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Many incidents occur when a child discovers a gun in the home while playing with friend or a sibling (Grossman, Reay, & Baker, 1999). Discovering a gun in the home while playing is the most common circumstances that places children at risk for unintentional firearm injuries (Jackman, Farah, Kellerman, & Simon, 2001). Many parents believed that their child would either leave a gun alone or go tell an adult if they found a gun (Farah, Simon, & Kellerman, 1999). .
The purpose of this study is to observe the behavior of children when a real gun has been found. To adequately educate children concerning firearm injuries and deaths, it is important to know their perceptions concerning firearms ( Price, Desmond, & Smith, 1991). Despite widespread appreciation of the importance of gun safety, there is limited research on what children do when they encounter a real gun (Hardy, Armstrong, Martin, & Strawn, 1996).
My goal is to identify if educating our children about the dangers of playing with guns will indeed affect their decision of what action to take. .
Method.
Participants.
There will be five separate classes of children participating. These classes, consisting between 25 to 30 children, will be randomly selected from the local school district main frame in order to maintain representation of the community. The ages may range from five year to 10 year olds. .
Materials.
The following will be needed: Consent forms, two rooms with one-way mirror, several toys for the children of ages five to ten, two real unloaded guns with jammed triggers for safety. Two video cameras for each room to record the observations at both stages. Paper and pen to record the findings.
Procedure.
An orientation will be scheduled to discuss the goal of the study with the parents of the children of each class selected. At orientation, the parents of the children will be given detailed information about the study and will be given the opportunity to ask questions and the opportunity to refuse participation.
