What triggers a child to touch a gun? One study has concluded that "few young children can reliably distinguish a toy gun from a real one," and too often, "parents don't explain the difference between gun violence on television and the real-life consequences of firearm use."*

  Parents who think they can stop at keeping their own home safe should consider the following statistic. For every child under age 19 in the United States, there are approximately three guns.** This gun abundance makes it more likely that the average child will at some point encounter a gun, either at home or away. These encounters lead to accidental shootings that kill 262 children and teens each year.** That averages about five deaths each week.

  On April 11, 2001, in Crouse, N.C., a 5-year-old boy found a loaded gun in his mother's boyfriend's home and shot his 22-month-old sister. Her hand was permanently damaged.***

  On April 14, 2001, in Midland, Mich., a 6-year-old boy was shot in the stomach while he and his twin brother played with their grandfather's gun in an upstairs bedroom. They were not home alone.****

  According to a study published in "Pediatrics," of 400 parents surveyed, 28 percent had a gun at home, and 52 percent kept their gun loaded or unlocked. In addition, the majority of gun owners assumed their children would know how to safely react in the presence of a gun.*****

  Because children are at risk not only at home but also in the homes of friends and relatives, gun safety should include both at-home and away-from-home precautions. Adults can help protect children from unintentional injuries by storing guns properly and talking about safety with children, friends, relatives and neighbors.

  Common Sense About Kids and Guns, a non-profit organization that promotes adult responsibility for child gun safety, offers the following tips for gun owners and parents:

• Unload guns and lock them up.
• Store ammunition separately, also locked up.
• Hide keys to storage areas where children can't find them.
• Talk to children about guns.
• Teach children not to touch guns and to immediately tell an adult if they find one.
• When visiting other parents and relatives, ask if they have guns and how they store them.

  The Common Sense About Kids and Guns Web site at www.kidsandguns.org offers many helpful gun safety resources.