Guns and Children: A Fatal Combination

          Unfortunately child abuse and neglect can take on numerous different forms, many of which may be difficult to recognize and can even be hidden from the casual observer.  According the National Academy of the Institute of Medicine (2013), more the three-fourths of all cases of child abuse are due to neglect.  Child neglect can be even more insidious as there are so many different ways that it can manifest itself ranging from physical or emotional neglect to even medical or educational neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013).  

The different faces of child neglect
Retrieved from the National Academy of the Institute of Medicine (2013)

          A recent article in the New York Times makes a case that leaving a loaded gun in an area that is easily accessible to children should be considered an act of child neglect (Luo & McIntire, 2013).  Since it can be reasonably assumed that children having access to a loaded weapon could lead to serious, even fatal events, there are certainly situations in which leaving guns unsecured in a child’s home could be seen as an act of gross negligence.  Additionally, because child neglect can also include inadequate supervision, leaving a firearm where a child could retrieve it may be considered a form of neglect on the part of the child's caregiver (Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, Children's Bureau, 2006). 

          The stories of a 5 year-old shooting his 2 year-old brother or of a 3 year-old shooting himself are heartbreaking.  But what is even more appalling is the frequency of these events.  A Times review also found that not only were the number of accidental shooting were severely underreported, but also that a vast majority of the fatal unintentional shootings “revolved around children’s access to firearms, with the shooting either self-inflicted or done by another child”  (Luo & McIntire, 2013).  And sadly, these accidental shootings of children by children are all the more devastating because these events are often entirely preventable.

Children's curiosity can lead to tragedies  

          According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (2012), the safest home for both children and adolescents is one that is free from firearms, but the reasons for this vary depending on the age of the child.  For instance, it is the curiosity of the young child along with their developmental state that may lead them to handle a firearm without fully understanding the dangerous possibilities that could result from this action.  However, for the adolescent, it is the increased risk of suicide that makes having guns readily available in the home so disastrous (Harvard: School of Public Health, 2013). 

         
         
         Nevertheless, there are also steps that can be taken to ensure that a home with guns is as safe as possible.  For instance, health care providers can provide injury-prevention counseling to parents at their health care visits that include information on properly storing guns unloaded and securely locked in areas inaccessible to children as well as storing ammunition in a separate locked area (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012).  

          Healthy People 2020 (2013) has identified injury and violence prevention as a major objective with an aim to also reduce firearm related deaths with preventative measures related to the environment as well as individual behaviors.  Therefore, by providing education to caregivers about the risks of guns in the home with children and the necessity of secure locks if guns are present, nurses and other health care providers can work to reduce these tragic events.