From some media reports, one might get the impression that children dying in gun accidents is an epidemic. Let’s give a little perspective to accidental deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes statistical information on every cause of death, including accidents. The latest CDC data are for 2006 and list 11 categories of accidental deaths. The largest number of accidental deaths is from motor vehicles, and the lowest is from firearms.

According to the CDC, for all children younger than 15: 54 died from firearm accidents, but almost twice as many died from falls or poisoning. More than 400 children died from smoke, fire or flame; 761 drowned; and more than 2,000 died in car accidents. No children younger than 1 year old died from firearm accidents.

Does all that somehow excuse the relatively small number of children dying from gun accidents? No. We can do better.

There are two ways to prevent children from dying in gun accidents: child-proof the gun and gun-proof the child. Child-proofing guns is fairly easy to do. First, keep guns unloaded and locked in a storage device, such as a gun safe, that no one can access but the gun owner. Second, keep all ammunition in a separate, locked container that no one can access but the gun owner.

“Gun-proofing” a child involves ongoing, repeated education coupled with constant vigilance. Simply telling a child not to go near or touch a gun does not work and tends to make a child more curious and likely to do the opposite. Additionally, even though the child’s home may be safe, he or she will visit other friends in homes where gun safety might be lax. Part of a parent’s vigilance includes determining whether other homes the child visits have guns and, if so, how they are handled and secured.

Children should never handle guns without a knowledgeable and responsible adult supervising. Children should, repeatedly, be taught the following if they encounter any gun under any circumstance without adult supervision: Stop! Don’t touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!

The younger and more curious a child is about guns, the more time and effort it will take to bring him or her to the point of understanding why it is so important not to handle guns without adult supervision. If a child shows particular interest in guns, consider involving him or her in age-appropriate firearm education and experience, which will mitigate some of the mystique and allure. The Boy Scouts of America has excellent outdoors programs that include firearm instruction in highly structured and supervised settings. The Department of Natural Resources sponsors many hunter safety programs on proper gun practices. Of course, the NRA also has a number of excellent programs suited for children of various ages.