I love the pictures in this post, and it has a lot to do with changes in our family. However, I’ve hesitated in posting it because I hate stirring up controversy and arguments, and sometimes I don’t know which posts will stir up controversy, and which ones won’t. However, it’s just so cute that I’m just going to throw it out there.
We got David a BB gun for his birthday. It was 100% Knut’s idea, and he got a Red Rider, just like the little boy from “Christmas Story.”
I suppose I went right along with it for a few reasons. First, 7 was how old I was when my dad first taught me to shoot a .22. My dad had guns, so at an early age, we learned gun safety. You can ask yourself, in an area of the country where hunting is common, and even if guns are locked up in our house, how can we be sure they’re locked up at our friends’ houses…shouldn’t we be teaching our kids gun safety at an early age too?
I laugh a bit at my initial worry, because seeing Knut and David shoot cans after church on Sunday, many of the BBs just dent the pop cans, and don’t even puncture. It’s nothing like the .22 I learned on.
I love the picture above of Knut showing David to shoot for the first time at Knut’s parents’ house where the big joint October birthday part was for Grandpa, Aunt Rondi, and David. Behind Knut, 3 of the boy cousins look on with great caution and interest.
Right now, David only has access to his new gun on Sundays when Knut is home to shoot with him, and Knut said this will likely be the case for at least a year or two. So shooting is now part of the after-church routine!
I think of all of our kids, I’m glad David was the first to get a gun and learn about gun safety, because he’s the most curious and the most adventurous. Of all our kids, he needed to be taught the most. You wouldn’t believe the attitude he has taken with his new charge.
(His gun came with safety glasses. We never told him to wear them, but he thinks they’re cool, so he always does when shooting.)
When he first opened it, he was speechless. For several hours, Knut wondered if he liked it at all. His excitement was there, though the words weren’t. To me, David talks non-stop about his new gun with lots of “Can you believe Daddy thought I was big enough for my own gun?” I think he was in awe to have received such an honor from his dad, and he takes it very, very seriously. Since then, he’s spoken with his head a bit higher. He takes other responsibilities more seriously.
It’s as though, if Daddy thinks he’s a man, well then perhaps he’s a man now.
This last Saturday, I went out to the yard to take pictures of them shooting pop cans. Those 2 were having so much fun together! David is really getting better aim and handles it much better each time. He is just aching to go hunting with Knut, and has been pestering him about it quite often. Poor Knut would love to go hunting too, but a farmer’s schedule rarely allows for such luxuries.
Jaime Hirst says
October 18, 2012 at 1:38 pmLiving in a rural area myself and having the same, should we or shouldn’t we I was so happy to read your post this morning. It is our responsibility to know our children and teach then what is right. I hope there are many memories made from this gift. Thank you for sharing.
Anonymous says
October 18, 2012 at 3:02 pmChris’ dad got them each their own BB gun at age 6 and built an indoor shooting gallery in the basement (because they lived in town). Katie will be 6 in a year and a half. I think it is important to teach them gun safety, especially when they live around guns. Looks like David is having a good time. He is growing up so quickly! ~Heather Krupa
Cristy says
October 18, 2012 at 3:28 pmWhat a great gift! I love that he is taking it seriously! I think it is super important to teach kids how to properly handle firearms. We do the whole “eddie eagle” thing here. We add a part at the end–so it goes “STOP, Don’t touch, Leave the area, tell an adult and if you REALLY REALLY want to touch, ASK AN ADULT.” We are trying to demystify guns and not make them something that is forbidden. They just need to have proper permission and supervision. The thought behind it for us is if they know that we will let them touch and handle guns they will hopefully never sneak behind our backs in an effort to get to the forbidden thing.
Great gift!
Lisa Joy says
October 18, 2012 at 3:32 pmI just typed up a nice, long comment, and then it didn’t post. Grrr…I hate when that happens! Let’s try this again…I LOVE this post! 🙂 I love the pictures, and I love what you had to say. I agree that whether or not your family has guns in the home (we do, since Randy hunts), it is important to teach your kids about gun safety. Like you said, you never know when or where they might encounter them, and it is very important information, like teaching them to look both ways when crossing the street, etc. Anyway, I love that David is becoming such a grown up little man. 🙂 It is so awesome to see them flourish in the presence of increased trust and responsibility. 🙂
Anonymous says
October 18, 2012 at 6:23 pmLove the picture. There’s no reason guns in a household are any more danger than butcher knives in the kitchen…the inherent caution illustrated in the cousins’ body language demonstrates they are certainly not in “careless danger” from either Knut’s big guns or David’s little gun. Hope Knut gets to go hunting soon–maybe when his children are old enough to share the responsibilities? Sharon
momof4 says
October 18, 2012 at 6:34 pmLove the pictures! My older two kids, 9 and 7, love using the bb gun and my 9 year old also has a Rossey 410 that he uses duck hunting with dad. I’m thankful that they have someone that can teach them to use guns responsibility.
We’ll have to get the men and “big” kids together to do target practice sometime.
Mom says
October 18, 2012 at 7:41 pmI love the picture of all the little boys looking on! 🙂 I remember when your Uncle John got a 22 for his birthday. The tricky part was that we were living in Japan and Grandpa ordered it through the Sears catalog. When the gun went through customs there was some concern (it hadn’t been that long after WWII). Grandpa finally sold the gun and got Uncle John something else that would not impede the missionary work. 🙂
CJ Olson says
October 19, 2012 at 1:01 amI think especially where you live it is important to teach gun safety & set boundaries. I think is a great time of bonding. Glad that your family is being responsible. I think the pictures tell the story best.
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Gretchen R says
November 3, 2012 at 12:08 pmI should probably put up a reminder of my blog’s comment rules, although it’s been ages since I’ve had to. Comments that are of contrasting opinion to mine are welcome. I think it’s great when we expose ourselves to the way other people think and how other people see the world. However, comments I see as unproductive conversation, or as I like to call it “mudslinging” which ironically always is done anonymously, is cowardly and bullying. I like to keep my space on the Internet clean and bully free. Those are my rules. Any comments that are anonymous mudslinging are always deleted.