Firearms and ChildCare: To Disclose or Not

[Unregistered]

I am a registered user but due to the sensitivity of this topic I am logging out.

I had an interview the other day and the family asked if we owned any firearms, which prompted this discussion.

(Feel free to log out and answer honestly to protect your anonymity if you like).

Questions that came up in my mind after the interview:

What if we did own firearms? If we keep them outside of the house, then it is none of their business.... right? I should not have to disclose that I own firearms.

What if we own firearms and they are in the house- locked up in a safe, and in an area where children are not allowed and cannot even physically go. In that situation, is it any of their business? It does not affect them or the child.

What if my husband was a police officer/military/security/etc and he kept his gun in the house- is that their business? Woud I be obligated to tell them my husband's work requires that he carry a firearm- then the question becomes- do I now have to disclose information about my family members to potential parents?

What if I had a concealed carry permit, and extensive years of training? Does that make a difference? Would it make a difference if I carried the firearm on walks with the kids, versus if I did not? (I do understand, no matter what your opinion is, that the recent Trayvon Martin case is bringing light to this issue).

As far as firearms are concerned, how much do you say?

In my opinion, if it isn't a factor that would affect the child in any way, then it is none of the parents business. Where does the parental disclosure end? What if you were transexual/homosexual (or had a child that was, etc) - are you obligated to tell the parents that? How much do they need to know?

**I am NOT trying to start any political or controversial issues, so please offer your thoughts and opinions about this sensitive subject in a respectful manner. I was caught off guard by that question and am wondering what other people think about parents asking it, and how they woud answer. Also, where does the disclosure stop? Thanks~

[Blackcat31]

Part of our licensing requirements are to disclose whether or not we have firearms in the home and where we are to keep them if we do. Failure to follow these licensing rules are NOT an option.

As far as it being any one's business, I believe that if we are opening our homes to run a business then it IS their business. If I were a parent and asked this question and later found out you lied because you felt it was none of my business, I would be LIVID! If you are caring for my child, it IS my business.

If I asked and you told me the truth, I would want to see where the firearms are and what you do to keep the children from accessing them. I would want to know when, who and how often you open the locked safe during operating hours.

....even if your DH has a profession that requires fire arm use/carrying, there are rules that he would have to follow so that is kind of a mute point there as he could/would lose his job if he didn't follow those laws/rules

[SilverSabre25]

I once had a family ask this question, and when I said no, they looked at me incredulously and asked if I was sure. Granted, they asked the same thing after I said that my husband and I don't drink, smoke, or do any drugs. Needless to say, they did not choose me, .

You raise an interesting point though, about where disclosure stops; where is the line between private and public when it comes to this kind of thing? It is definitely a good question. Opening up your home to other people's children in this capacity does, IMO, entitle them to more information than the average person, but does not grant them full access to your life. Some of them seem to THINK that it does, but it doesn't.

As a parent, I would want to know if there were any firearms on the property. I would be a bit taken aback if a potential home daycare provider did not freely let me know where her husband (or his wife :P) worked...just as I am taken aback as a provider if parents don't want to supply me with the same information. Presence of firearms would not necessarily make me choose a different provider, though. It's just good information to have. BUT an important caveat to make here is that I don't know if I would be asking about firearms...because I think that would cross the privacy line.

That was a long-winded of way shrugging my shoulders and saying..."Uh, I dunno..."

[Unregistered]

I am sure you are right about a husband having rules- that is NOT my situation, but I asked the question in the event that that is the case for someone else.

In my situation, while we technically do own firearms we do not keep them in the daycare house, which is what I told the mom. She replied with a laugh, "Well I had to ask- you never know what kind of people we're dealing with here." (Which did make me mad, what kind of people was she talking about- gun owners? But I will stop there before I go off on a tangent).

They ended up offering me the position but I declined and took a different family due to the childs age.

[Unregistered]

I once had a family ask this question, and when I said no, they looked at me incredulously and asked if I was sure. Granted, they asked the same thing after I said that my husband and I don't drink, smoke, or do any drugs. Needless to say, they did not choose me, .

You raise an interesting point though, about where disclosure stops; where is the line between private and public when it comes to this kind of thing? It is definitely a good question. Opening up your home to other people's children in this capacity does, IMO, entitle them to more information than the average person, but does not grant them full access to your life. Some of them seem to THINK that it does, but it doesn't.

As a parent, I would want to know if there were any firearms on the property. I would be a bit taken aback if a potential home daycare provider did not freely let me know where her husband (or his wife :P) worked...just as I am taken aback as a provider if parents don't want to supply me with the same information. Presence of firearms would not necessarily make me choose a different provider, though. It's just good information to have. BUT an important caveat to make here is that I don't know if I would be asking about firearms...because I think that would cross the privacy line.

That was a long-winded of way shrugging my shoulders and saying..."Uh, I dunno..."

I feel like questions like that, that are a little too personal need to be handled a little more delicately. Maybe if she asked, "Do you have any firearms in any of the shared areas with the daycare children" I wouldnt have been so taken aback.

I brought up the homosexual portion above because I once had a friend who's high school aged son was very clearly homosexual, and she had a parent ask if the son would be around the kids at all because they were slightly concerned about his sexuality around their kids. The son had almost no interaction with the kids at all, and just happened to come home when the mom was having an interview. I remember the mom telling me about this and crying because she felt so badly that her son was being stigmatized as some sort of deviant due to his sexual orientation.

Again, not trying to start problems, just sharing my stories and wanting to hear from the rest of you.

[Christian Mother]

We don't have any fire arms in the house but my husbands best friend is back from Afghanistan and he's a marine. He wears one on him at all times and when he stayed with us he wore it and placed it on the table but unloaded it...I was freaked bc I am scared to death of guns. My husband now wants to get one for him self and me. I don't want one at all but he stresses the importance of protecting ourselves in our own home if someone was ever to try and break in. I need to have access to one to protect the children. Our friend wants to teach up tactics of guarding a house. It seems excessive but then again he's seen things I could never dream to have seen. I would def. be disclosing to the parents that we own guns and also where we keep them as we plan to buy a HUGE safe. That will be in the future though bc we can't afford a gun nor a safe.

[Blackcat31]

You said "In my opinion, if it isn't a factor that would affect the child in any way, then it is none of the parents business."

How would having firearms in the house NOT affect the child? You canNOT guarantee that a child might get into the area where firearms are. You can take all the safety measures in the world and yet accidents still happen.

You can have a policy of a locked safe, an area where access is not permitted and follow all the rules and regulations and yet we are still human and canNOT guarantee that something couldn't happen.

The only sure fire 100% way to guarantee that something couldn't happen is to simply NOT have firearms in the home.

I HIGHLY doubt that even if you had a permit to carry, that it would be advisable or allowed to carry one if you are simply going for a walk with the dck's. I do know that when taking the course to be permitted for carrying a concealed weapon ,there are rules to follow and not following them has consequences such as revocation of the permit.

I would think that whether your state requires you to be licensed or not (as far as child care goes), there would still be some sort of rules that would apply to this.

[wahmof3]

We do have firearms, locked up & away from the children of course. I've never really thought about disclosing the info. I do have to have a no weapons sign posted on my front door. If I was asked I would disclose the info, but I have never in 6 years been asked that question.

My dh also has concealed carry & I will be getting mine this summer. I would not carry while children are in my care.

[SimpleMom]

Since they are entrusting us with thier little children, then yes, I'd say it's their business. Some people (like me) are really against firearms and just don't want their kids around them--even if they are in a safe place. It's just personal preference.

Some are totally fine with it. That's ok as well. If i did own them, i wouldn't have a problem with letting parent's know and i would explain how i keep them locked up and safe, etc.

[sharlan]

I've never had a parent ask, but I wouldn't be the slightest bit offended if they did.

If a parent asked, I would be very happy to show them the locked gun safe that's in the garage, hidden from view.

[laundrymom]

Yes I do, yes I tell, and never has it been an issue. Of course, the deer heads hanging in the livingroom kind of give away that my dh is a hunter. I have all our weapons in a safe. Except the most lethal, you should see me with a 10 in chefs knife. :-)

[Unregistered]

In my area, we are required to disclose whether or not we own a gun and whether or not it is kept on the daycare premesis even if it is kept in rooms/outside where the daycare children do not have access to.

However, what makes me concerned is me sitting there on an interview with what is actually complete strangers and having to tell them, "No, I do not have a gun in my home." I feel like I might as well continue and say, "so, yes, you can come back later tonight and rob me blind and you now know that I have no real means of protecting myself and family."

I fully understand that the parents of the daycare children should have the right to know what potentially dangerous items are in the home that they are leaving their child in, however, it also makes us have to tell complete strangers that we don't have a weapon and therefore are an easy target for them if they are the crazy ones!

[Solandia]

I would answer: I do not have firearms on my property. It is NOT my daycare parents' business if I own firearms that are stored & used elsewhere. It does not affect their child in the least. My state requires disclosure of firearms on the property. Not if I/dh own any may be in someone else's property.

My daycare parent all own & have guns in their own homes, so they think we are a bit overcautious that we do not keep any in our home.

BTW, does your state consider a compound bow a firearm that needs to be disclosed? Ours doesnt, and I do not disclose ours, because 1) we have no arrows for it. 2) it has a flipping 80# draw that NO ONE we know can pull back. It is essentially useless to us.

[PitterPatter]

I don't have any guns they scare me to death! I use a baseball bat My Sister recently bought a gun and I dont want my son (10) over there much anymore for fear. They don't have kids so I worry they will neglect and leave it lay out. So there's my personal experience. When he does visit I worry.

Now IF I did have a gun I would tell the client but I am not comfortable telling them where is it. I think saying it is in a lock box upstairs or whatever would be good enough. I have had some pretty shady clients that I know for a fact have stolen drugs from my medicine cabinet in the past as well as went sneaking into my bedroom when they were supposed to use the restroom so no way would I tell them where a gun is in my home. A parent has the right to know ANY possible danger in the home. Even if the gun was never used and had an inch of dust in the attic I would tell the client it is here. I would expect the same for the safety of my own child. I would also understand if the client did not want the child in daycare with a gun. Just my personal opinion. I always turn the table and ask myself what I would want as a parent.

Licencing I would have no problem telling them every deatil. I just dont trust clients due to the past experience.

[Blackcat31]

This is copied directly from your state's guidelines:

No guns or other lethal weapons will be allowed in the child care setting. Parents required to carry firearms as a function of their job will lock firearms in their vehicle before entering the child care setting.

In a home facility, all guns will be unloaded. Ammunition and guns will be stored separate from one another, each under lock and key, in an area inaccessible to children. Parents will be informed if guns or ammunition are kept onsite.

There is your answer on whether or not you must provide parents with this info. I am reading it that even if they don't ask, you are still required to tell. This applies to ALL childcare homes both licensed, LNL, registered and unregistered child care homes.