I was scanning the headlines when this one jumped out—"4-year-old Shoots Babysitter." I was shocked to read that a toddler, angry at his babysitter, stormed into a back bedroom, grabbed a 20-gauge shotgun, loaded it, and shot the sitter. Thankfully, Nathan Beavers (the 17-year-old babysitter), suffered only pellet wounds to the arm and chest, but it could easily have been worse.
The child had never handled a gun before, but he'd seen his parents load and shoot them, and figured out how to do it for himself. (The boy's father said he's taken the guns out of the house to avoid further tragedy.)
It sounds like the babysitter didn't know there were weapons around. So when the child threatened to get a gun, Nathan assumed he was talking about a toy. As parents, we have to make our caregivers aware of any potentially dangerous items we have in the house to make sure that everyone—sitters and kids—have the safest environment possible.
It's not just guns, either. Some medicines, cleaning products, paints and garage chemicals, tools, or even sports equipment (for those martial arts enthusiasts) can be just as deadly if used the wrong way. When you're going through the safety talk with a new caregiver, make sure you have all your bases covered.
Be open with the caregiver
If you have potentially dangerous objects in your house, you need to let your caregivers know. Point out firearms, paints and chemicals, and hazardous cleaning supplies along with emergency contact information, such as your doctor and poison control. Just like you're looking for a sitter to keep your kids safe, the caregivers look to you to keep the home environment as secure as possible.
Lock 'em up and throw away the key
Just pointing dangerous objects out isn't enough—they have to be locked away securely. Firearms should always be stored unloaded in a locked cabinet with ammunition locked up separately. You should also properly store chemicals, medication, and cleaning products, especially if you have younger children. One cabinet lock can provide a world of peace.
Don't assume that hiding anything you want to keep away from your kids is a foolproof strategy. Remember when you were a kid? Most youngsters are full of curiosity and love to poke around the house. They'll find what you've hidden and the fact that you hid it will be all the more fascinating. Keep it all locked up!
Talk to your children
If you have off-limit items, make sure your children know that they (and their friends) are never allowed to handle them without adult supervision. Your caregivers should be aware of any house rules, too, so they can enforce them the same way you would.
In the case of the 4-year-old, he likely didn't understand the full consequences of his actions. Our kids see violence on TV, at the movies, and in video games on a daily basis. If they're young, they may not understand the connection between what they've seen on the screen and what happens in the real world. Caution your little ones, without frightening them, about what could happen if they used one of your locked-up items without supervision.
Just in case…
You should always have an emergency checklist on hand for anyone looking after your kids. The Care.com editorial team has put together a Checklist for a Child Care Medical Emergency—print it out and make sure you've filled in all the information, including:
- Full names of your children (not nicknames)
- A list of contacts, including close friends and relatives if you can't be reached
- Contact information for family doctors
- Directions on how to deal with specific medical conditions (if your child has asthma or epilepsy, for example)
I don't mean to scare you by putting together emergency lists and suggesting precautions to safeguard our homes. Rather, I hope that if we all took a little extra time to work with our caregivers, then we'd be able to keep our kids safe and secure, free from harm and care. It will give us all a little more peace of mind.
If you have any other sitter safety ideas, share them here in the comments. Let's all help keep each other safe!
That is just craziness that a 4 year old would do something like that! I have 2 kids, a 3 yr old and a 4 yr old. I also have about 15 guns in my house. Me and my husband are gun enthusiasts and members of the NRA. He is military and I am former military so guns have been apart of our lives as long as I can remember. Yet neither one of my children has EVER threatened anyone out of anger to shoot them! In fact, for Christmas we bought my 4 yr old his own b b gun just so he has something that he can shoot and learn proper gun care and safety with. I make it a point to let any caregiver in my house know that we do have weapons. They are in a glass case in the living room actually so its pretty obvious, however, non of them are ever loaded in the display case and we have another safe in our bedroom where all the ammo is stored. Both safes and my bed room stay locked when we have a caregiver at the house. On top of all the safes being locked each gun has it's own individual trigger lock on them. I never leave the keys home by themselves. They stay at my side when ever we go out. My biggest fear is one of my children getting hurt with one of them. I do everything I can possibly think of to not let that happen. I know a lot of people will say, "Then why even have the guns in your house? Why not get rid of them all?" and I say to them because it is my right to own these to protect my self and my family. Even a 3-year-old can understand basic gun safety! My 3-yr-old knows she is not allowed to touch the guns, she isn't even allowed to touch the case they are kept in! I do educate my kids about the weapons. When we get a new one its a big deal in our house. Everyone gets to hold it, we all get to see how this one works. Being educated on something is the first step in being safe with whatever it is you are working with. People should not be scared of guns, they should be scared of the uneducated people holding the guns! Education, safety and common sense is what will protect people.
Posted by: Valerie | January 13, 2009 at 10:06 AM
I think the shooting accident was brought about by plain irresponsibility of the parent. Anyone who owns a gun should definitely have a gun safe. I would like to suggest that a key ring with a duplicate of all the keys in the house should be kept at a place which can be easily accessed by the babysitter only (excluding the keys to private stuff of course).
Posted by: ShannonGB | January 13, 2009 at 10:09 AM
I feel that if the parents kept the weapons locked in a cabinet this may have not happened. Do the responsible thing and think of safety!It takes a 1/2 second to make your home safe.We need to keep our children and others safe from harm. Again, keep all weapons locked up.
Posted by: Lynn Farnham | January 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM
This is very sad. How does a 4-year-old know how to load a gun anyway? He need to be learning his ABC's and 123's. Thank god the sitter is o.k! Accidents happened but all of that could have been avoided. All of the weapons should have been locked up. This child has some anger issues needs help. Probably the parents too.
Posted by: Shanda | January 13, 2009 at 11:05 AM
I am in law enforcement, so firearms are in my house as well. However, my two children have seen them and I have explained to my oldest what a gun is, but they know NEVER to go near a gun and always get an adult. My guns are ALWAYS locked up and never, ever not in the safe. I just can't believe that a parent would leave a gun with ammo unlocked... pathetic!
Posted by: Tiffany | January 13, 2009 at 01:02 PM
ok. This one gives me the creeps! Have we gotten into that point for real? So the 4 year old kid had to have seen someone loading that gun before and somebody might have told what is used for in the wrong way, of course! All I can say...WOW!
Posted by: Hilda | January 13, 2009 at 08:13 PM
How much and often did his dad drink? (DAD Not capitalized for a reason) Four-year-olds are still tiny. Probablly owned many guns, (respectable gun owner type) And I can't even own one due to an alcoholic screw up when I was younger. I miss shooting cans. In addition, I learned of competition shooting. There's a hobby I can't explore. Way to go, just another addition to the anti gun groups side of the scale of justice.
Posted by: Aaron | January 14, 2009 at 03:15 AM
I think the parents should have house safety skills in check. I remove a coffee table in fear of a child falling and hitting the table with head. What is wrong are the parents who have no common sense?
laura
Posted by: LAURA | January 16, 2009 at 07:03 PM
This just goes to show that common sense isn't so common. My husband has a muzzle loader, but the gun is in one place and the ammo and power are in another. Our daughter has been drilled to pieces about guns and gun safety. She knows NEVER to touch a gun unless you have a authorized adult with you. If a gun is out by itself, go get an adult and let them know! I'll admit to not a big gun person, but if you want them, handle them correctly! Make sure your kids are educated, which obviously this family had no idea how to do. And ALWAYS let others know about the guns in the house, whether it's the sitter or just a friend's parents sending their child to play or spend the night. In this case, there is no such thing as too much information!
Posted by: M | April 24, 2009 at 10:17 AM
As caregivers (especially when it comes to children, regardless of their ages), we must sit down w/the parents and discuss everything pertinent regarding their care and what is expected of you in their absence. Go on-line or check out your library on how to formulate an assessment in all details. It is of the utmost to have written info on who to contact should an emergency arise; it should ALWAYS be displayed in view. Follow the household instructions consistently. Treat your job with love and responsibility. Once someone is placed in your care, RESPONSIBILITY is the key word. It was terrible to hear of that 4 yr. old and the situation could have been more drastic. Unfortunately, we live in a different era and t.v., video games. music and poor parenting skills has left us with a dilemna, but it is still possible to be the best at what you were hired to be.
Posted by: Twanda Moore | April 28, 2009 at 02:39 PM