Air Guns and Children: Safety Concerns and Risks

Air guns are any type of weapon that uses compressed air to launch a projectile, such as a BB gun and air-soft rifles. Parents should refrain from allowing their children to handle this type of gun.

Identification

• While air guns produce a less powerful impact than powder guns, they can still injure a child and in some cases kill them, according to the University of Michigan Health System.

Interesting Fact

• From 1991 to 1998, 53.7 percent of gun-related injuries in children treated at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, were due to air-powered guns, according to Science Daily.

Considerations

• Parents sometimes give their children BB guns to introduce them to handguns. Children could mistake a powder firearm for a toy after playing with an air-gun.

Warning

• Consumer Products Safety Commission guidelines say that children under the age of 16 should not handle a gun. In addition, police officers may misinterpret an air gun as a real weapon.

Tips

• The National Rifles Association advises parents to always supervise their children when they handle an air rifle. Additionally, both the parent and child should read and follow any air-gun's safety manual.