Customer Reviews

Gun-Proof Your Children / Massad Ayoob's Handgun Primer

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I recently bought this book because I am a gun owner and my wife recently became pregnant with our first child. While it was just the two of us in the house, my ownership of several guns was not an issue - I stored them out of sight, and my wife was simply not inclined to touch them anyway, even if I had them lying around on the kitchen counter.

However, with a little one on the way and with myself not willing to simply give away my guns, I had to figure out some way for my guns and my children to safely co-exist in the same household.

This book has been very helpful to me in exploring a way to have such a happy situation. While most parents' first instinct would be to simply put as much distance as possible between their children and guns (a perfectly understandable reaction), Mr. Ayoob correctly states that despite your own prohibitions in your own household, it is highly likely - in fact a near certainty - that your child will come in contact with a real, loaded firearm sometime in his or her childhood without the benefit of responsible adult supervision. What happens when you're not around is the true test of a parent's education to their children.

Much as you won't protect your children against the prospect of drowning by simply keeping them away from water in which they can be submerged all their lives (they will eventually go to a lake, swimming pool or ocean sometime in their childhoods) banning the mention or sight of guns from your own home will not protect your children from guns. As Mr. Ayoob has himself raised two children, his concerns were what mine are now, as guns were a part of his livelihood, and he slowly came to realize that there was no possible way to make a gun "childproof," despite all the locks, safety measures, and such that come to mind. If a human being can think of a way to "childproof" a gun, a human mind, namely that of a child - can find a way to defeat it.

The solution, therefore, is to GUN-PROOF your children. That is, make your child able to respond to guns with a sense of responsibility and safety, instead of childlike curiosity and ignorance. Just as the best way to make your child safe around deep water is to teach them to swim and how to tread water and not panic, the best way to keep your kids safe around guns (whether they be yours or someone else's) is to teach them proper and safe handling of guns, not by telling them simplistic and dangerous mantras of "guns are bad, guns are bad!"

This is a short well written book designed to gunproof your children. It examines the fallacy of locking up your guns as a viable option. While locks help it won't protect your kids when they may face a weapon away from the home. Today's kids need this info even if you don't personally own firearms.

This is a very brief primer on firearms and children. While these 2 groups shouldn't mix, they often do. And what the author explains is that we owe it to our children to teach them about firearms and not make them "forbidden fruit."

The author's reputation is outstanding in the field of law enforcement and has many books and manuals to his credit. He is certified to teach in many areas of firearms training. Most of all, he is a dad. And I know for a fact that both of his daughters are excellents shots!

I used this book and it worked. I have two kids and they are more mature than many adults I've seen around guns. My wife was skeptical because her brother was killed in a gun accident at a young age but now admits that our older one seems to have little interest in "playing" with guns. We used the ideas and extended them to knives, garden tools and the swimming pool. Brilliant common sense in this book.

Even if you hate guns, this is A must have book if you have children or grandchildren. I thought that I was savy enough to do the job unaided but Mr. Ayoob brought up situations that I hadn't thought of.

On the flip side is excellent guidance for a novice shopping for a handgun. It is a bit out of date as it does not include the excellent Taurus brand which has built in keylocks.

In blogs, chats and general conversation from gun enthusiasts and sportsmen, one name keeps reappearing, Massad Ayoob. I own and have read his book, "In The Gravest Extreme: The Role Of The Firearm In Personal Protection", and found it invaluable. When I found this title I immediately ordered it. I have a son who is a year and half old and I was raised around firearms and knew all the rules and how to handle them from an early age, but Ayoob's approach far exceeded that. He tells you how to "Gunproof Your Children" rather than "Childproof Your Gun", a vast difference. He teaches you how show them responsibility and respect for firearms even when you aren't there, or if they are some other child's house when/if the situation arrises. Every parent should read this, regardless if you own a firearm or hate firearms. It is about education, just as if you were to educate them on anything else that may harm them if they were to abuse it. It is a MUST read, not for you, but for your children.

This book combines the author's life experience with his father and his own children with some insightful twists on common sense about introducing guns to children.

It is difficult to summarize the book without stealing Mass' thunder, so I will simply say the meat of the book revolves around a few key concepts that are very simple, sensible, and approachable. I will be employing his advice when introducing my own son to firearms.

No one can be protected from all harm, so teaching your kids about firearms is as simple and logical as teaching them to swim so they don't drown. The unknown is both dangerous than thrilling, so teach your kids about the things they need to be careful around.

We used this book to raise our son and later a grandson. It works great, removes the curiosity about the guns in the house and makes for some good memories shared with the kids. I would recommend it to any gun owner, who has kids.

do you have a kid? I do. This book is a great way to teach your children about guns to keep them safe. It doesn't matter if you own guns or not, The more kids know the safer they are. For example, do you have a TV? Your kid probably knows how to use it better than you do right? Kids are curious about what they don't know. teach them about guns and they won't be playing with them behind your back. make guns just another appliance to kids. Read this book!