This may sound morbid, And I am sorry if I offend anyone, But until your child is old enough and mature enough to understand what dead is then all of the safety teaching in the world may not help. I am 47 years old and I have been in emergency medicine since age 17, First as a medic in the army, then as a Paramedic working in Detroit, I left the field 10 years ago but in those 20 years I cannot tell you how many times I have responded to calls where a child has been involved in a shooting. And many,many of those children lived in homes that had hunters. Granted most were from homes where the child found the gun in an unlocked drawer, or under the bed. Or something just as stupid. But more than a few parents told us that they have taught their children gun safety. It was just that the child did not understand that once you shoot something and kill it, It will never live again. Sounds silly I know, But I have heard a child tell the person they have just shot to 'wake up" enough times that I am convinced that they had no grasp of the meaning of death. Yes I taught all of my children how to respect firearms, How to safely handle them, And they are all pretty proficient at them, My son is so good it is awe inspiering, But they never touched a weapon until the had a full understanding of what death was, My way to teach that was to take them small game hunting with me. Let them see the rabbit or squirrel alive, and after death, let them watch as you clean the animal. It may turn some kids off to hunting oir the shooting sports, But that is o.k. too it is their decision, But They have to know before they take up the sport what the reality of what a firearm can do and will do if not handled properly. Trust me on this you do not want to see the alternative.
