Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The ASK Program

Baldr wrote an interesting post about the ASK (Asking Saves Children) Program.

But don't think this is some sort of inquisition into the private life of others.  It's normal and expected for parents to ask critical questions the first time their child visits, and it doesn't have to be confrontational or judgmental.   If you are a responsible parent, you ask about whether prescription medicines are stored locked or out of reach, whether knives are out of reach, or whether the kids will be out of parental supervision at any time.  If the caregiver or other parent is driving, you ask about car seats.  So, too, you should ask if guns are present.  And not just for small children; this goes for homes with teenagers, too.
Sometimes I think Baldr is too nice to deal with the gun crowd? Does anyone else get that impression? In his post he goes on to say that if the answer is "no" it's one less thing you have to worry about as a parent. But, what if the answer is "yes?" And, considering some of our recent discussions about privacy, what if the answer is, "none of yer goddamn business?"

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

5 comments:

  1. Yeah, too nice. I get that a lot. Once in a while the gun folks will even thank me for letting them post comments, too (in between them calling me a liar, bigot, or whatever).

    I figure, if I ask about whether guns are present in a home and they say "None of yer goddamn business," I'll just say, "All right, but my son won't be visiting until you tell me," and I'll tell my son he can't go play with little Timmy at Timmy's home. If they tell me that, likely they have one, anyhow, and probably are at the extreme of the scale -- not the sort I'd want my family around anyhow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't mind a private person asking me. I have a right to refuse to answer, they have a right to keep Timmy from coming to my house to play.

    I do find it interesting that for as many different kids have come over to my house, not one parent has ever asked me if I have firearms. My response would probably be "why do you ask?" I would hope it would spark a good discussion over firearms safety and ask them what they are doing to firearm-proof their kid in addition to asking me if I've kid-proofed my firearms.

    ...Orygunner...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think you have a good attitude, Orygunner, though I would hope you would reveal to the parent once they told you it was for the child's safety.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Baldr, Well thank you. Yes, I believe I would.

    ...Orygunner...

    ReplyDelete
  5. That all sounds pretty good except putting gun-proofing the kid on the same level with kid-proofing the gun. The first may or may not work, depending on the kid, the second works every time.

    ReplyDelete