When adolescents have been invited to a party, it is not uncommon for their parents to contact the parent of the party host to ask if adults will be at home and if there will be alcohol or drugs at the party.
For younger children who are going on playdates, do their parents contact the parent who is hosting the playdate to ask about firearms in the home? After all, 1 in 5 accidental firearm injuries in children 0–14 years of age occurs in a friend’s home. Dr. Samaa Kemal and colleagues from Lurie Children’s Hospital and Medical College of Wisconsin ask this question in their Research Brief entitled, “Factors Associated with Parents Asking Other Parents About Firearms in the Home,” which is being early released in Pediatrics this week (10.1542/peds.2024-068061).
The authors conducted an online survey of 1000 Illinois parents in which they asked, “Have you ever asked another parent whether there is an unlocked firearm present in the home before your child had a playdate or went to a friend’s home?”
Sixty percent of parents had never asked another parent about firearms. Among the most common reasons for not asking were that they never thought about it and that they thought it might be an inappropriate question to ask.
If we’re not going to be able to get rid of firearms in the home, we need to consider other ways to keep children safe from firearm injury. Think about adding this topic to your anticipatory guidance when you talk about gun storage safety.
