Background. Each year, thousands of children are injured or killed from uni
ntentional gunshot wounds. Discovering a gun while playing in the home plac
es children at risk of being injured by the firearm.
Objectives. To determine parental firearm storage practices and parental pe
rceptions of the behavior of their children around guns.
Methods. Cross-sectional survey of parents of children from 4 to 12 years o
f age. A sample of 424 parents, bringing their children to one of five pedi
atric ambulatory care centers, were asked to complete a 20-point self-admin
istered questionnaire at the time of their visit.
Results. A total of 400 parents (94%) completed the questionnaire; 113 pare
nts (28%) reported keeping a firearm (most often a handgun) in the home. Fi
rearm owners were predominantly male, 30 years of age or older, white, and
married. Of the gun owners, 52% stored their firearms loaded or unlocked, a
nd 13% kept one or more guns loaded and unlocked. Three fourths of gun-owni
ng parents believed that their 4- to 12-year-old child could tell the diffe
rence between a toy gun and a real gun, and 23% believed that their child c
ould be trusted with a loaded gun. Although the majority of gun-owning pare
nts (53%) endorsed safe storage as the best firearm injury prevention strat
egy, 61% of parents who do not own firearms endorse not owning guns as the
best way to prevent pediatric firearm injuries.
Conclusion. A majority of gun-owning parents store their firearms loaded or
unlocked, substantially underestimating the risk of injury to their childr
en. Many firearm-owning parents trust their child with a loaded gun and bel
ieve that their young child can tell the difference between a toy gun and a
real gun.