Parenting and appropriate ages. Dads, educate me.

COLTIMPALA

COLTIMPALA

Yo homie... is that my briefcase?
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I thought this would be an appropriate place to ask this so I'll ask the best way I can explain. I have a daughter that's almost 2. She rides on the 4 wheeler with me all over the farm and does everything I do. Recently she's had a stick she insists goes in the gun rack when we go riding. I assume the thinks of it as a gun, as she always sees me put a suppressed 22 in the rack every time. So my first question; is she an appropriate age to have a toy rifle, say cut out on the band saw? Or should this wait until she's big enough to understand the nature of a rifle and what it's actually for, not "just something dad always has"?

Secondly, she LOVES animals. Like has to pet every animal she can, real or fake, and even on calendars. Do I take her hunting this winter? (I squirrel hunt mostly) Do I let her see me kill them, or do I wait until she can understand what it means to kill something?

I'm fairly new to parenting with her being our first and not many people to ask this advice of. I know there are some incredible dads on this forum, and hope you all can lend your advice or experience because quite frankly I'm winging the shit out of this whole thing and trying not to screw it up.
 
I would wait awhile. She is happy with the stick. I think two is young for hunting. Killing somthing is an abstract thought and that though process does not come until later. That is just my opinion others may differ.
 
Maybe a homemade gun that shoots rubber bands, something she could knock over simple targets with.
As for hunting, I think she's too young. Maybe introduce her slowly at an older age. I assume that you eat the prey, so start with that.
Maybe move up to hunting and dressing the game later on.
You're not gonna be the perfect "dad", none of us are, but that little lady has a good daddy just for asking stuff like this.
 
Agree with Snal~
Visit a gun show for the rubber band rifle. 3-4 years old is “the age” where right-from-wrong begins to develop according to my wife who was in early childhood education for 23+ years. Now she’s semi-retired as stay at home grandma, and our youngest grandson just turned 2. We had a similar discussion about him.
 
I do not like any “toy” gun … muzzle discipline starts day 1. A spring operated Airsoft and actions lead to consequences type enforcement from there. Yeah, it is kinda tyrannical over your kid but when it comes to the future actions you are instilling in someone who will hold real firearms in their hands one day there ain’t no such thing as overkill to me.
 
It all depends on the kid.
It was in my blood.
I had real guns at a very young age.
Most nowadays would consider it too young.

I was taught about hunting and killing very young. It only fueled the fire.

You know your child better than anyone.
You might try the “look at what daddy got” and introduce her to a deer you got while hunting. Taking her squirrel hunting might be an idea. It is a little more casual than gathering freezer meat.

Go slow and judge her reactions to things.
You’ll get it figured out.
 
NCFubar said:
I do not like any “toy” gun … muzzle discipline starts day 1. A spring operated Airsoft and actions lead to consequences type enforcement from there. Yeah, it is kinda tyrannical over your kid but when it comes to the future actions you are instilling in someone who will hold real firearms in their hands one day there ain’t no such thing as overkill to me.
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This has sort of been my hesitation with the toy gun/ wooden cutout
 
almost 2 is too young for most things.

wait a while.
they grow up so fast, anyway.

also....if she stays interested....
establish her dominant eye.
my sister's left eye is hers.
she started shooting at 4,
but she was awful until we
figured out what the problem was.
 
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COLTIMPALA said:
This has sort of been my hesitation with the toy gun/ wooden cutout
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She is still a year or two away from really associating the pulling of the trigger to the devastation it can cause down range but when she is ready take a gallon jug of water and big old hollow point and blow it apart to instill the power she will have in her hands.
 
I would say to young. Mine son is 6, he got a bb gun just before 4, and single shot .22 last year, still trying to get him to work on his aim though. I think he understands the concept of hunting and killing, but with life I've only hunted 2 or 3 times since he's been born. I have let him shoot a mouse I caught in a mouse trap
 
Pinky787 said:
I would say to young. Mine son is 6, he got a bb gun just before 4, and single shot .22 last year, still trying to get him to work on his aim though. I think he understands the concept of hunting and killing, but with life I've only hunted 2 or 3 times since he's been born. I have let him shoot a mouse I caught in a mouse trap
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To really work on sight alignment without a gun I took two plastic forks … broke the outside tines off one and taped the two remaining together to make “one front sight” then the inside two off the other to make the rear sight. He then ran around lining up the fork sights on stuff. He learned pretty good sight alignment from that exercise so refining was quicker on a .22 w/ irons.
 
COLTIMPALA said:
So my first question; is she an appropriate age to have a toy rifle, say cut out on the band saw? Or should this wait until she's big enough to understand the nature of a rifle and what it's actually for, not "just something dad always ha
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Depends on you and your values. are toy guns ok to be treated as toys or are they placeholders for the real thing? both camps have good reasons.
 
Completely depends on the child.

But that said my son is extremely mature for his age and I didn’t introduce him to guns and shooting until he was 4.

She’s just emulating you at this point which is a good thing.

Let it go at that and put the stick in the gun rack.
 
Toy guns, especially toy guns with no projectiles are fine, and I don't think teaching safety at this point is necessary. No one ever taught me with toys, when I was old enough dad taught me real from fake and safety as appropriate for my interaction with them. Doing the same with my son.

Hunting, I saw dad butcher animals from before I remember, 4/5 when I started going into the woods with him. Not sure how young my boy was when he first saw me butcher an animal. I didn't end up with any disregard for life or fascinations. My son has little interest in any of it.
 
My daughter’s been shooting rimfire since she was 2. I myself wasn’t raised around hunting or guns and am determined for her to not be denied the experience as I was.
 
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Chdamn said:
Completely depends on the child.

But that said my son is extremely mature for his age and I didn’t introduce him to guns and shooting until he was 4.

She’s just emulating you at this point which is a good thing.

Let it go at that and put the stick in the gun rack.
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This ^^^
 
Whatever you do, she will likely not last long at younger ages. Boredom is real. But it's not too young to start walking her through the woods and showing her stuff. There is much to learn about hunting before you ever level a gun on an animal. And it will make you a better outdoorsman to know those things. I've been dragging my oldest through the woods since she could hold her own head up. I've hiked and fished with her in a backpack. Walked her in the woods when she got a little older. She's hunted with me a little bit and hiked with me a lot.

Make sure she's not bored.
Don't set a time, let her behavior determine how long you are out.
Make sure she is comfortable for the weather.
Bring drinks and snacks.
Make it fun.
Teach her stuff.

When she has enough interest to participate I'm sure she will ask.
 
In my opinion 2 is too young. At 2 they are still learning and learning quickly. Her interests will change quickly, too. The bad thing about children is that they don't come with an owner's manual.
 
Depends on the kid - I'd say use your judgement - go ahead and make a toy gun if you want but at almost 2yo she wont really understand. At this point she is just copying you which isn't a bad thing at all.

I have 3 boys, almost 7, 5, & 2.5. The older two shoot BB guns with me in the backyard regularly now. The 5yo gets bored pretty quick but the 7yo could go shoot that BB gun for an hour. I started them on a Daisy Buck last year when they were 6 & 4 and put a Little Buck Rail and a Pinty red dot on it.

Just a few weeks ago, my 7yo bought a rubber band gun for the 5yo birthday. Well the 2yo really liked it and regularly took it so I went down to the shop and made another smaller rubber band gun for him. He goes around pretending to shoot things with and without rubber bands. If he points it at anyone with a rubber band we take it away. Does he understand what a real gun is? No. Does he understand that he isn't supposed to point his loaded rubber band gun at people? Yes. Does he get a look in his eye that he knows he is doing something wrong and points it at someone anyway? yep, and then we take it away. He will probably lose interest in it soon and that is ok.

When the older boys were 5 & 3 they watched me kill several squirrels in the backyard that were causing issues. They would come look at them afterwards. I probably wouldn't bring her with you hunting only because she may get incredibly bored, and I wouldn't hide it from her but I don't see any reason to not show her the squirrels afterwards and say that you were hunting. You don't need to wait until she can completely understand, you just need to tell her what she can understand right now (which isn't much right now, but every year after will be a lot more).
 
My uncle was a park ranger/wildlife officer in a big state park in Wisconsin. When I was growing up his home was the ranger home on the park. He always had all sorts of guns sitting around, and his two sons don't recall a time when they didn't see a gun, or was in the woods hunting, fishing, or trapping. It was just their culture.

I have not always had my guns locked, but they have always been secure. I don't hunt (no issue with it, but just a waste of time for me as my wife doesn't care for many proteins aside from what she hunts for at Harris Teeter). My own kids have asked questions but no real curiosity.

Interesting discussion.
 
I made safety 110% mandatory. That was a given once he was of age to maturely communicate effectively. I encouraged the nonstop questions. Curiosity drives kids while knowledge keeps curiosity sated. Encourage and answer questions. Early.

Active participation…I let that be a choice.
 
ForumSurfer said:
I made safety 110% mandatory. That was a given once he was of age to maturely communicate effectively. I encouraged the nonstop questions. Curiosity drives kids while knowledge keeps curiosity sated. Encourage and answer questions. Early.

Active participation…I let that be a choice.
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This 100%

I didn’t start letting my son even shoot the .22 until he could convey the safety rules (in his words) and I watched how he would handle them for a while also if he asked to hold “his gun” (was given a couple .22s by grandparents for when he was old enough).

Hes now 8 and has expressed an interest in deer hunting And has gone out twice. Didn’t shoot one in front of him and but he told me later he wasn’t sure if he was ready to shoot one. I told him no rush, that they’d be there when he was ready if he just wanted to watch them in the woods and see what happens when I shoot one, I just want to spend the time outdoors with him


So there’s no magic age, it’s a maturity and a willingness level that your kid needs to show you. If that helps
 
There is no magic age to teach them anything. It varies from child to child.

Best I can tell you is don't ever lie to her. She finds out you lied you're done.

If she asks tell her. Tell her as much or as little she will pay attention to.

Remember that if you don't teach her someone will. Maybe an opinisomeone else shares about hunting or something she sees on tv.

Don't sugar coat. As far as when to teach her about hunting and killing that is a tuff one. I started by showing mine what shooting something would do to it. I filled jugs with water and shot them. Then showed her the jugs. It made an impression.

Then I showed her the days kill when I returned from hunting.
 
Just my experiences. On hunting, I was probably two years old when I went hunting for the first time. Dove hunting wore specifically. Have a picture with my uncle, dad and brother. I don’t remember. I started coon hunting with dogs around 4. That I do remember. Girls on the other hand. I have 3. One 6 and the twins are 3. I took my 6 year old hunting for the first time at 4. Didn’t see anything to shoot but she went and had a blast. Last year at 5, saw a very small doe. I wasn’t going to shoot it but…. She perked up and started squealing 😂. Good thing we were in a box stand. We called her mom shortly after and she was so excited that momma could barely understand her. Her words, “mom we caught a deer!!!” She helped skin and gut and wanted me to point out all the parts, liver lungs, heart, etc (My wife is a nurse). The twins are 3 and I plan to take them this year.

On the gun, I gave my older a pop gun when she was 3. I taught her how to treat it and never point it at someone. She shot a 410 shotgun at 4. At 6 she got her very own 22 for her birthday.

Personally I think 2 is too young, especially to understand dying and what a gun is. I’d keep that stick and wait another year or 2 on the others.


Oh and enjoy your daughter. They grow up soooooo fast!!!
 
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At that age, they're smart but they don't have the cognitive ability to understand anything about firearms, consequences, safety, or even have developed their long term memory capacity yet.

They also don't have the dexterity and understanding required for aiming, though you certainly can make this a team game with you always helping.

Animals are cute, and sometimes scary, at that age. Depends on the kids and the critters. Work the animal familiarity as she grows, and make sure by her learning interactions that the learns some of the foods she eats comes from animals.

Eggs, milk, all the different kinds of meats, etc.

Include other animal products, like fur and leathers, for example.

Take her fishing, too. She'll be all over the place, but catching a fish, watching someone else do it, seeing then cleaned, baiting hooks etc. will be excellent activities even if she can't really do these things herself yet.

The goal is that she grows up understanding it's normal that animals provide all these things for us and that she respect this and the animals which these things come from.

As she grows, if she takes an interest then simply involve her in activities at a level that you judge she's physically capable of.

And do it in a fun, but safe, way. If her mind wanders or she loses interest, then stop and come back to it another time when she shows interest again.

Her physical abilities will far outstrip her cognitive abilities, which means you will be her constant companion at all times during these activities. You're her safety officer, her teacher, her helper, and her partner. You make things happen for her and in a fun way so that she learns.

And ask her questions a lot, too. This is an opportunity to see what she remembers as well as an opportunity for her to teach you. Questioning opens a window into her mind in which you can see how she views the world. That's how you judge progress and what she can handle.
 
The one thing for sure is you do need to “gun proof” your kid … like drown proofing … I pretty much had my boy done on both by 4 or so years old. I made sure my son knew that guns were dangerous and even at 3 if he saw a gun without an adult around to leave and find an adult quickly. I especially drilled it into his head if another kid has one to RUN and if it is a stupid adult being irresponsible to RUN also. I did it basically thru showing him what a .45acp hollow point does to water jugs (Big Blast left a Big Impression) … as well as discussing how dangerous gun play on TV and in movies was so unsafe. By 6 or so he was safer than half the adults at public ranges. Now I did not allow him access to firearms without ME being 2 steps away until maybe 10 … and even then it was drilled in him do not touch my HD stuff unless the crap hit the fan. By doing that I feel I squashed the “curiosity factor” as well as gave him important safety tool for when other people have dropped the ball.
 
COLTIMPALA said:
I thought this would be an appropriate place to ask this so I'll ask the best way I can explain. I have a daughter that's almost 2. She rides on the 4 wheeler with me all over the farm and does everything I do. Recently she's had a stick she insists goes in the gun rack when we go riding. I assume the thinks of it as a gun, as she always sees me put a suppressed 22 in the rack every time. So my first question; is she an appropriate age to have a toy rifle, say cut out on the band saw? Or should this wait until she's big enough to understand the nature of a rifle and what it's actually for, not "just something dad always has"?

Secondly, she LOVES animals. Like has to pet every animal she can, real or fake, and even on calendars. Do I take her hunting this winter? (I squirrel hunt mostly) Do I let her see me kill them, or do I wait until she can understand what it means to kill something?

I'm fairly new to parenting with her being our first and not many people to ask this advice of. I know there are some incredible dads on this forum, and hope you all can lend your advice or experience because quite frankly I'm winging the shit out of this whole thing and trying not to screw it up.
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Hey brother. I’m new to the forum but thought I could add to this. My son was two when he started seeing me with my firearms. I didn’t give him a “toy” weapon until he could understand rules. I started him from day one with fire arms safety (weapon on safe, muzzle awareness, proper carrying etc) and if he broke any of them I would take it away and start over again sometime later. I feel like it instilled the proper usage as he is 9 now and even with his BB gun he is very aware of what he is doing. Hope this helps.
 
I was waiting to chime in to hear what some of the other, more experienced dads had to say since I’m in a similar boat as OP. Mine are 2.5 and 5mo. The 2.5yo looks exactly like me and wants to do everything I do including yard work, working on cars, and DIY projects, but I’ve made it a point to not introduce him to guns at all yet.
He’s very smart, sometimes to a scary degree for his age, but I know he doesn’t understand death based on his questions and reactions to Lion King, for example. He learned the word “gun” from his 5yo cousin from CT, which is ironic because they’ll never own one yet I have a healthy collection. He’s never even seen my guns and I don’t plan to introduce him to them until I know he can 100% comprehend gun safety and consequences.

While I am certainly looking forward to the day I can take my sons shooting, the last thing I want to do is rush it.
 
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RetiredUSNChief said:
At that age, they're smart but they don't have the cognitive ability to understand anything about firearms, consequences, safety, or even have developed their long term memory capacity yet.
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And that is precisely why I say you start at that age. They my not have the "cognitive" ability to fully understand but they will soon and when they do they will have already had it ingrained into them and won't even remember when they learned it. They will just know and it will be second nature by then.
 
BlackGun said:
She loves animals and wants to pet them. You gonna take her with you when you kill them? I just don’t see how that is a good idea at that age. Maybe at 8 years old.
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Mmmm...no, you simply raise her with no secrets about where the food she eats (and aspects about other animal products) comes from and that this is to be respected.

If you don't, then introducing her to hunting at 8 years of age will go no better.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Mmmm...no, you simply raise her with no secrets about where the food she eats (and aspects about other animal products) comes from and that this is to be respected.

If you don't, then introducing her to hunting at 8 years of age will go no better.
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100% agree. I knew kids growing up with my daughter who wouldn't eat meat once they found out where it came from.

I mean seriously, you were eating chicken and you didn't realize where chicken came from?
 
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