Three Important Rules When Kids Find a Gun: Stop. Run Away. Tell an Adult.

Three Important Rules When Kids Find a Gun: Stop. Run Away. Tell an Adult.
Gun safety is a topic that affects virtually every household. Everyone wants to ensure children are safe, both in their own homes and when they venture into the outside world. Gun safety at home—keeping the firearm and ammunition in separate, locked locations—is the most important safety precaution parents can take. Teaching children to stop, don’t touch, go away and tell an adult when they see a gun is equally vital. And parents should know about firearms in the homes of friends, relatives and others where their children may visit.

AAFP Resources

AAFP Position Paper on Prevention of Gun Violence
www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/prevention-gun-violence.html The American Academy of Family Physicians supports primary prevention strategies to reduce the injuries and deaths associated with gun ownership and violence. The AAFP believes that federal and state policies can balance the right to own firearms with health, safety, and societal well-being.

Gun Violence, Prevention of (Position Paper) 
https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/gun-violence.html  Gun violence should be considered a public health issue, not a political one—an epidemic that needs to be addressed with research and evidence-based strategies that can reduce morbidity and mortality.

AAFP News/Blogs
Let's Start by Treating Gun Violence as Public Health Issue – Leader Voices (2018) 
https://www.aafp.org/news/blogs/freshperspectives/entry/20180221fp-gunviolence.html
Two Common-sense Interventions Could Prevent Gun-related Deaths – Leader Voices 2017
https://www.aafp.org/news/blogs/leadervoices/entry/two_common_sense_interventions_could.html
AFP: Preventing Gun Violence: The Role of Family Physicians (Editorial)  
https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/journals/afp/GunViolenceEditorial.pdf or https://www.aafp.org/afp/2018/0715/ePub1.html

Patient Education
Gun Safety https://familydoctor.org/gun-safety/  
Gun Safety for Kids https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/gun-safety.html
Gun Safety for Parents https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/gun-safety.html
Household Safety for Preventing Injuries from Firearms  https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/safety-firearms.html

Video 
Watch this familydoctor.org public service announcement to learn more about gun safety.