LEAWOOD, Kan., Oct. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Twelve-year-old Jacob and his cousins, a little bored with their parents’ conversation at the family reunion, had decided to leave the picnic tables and start a softball game. With the game tied, it was cousin Kelsey’s turn to bat. She hit the ball beyond the field and into nearby bushes. When outfielder Jacob ran to retrieve the ball, he discovered it. A loaded 9-millimeter Beretta, caked with dirt.
At age 12, Jacob knew just what to do. His parents had discussed firearm safety many times over the years. He stopped, stepped away from the firearm, and ran to the picnic tables to tell his parents.
“That’s precisely what children should do if they find a gun,” said Kathleen Eubanks-Meng, DO, a family physician in Kansas City. “As parents, we can protect our children at home, but we also need to make sure they are safe wherever they are—in a park, at a friend’s house or elsewhere.”
Research has found that firearm injuries are the third leading cause of death among children 17 and younger. Gun safety at home—keeping the firearm and ammunition in separate, locked locations—is the most important safety precaution parents can take. But teaching children how to respond when they see a gun is equally vital, according to Eubanks-Meng.
“About one in three families with children younger than 12 have a gun at home,” she said. “So, in addition to ensuring their own firearms are safely stored away from their children’s reach, we advise parents to know about firearms in others’ homes before their children go to visit. This includes the homes of friends, relatives or even a babysitter.”
Parents may feel awkward about asking whether a gun is in the home and, if so, whether it’s locked and properly stored. But doing so helps ensure accidents won’t happen. CDC data analyzed by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence show that from 2012 to 2016, on average, seven children and teenagers die and 39 suffer injuries from firearms each day. That translates to 2,737 deaths and 14,470 injuries resulting from firearms each year.
“Firearm injuries happen too often among children who don’t understand that real guns are not toys. They need to understand that if they find a firearm, they should follow safety rules: stop, don’t touch, go away and tell an adult,” said Eubanks-Meng.
About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the American Academy of Family Physicians represents 131,400 physicians and medical students nationwide, and it is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.
Family physicians conduct approximately one in five of the total medical office visits in the United States per year – more than any other specialty. Family physicians provide comprehensive, evidence-based, and cost-effective care dedicated to improving the health of patients, families and communities. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing and personal patient-physician relationship where the family physician serves as the hub of each patient’s integrated care team. More Americans depend on family physicians than on any other medical specialty.
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SOURCE American Academy of Family Physicians
