Gun Accidents Among Children

“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” This is a phrase that has been used carelessly over the years. Gun accidents are continuously increasing, and innocent children are the ones who are suffering from this carelessness. What happens when those guns lie in the hands of our children? Parents lose children, grandparents lose grandchildren, and siblings lose a brother or a sister. Every nine hours a child, under the age of fifteen, dies from a firearm accident. What could be done to ensure that tragedies like this do not happen? Children’s television programs should stop showing violence, parents and children need to be more educated on this issue, guns should be locked up, and gun laws need to be stricter. One reason why gun accidents are occurring with children is because of the violence shown on television programs and video games. Children watch more and more television each day. Children also rely a lot on video games for entertainment. The television shows children watch oftentimes show violence. Video games show people killing “monsters” with guns. The monster then gets back up and the game continues. Children are very impressionable. What do children think when they see this? The children see this happening on games and television shows and believe the gun is just a toy. They do not see how truly dangerous guns are. Then, children see a real gun and play with it. They shoot themselves or another child believing that they will be just fine. This is because that is all they have ever seen. Parents need to monitor children’s television shows and video games carefully. Another reason why gun accidents are occurring with children is because of the lack of gun safety education with parents and children. Parents do not have a full understanding of how many accidents happen due to guns. Every parent should teach their children how dangerous guns are. Telling a child to not touch a gun is not enough. Explain to children what

Cited: Anderson, George M. “America.” 172.8(2010): p.26-28. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. U.S. National Library of Health. Medline Plus. 18 April 2012. Web. 06 Nov, 2012. Source: Nemours Foundation. KidsHealth, Gun Safety. 2012. Web.