a friend wanting to show him his dad's gun. Conor was always the safety minded one in the group.
--
~Mary
"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
alive."
~Thich Nhat Hanh
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: barndogzzz@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]