Accidental shooting deaths of young children have become more common in the country recently. According to an estimate from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50 million Americans own more than 200 million guns.
Recently, a team of security experts, who studied the reason behind the increasing accidental shooting deaths of young children found children as young as three opening the inexpensive gun safes with paper clips or straws.
As the American gun culture continues to rise, the guns kept for self-defense and to protect the family have themselves become risky for the little ones and teens at home.
In its effort to prevent the occurrence of fatal incidents, experts from American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) renewed the safety rules and guidelines related to gun use and urged authorities to strengthen gun laws and parents or caretakers to keep the weapon locked and unloaded to avoid tragic incidents.
"Firearm injuries are often fatal - there are few second chances," Marion Burton, immediate past president of the AAP, said in a news release. "Young children are curious, and are often unable to remember or follow safety rules. Older children and teens naturally tend to be moody and impulsive. When you combine these traits with access to guns, the consequences can be tragic and permanent."
The revised guidelines come at a time when 38 percent of Americans own a gun and firearm-related deaths remain one of the top three causes of death in American youth. According to AAP, these loaded and unlocked guns can escalate a teens' suicide or homicide risks.
"Adolescents often experience very strong emotions and have difficulty seeing past a temporary setback," pediatrician Denise Dowd, one of the lead authors of the statement, said in a news release.
"Their brains have not matured fully, which makes them impulsive, and relatively more likely to attempt suicide. When those attempts are made with a gun, there is little chance for them to change their minds. The odds of suicide are particularly high if the gun is kept loaded. It is absolutely critical that families who own guns follow safe-storage practices."
The association also recommended for some legislative and regulatory approaches to reduce the occurrence. They include consumer product rules regarding child access, safety and design of guns, child access prevention laws, laws related to the purchase of guns and restoration of the ban on the sale of assault weapons to public.
These findings are published online in Pediatrics.
