CHILDREN AND GUNS

CHILDREN AND GUNS
By Ian Berrocal Azofeifa

Nowadays, there are many children who die because of guns in their houses. Parents and experts are worried about this situation and they want to know about the reasons that are increasing the statistics. Certainly children are not responsible because they are active and curious and they want to discover their world. When children are younger, they are not able to understand what a gun is and their consequences. But, the most common reason to explain these problems are those parents who have not enough care with guns inside the house. Some pieces of advice to prevent these situations are: to keep the guns under lock without bullets, to keep the bullets in a different place from the guns, and if you are cleaning it, do not get separate from the gun. Since many people have guns in their houses, parents should ask others for guns and risks, when their children go to visit their friends and go to sleep in another house. Drugs and alcohol are important reasons too. Research have shown that some accidents have occurred because adolescents had been drinking alcohol or consuming banned substances when they played with guns. Also, emotional problems such as depression can be very serious reason to explain this problematic. In order that is very necessary to stop this situation, parents should take some actions immediately. The most important is the supervision. They must know all that the children and teens do, especially, who their friends are. Also, parents must be able to detect any problem in anywhere and any time, because help can not wait. Timely action is necessary to safe the lives of our children.
Source: http://www.aacap.org/page.ww?section=Informacion+para+la+Familia&name=Los+Ninos+y+las+Armas+de+Fuego+No.+37