Guns? You Gotta Ask

Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. • Jul 10, 2021

When we ordered a new electronic health record, we picked one build for kids in an effort to improve the quality of the care we provide. One of the things it prompts us to ask about is guns in the home.

I’ve always been in the habit of asking about a child’s home setting to help parents create the safest places for their children to grow and thrive, but I wasn’t in the habit of asking about guns. I’ve been blown away (no pun intended) by the number of families who keep guns in their homes!

Turns out … my families are right at the national average. About a third of kids grow up in a home where there’s a gun. A few years ago, Diane Sawyer and her 20/20 team did a documentary about children and guns. With a large sampling of children, there were those raised around guns and actively exposed to gun safety. There were also kids who had never seen a gun but were taught never to touch them and kids whose parents hadn’t discussed guns at all. Behind the mirrored glass, kids were left in a room to wait for a grownup and on the corner table was a handgun. Just about every one of the kids picked up the gun.

The take home message from that study was that when a child comes across a gun, the overwhelming majority of them will pick up the gun, regardless of how familiar they are with guns, gun safety and irrespective of whatever they were taught growing up.

I’m a mom. I have taught my kids NEVER to touch a gun and to get a grownup helper if they ever see one. The reality is, however, that I have to assume my kids will pick up a gun if they come across one. So I ask you and my families now: “Is there a gun in your home?    When the kids visit friends for the first time, will you be like me and ask that same question? At first it felt awkward, but I imagined myself at a child’s funeral, and it got easier and easier the more often I did it.

And if the answer to the guns-in-your-home question is ‘yes,’ then I need to ask some more questions. Guns should be kept UNLOADED and in a LOCKED location with ammunition locked up in a different location. This is what I’m asking families in my office, too and it’s provided more than one opportunity to educate parents. “Your son is four months old today, but some day he’ll be four and then fourteen. If he finds your gun, he will pick it up. With this assumption as a starting place, let’s decide what to do next.

No matter how I wish it were otherwise, these statistics don’t lie. The safest home for our kids is one without guns.

by Gayle Schrier Smith, MD

 

The post Guns? You Gotta Ask appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.

The DrDownload Blog

By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 30 Jan, 2024
It's not what you say... it's how you say it. But sometimes, it IS what you say, and knowing how the experts communicate with children, big and small can often help parents. The post What Mothers Say Matters To Our Kids appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 01 Dec, 2023
With an organized roadmap to offer checkups and flu vaccines this fall, I’m proud to say that our practice vaccinated more than seventy five percent of the patients and the parents who come to us. It wasn’t an easy task, and there were some families who probably thought our email reminders were annoying. To you, […] The post Flu, Vaccines & Chicken Noodle Soup appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 01 Dec, 2020
Five years later.  It’s official. Kids, I’ll no longer be asking you to take a teaspoon of medicine. I’m making the call to action for the pharmacists who prepare prescriptions for my patients to kick back any prescriptions if I forget to write in milliliters. The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with the wise advice (they […] The post How to Measure Medicine, Mary Poppins appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Smith 29 Nov, 2023
FDA Approves Goat's Milk Infant Formula & the AAP agrees it's an excellent option to nourish infants who are not breastfeeding.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 18 Dec, 2020
The first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Richmond this week.  I’m calling it a shot of hope, and I couldn’t be more hopeful and yes, excited to get my vaccine. As a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, I am always careful to say when I’m speaking on their behalf and when I’m […] The post A Shot of Hope appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 10 Oct, 2020
This week, it’s about our Children’s Hospital… DID YOU KNOW?? Did you know that I have written about and wished for a real Children’s Hospital for Richmond for more than twenty years?  We could split hairs on the definition of a ‘real’ Children’s Hospital, but I’ll wager that you know one when you see one. […] The post Did You Know We Need A Real Children’s Hospital? appeared first on the original DrDownload blog at PartnersInPediatrics.info
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 24 Sep, 2020
We call it Love and Liquids.  It’s what you do when your child is sick, and as the Fall unfolds, we’re pretty sure it’s going to be a very long winter of illness.  So let’s review the drill for how to get better. At first, you think it might be allergies, but really … you’re […] The post Get Better Faster With Love and Liquids appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 08 Sep, 2020
I just finished reading an excellent blog post by Emily Oster written to help parents make decisions in CoronaVirus times.  She blogs at CovidExplained.org I’ve grown fond of saying that we are living through history, and in some ways, it softens the daily blows that come with actually having to do that.  This Coronavirus has […] The post Coronavirus Decision Making appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 30 Jun, 2020
COVID-19 Testing. It’s a featured topic on 60 Minutes in late June, 2020 and their investigative journalism has some surprising discoveries about how the FDA allowed antibody tests of varied accuracy onto the market. “The wonderful, beautiful immunity.”  That’s how the President described antibody protection in folks who have recovered from COVID-19.  We know that […] The post COVID-19 Tests. We Must Proceed With Caution appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
By Gayle Schrier Smith M.D. 28 May, 2020
COVID-19 Testing. It’s in the news every day. “We don’t have enough tests. We have tests; come get one. The test results are all mixed together making it impossible to interpret them.” Get a test. Don’t get a test. No wonder the average parent is a little confused by it all. The Cheat Sheet for […] The post The COVID-19 Testing Facts (Subject To Change) appeared first on Partners in Pediatrics.
More Posts
Share by: