Parents confident teens will avoid fire, storms than guns

Parents are more confident that their pre-teen child would know what to do if there was a house-fire or tornado than avoiding playing with guns if home alone, suggests a study.

According to the study, four out of five parents of kids aged between 9 and 12 said they are very confident that their child would appropriately handle an emergency like a storm or would know when to call 911.

However, fewer parents were confident that their tween would not play with guns when adults were not home, suggested the study.

"Our poll found that while parents are confident that their children would know what to do if faced with emergencies like a fire or storm, they expressed a great deal of hesitancy about gun safety. Nearly half are not confident their tween would not play with guns encountered at a home with no adult supervision," said Sarah J. Clark, Director, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in a statement.

The study revealed that mothers and fathers report the same level of confidence about their tweens' likely safety practices and have similar confidence levels for sons and daughters.

This indicates that a broad spectrum of parents are aware of the potential for accidental gun injuries, the study notes.

More than half of parents who did not own a gun never discussed fire-arm safety with their children aged between 5 to 17. One in four parents who owned a gun was very worried that their children could get hurt with a gun when at a friend's home.

"There is no single 'right age' when a child is ready to stay at home alone. Children in the tween age of 9-12 years may feel ready to stay home alone, but not all will be able to handle the different situations that may arise. Parents should make sure tweens are responsible and knowledgeable about safety practices in case of an emergency," added Clark.

--IANS

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