By Claire McCarthy, MD, Harvard Health Publishing for Harvard Medical School, September 22, 2022
All of us can lower the odds of unintentional shootings.
Guns hurt and kill; it’s a simple fact. And while most gun injuries and deaths are the result of an assault or suicide, unintentional injuries happen all the time, including to children and between them. In the six-year span between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children under 18 years old, resulting in 765 deaths and 1,366 injuries, according to Everytown Research and Policy.
If you’re a parent — or even if you’re not — you can help reduce the odds of an accidental shooting in several ways.
Why is it important to talk about gun safety with children?
Children are naturally curious, and guns are ubiquitous in the media and video games that children see all the time. Many don’t really understand how dangerous guns can be, and most don’t know how to tell if a gun is loaded.
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