Pax said:
Educating the kids is NOT enough. It's a critical layer of safety, but it's only one layer. The other essential layer is keeping guns under the conscious control of a responsible adult, or locked up where children (and criminals, and clueless people) cannot access them.
In any case, you'll need a safe. Small, quick-access safes cost less than $200, many of them less than $100. (See here for one example of an excellent product designed to hold a single firearm.)
Pax, I agree with most of what you have said, and thank you for your flourishing credentials. I have raised 6 children ranging in age from 25 to 9. With that age range in children, we have grown as parents. One of those children was adopted out of an inner city at 13. I do not have a website dedicated to informing others how to... (I applaud you for spending the time trying to help others).
The part I have trouble with in your recommendations is the
need to get a safe. I have had firearms around my children all their lives. I do keep them secure in a storage location, but I have not been convinced by experience or evidence that a safe is a requirement; I will agree it is an easy way to control the problem of access.
I am a strong proponent of education, and you are correct that education alone is not enough. I have learned that children also need practice and guidance in handling firearms. The last thing I want is for my children to accidentally shoot anyone, nor do I want them accidentally shot while at a friends house when that friend finds mommies gun (or daddies), and doesn't know how to react.
I want my children, even the 11 and 9 year old who are still at home, to be able to access a firearm in the event they need to defend themselves. You listed several scenarios that led you to the conclusion to carry a firearm on you while at home. I can envision the same scenarios taking me out of the fight, and leaving my children unprotected. I want them to have the training and guidance to do that very thing. My 11 year old competes in IDPA and 2 gun; my 9 year old also will when his hands get a bit bigger. The point is education is a huge part of the equation, in my view it is the biggest part of the solution. We lived as a society for quit a while without gun safes, yet we seem unable to do so today.
My advise to parents is spend time thinking through this topic, but don't stop thinking about it when you reach some decision. Implement your plan, but constantly reevaluate how you are protecting and preparing your children for the future. More information, better technology, different living conditions, and children themselves should influence how each family answers this question. My solution may not be right for you, and yours may not be right for me.