How young is too young?

[dnurk]

Lots of great posts already here. The only additional comment I will add is that the child should likely not be at any range (private or public) until the parents are comfortable that the child is capable of taking and following direction. My now 5 1/2 year old goes with me any time I shoot on private property where I can control the environment. He listens extremely well and is mindful of all safety rules that we have been discussing for over 2 years.

He has friends that are 5 and 6 that I would absolutely not take to a range because they demonstrate an inability to follow directions.

That is the first thing I would look at when making the decision.

As for the OP...2 is way too young.

 

[the1kidd03]

Lots of great posts already here. The only additional comment I will add is that the child should likely not be at any range (private or public) until the parents are comfortable that the child is capable of taking and following direction. My now 5 1/2 year old goes with me any time I shoot on private property where I can control the environment. He listens extremely well and is mindful of all safety rules that we have been discussing for over 2 years.

He has friends that are 5 and 6 that I would absolutely not take to a range because they demonstrate an inability to follow directions.

That is the first thing I would look at when making the decision.

As for the OP...[STRIKE]2 is way too young.[/STRIKE] 2 is too young if the child doesn't possess the "mental capacity" to understand what you're teaching him and follow your directions, or the physical ability to do what's necessary to be safe

fixed it for you

"You're a crazy gun owner who's going to go on a rampage in a movie theatre and kill everyone, because ...you carry a gun." See how generalizations work. They don't necessarily hold true. Age doesn't determine maturity or intellect. My nephew could recite the safety rules at 2 years old and could handle a pistol with his dad PERFECTLY SAFELY at that age. He wasn't allowed to shoot merely because of his SIZE. His 4th birthday however, he was out in the field plinking his little .22lr single shot rifle, and being more safe than most adults I see going to ranges.

 

[trapperDave]

no, he had it right the first time. you fixed nothing

 

[the1kidd03]

no, he had it right the first time. you fixed nothing

agree to disagree then.....I'm glad you know what's best for the thousands....millions of children out there... perhaps you should explain that to my nephew


My point was simply that what holds true for ONE individual does not necessarily hold true for EVERYONE. You either believe this to be false, or do not understand it?!?

 

[trapperDave]

i undrstand 2 yr olds. lol
what I dont understand is "fixing" the opinions of others. To each his own

 

[the1kidd03]

i undrstand 2 yr olds. lol
wht I dont understand is "fixing" the opinions of others.

I didn't say that you do not understand 2 year olds. I said that perhaps you do not understand the point I was making, regarding what's true for ONE person doesn't inherently fit for EVERYONE else.

I understand your point, and I wasn't telling him that he was wrong in his opinion. I was merely pointing out the "error" (per MY opinion) in his point. This is generally regarded as a discussion which is the premise for this website. To discuss ideas, thoughts, different opinions. I never implied I fixed HIS opinion. That is for HIM to do. I only stated I fixed what I didn't agree with and stated why. It's up to each person to decide what's best for them. That's the beauty of America.

 

[backfire]

My then, 3 1/2 yr. old daughter has had a rubber band rifle I purchased for her at age 3, where we "shoot" it together so I can supervise and teach her the basics of gun safety. She knows how to "load" the thing safely, as well as, shoot it safely/accurately with my supervision and to my surprise, she can repeat and execute the first & second rules of gun safety on her own, without me even prompting her.

Even though it's a "play" gun, we always teach the point to treat it like a real gun and she knows that... We NEVER buy the kids "toy" guns to run around with and point at each other in the house- not even squirt guns. No sense in creating bad habits now at this young, impressionable age.

That said, at 3 1/2 years old, she regularly accompanied my wife and I to the trap range at Hillside, where she sets on a chair way behind us (with eyes & ears on) and pushes the bird launch button when we exclaim "pull"! At that age, she's already shot a 20 gauge, (with me helping her) my bolt action .22LR rifle and my Smith M&P 15-22 .22LR semi-auto rifle. She very comfortable with and being around firearms, knows how to use them, is very concious of safety (she even remnds me sometimes) and she always wants to "go shooting guns" with Dad anytime I get them out to practice.

The bottom line here is, teach your children the SAFE way to handle/shoot guns while they are young, so they develop safe gun handing etticute that will stick with them for a lifetime. Do so under your close supervision to prevent accidents or to answer their questions and NEVER treat them as a toy (even if they are)- because the last you want is for them to mistake a real one for a toy and possibly hurt someone on accident.

My daughter is 4 now and she shoots regularly with me on a private range or when the public range is nearly empty during a weekday. She's getting better and more confident each time and I'm very proud of her.

 

[the1kidd03]

My then, 3 1/2 yr. old daughter has had a rubber band rifle I purchased for her at age 3, where we "shoot" it together so I can supervise and teach her the basics of gun safety. She knows how to "load" the thing safely, as well as, shoot it safely/accurately with my supervision and to my surprise, she can repeat and execute the first & second rules of gun safety on her own, without me even prompting her.

Even though it's a "play" gun, we always teach the point to treat it like a real gun and she knows that... We NEVER buy the kids "toy" guns to run around with and point at each other in the house- not even squirt guns. No sense in creating bad habits now at this young, impressionable age.

That said, at 3 1/2 years old, she regularly accompanied my wife and I to the trap range at Hillside, where she sets on a chair way behind us (with eyes & ears on) and pushes the bird launch button when we exclaim "pull"! At that age, she's already shot a 20 gauge, (with me helping her) my bolt action .22LR rifle and my Smith M&P 15-22 .22LR semi-auto rifle. She very comfortable with and being around gun, knows how to use them, is very concious of safety (she even remnds me sometimes) and she always wants to "go shooting guns" with Dad anytime I get them out to practivce.

The bottom line here is, teach your children the SAFE way to handle/shoot guns while they are young, so they develop safe gun handing etticute that will stick with them for a lifetime. Do so under your close supervision to prevent accidents or answer questions NEVER treat them as a toy (even if they are)- because the last you want is for them to mistake a real one for a toy and possibly hurt someone on accident.

My daughter is 4 now and she shoots regularly with me on a private range or when the public range is nearly empty during a weekday. She's getting better and more confident each time. I'm very proud of her.

I was 5 when I started. First time shot a 9mm pistol, a 12ga 1100 (needed help holding it up), and a 22 rifle. I started what I consider "old" as I had always had an "obsession" with guns. After my first time I was HOOKED. As I've grown older I've helped NUMEROUS kids learn and seen many younger than I was handling and shooting safely.

 

[jayhawk]

I'm not sure there really is adequate protection for someone that young. They have lots of sensitive parts that can be affected by bone conduction just as they can air conduction. If the kid is close enough, the vibrations could still damage something, as he doesn't have enough bone mass to absorb them.

I've learned a lot dating an audiologist.

I would be seriously concerned about hearing protection.

 

[churchmouse]

I didn't say that you do not understand 2 year olds. I said that perhaps you do not understand the point I was making, regarding what's true for ONE person doesn't inherently fit for EVERYONE else.

I understand your point, and I wasn't telling him that he was wrong in his opinion. I was merely pointing out the "error" (per MY opinion) in his point. This is generally regarded as a discussion which is the premise for this website. To discuss ideas, thoughts, different opinions. I never implied I fixed HIS opinion. That is for HIM to do. I only stated I fixed what I didn't agree with and stated why. It's up to each person to decide what's best for them. That's the beauty of America.

Yup......

 

[churchmouse]

I was 12 when I was introduced to firearms. A bit old maybe but I was capable of taking directions. We are talking 1962 so my hearing protection was nothing to brag about.
I started my kids around guns at 8 or so and actually shooting between 10 and 11.
They were ready at that point.
My grand daughter is 5 going on 15 and really wants to go. She got a Cricket (from me) for Christmas but she is not ready yet. To headstrong. Appleseed for this one I think.

 

[Iroquois]

OK, just my $.02...based on experience as a dad and grandad..When my kids were 6+7
we went to the country to shoot with a friend. It quickly became evident that the 6 year old was not old enough to reliably follow directions. She was not allowed to shoot for almost 2 years even though her sister went with me to the range. She eventually learned to be safe and never was afraid to try any
gun I offered her. My stepkids came along much older but were as hard to teach as my younger daughter because they weren't raised in the culture of gun safety.
Then along comes the granddaughter who spent much time around guns since she was a babe
in arms. The first time she heard a gun we were a a church picnic with friends and someone pulled out
a shotgun and trap. The kids and women stood back while the men took turns busting clays.
A few of the women had a try and then the older kids.
The whole time the wife (Grandma) was holding my granddaughter about 80 yds back.
After I had made a couple good (lucky) hits she asked 'what's poppo doin! '
' poppo's shooting the gun, Emma ' Grandma said.
My 2 year old granddaughter made me so proud when she announced
"Emma need gun"
It's been a long 6 year of asking her to wait, explaining all along that she was too little
but this year she has been shooting with me and showing a lot of patience and care...
I have never regretted exposing her to guns at a young age, but always have ingrained the
need for safety. If you can do this go ahead...maybe after mom and dad learn how!.

 

[dnurk]

agree to disagree then.....I'm glad you know what's best for the thousands....millions of children out there... perhaps you should explain that to my nephew


My point was simply that what holds true for ONE individual does not necessarily hold true for EVERYONE. You either believe this to be false, or do not understand it?!?

I completely agree that if, in theory, there existed a 2 year old with the mental capacity, verbal talent, and self restraint to truly comprehend what was going on and take complete direction, then yes...the infant would be ready.

I would be willing to wager such a 2 year old does not exist so I generalized and said 2 is too young. Mea culpa for that

 

[the1kidd03]

As we can see from everyone's personal experiences with kids...it entirely depends on the kid and their level of maturity. My nephew was FAR from what I would consider and "infant" at two years old. He was able to form clear sentences and carry on conversations at that age. I don't mean this to sound in any way as bragging, but rather to point out that it's entirely dependant on the child and not specifically their age necessarily.

 

[Mosinguy]

My

My other

We're up to $.06 now,

I don't think math was your strong point, no?

 

[dnurk]

As we can see from everyone's personal experiences with kids...it entirely depends on the kid and their level of maturity. My nephew was FAR from what I would consider and "infant" at two years old. He was able to form clear sentences and carry on conversations at that age. I don't mean this to sound in any way as bragging, but rather to point out that it's entirely dependant on the child and not specifically their age necessarily.

We can agree on that, good sir. Whatever age they are ready, they are ready. Good discourse.

 

[churchmouse]

We can agree on that, good sir. Whatever age they are ready, they are ready. Good discourse.

^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^

We all have different levels of comprehension at different ages. Watch, listen and be attentive. You will know when it is time.

 

[warren5421]

To young and to much lead around which can do bad things to that young a kid. If I remember right thats the "Every thing in to mouth" age.

 

[Fixer]

I agree with most in saying that 2 is a bit young to teach them much about guns. It would be difficult to try to teach the parents when one of them would have to be with the young one the whole time. I would think it would be an unwelcome distraction when trying to teach them, or for them to learn much the first time out.

I personally started my daughter out at 5 shooting a single shot 22. She is now 8 and comes to the range with us regularly. She follows the RO's commands better than some of the adults. Always makes me proud.

 

[j4jenk]

I don't think math was your strong point, no?

Ummmm............... 3 opinions at $.02 each...........yup that's $.06.