Firearms and ChildCare: To Disclose or Not

[DCBlessings27]

If you are looking for a good watch dog who is family-loyal look into Japanese Akitas. I had one and he was the kindest, friendliest, most child-friendly amazing loyal dog I have ever had. But if he sensed trouble he always growled. A long time ago I was walking him and a suspicious man walked a little too close and he was ready to protect me.

Akitas are not other-dog friendly (ours was okay with out lab and golden, but that is rare), and you have to do the Cesar Milan training with them, but he was the best dog in the world.

Your friend is right, btw, about everything you posted. Maybe you dont have a bunker, but you can have a plan of action on what you would do if...

Hubby always jokes that if the "zombies" attack we are going to Wal-mart with all of our friends and turning it into a safe zone. LOL- all the food, ammunition, and guns you need haha!

My aunt and uncle have 2 Akitas. They just had 9 puppies last week over spring break. The dogs can be expensive though. They're hoping to sell the pups for $1000 each (which is apparently what they paid for theirs). They also want to start showing their male to be able to sell the pups for more. I definitely couldn't justify $1K for a dog.

[Unregistered]

My aunt and uncle have 2 Akitas. They just had 9 puppies last week over spring break. The dogs can be expensive though. They're hoping to sell the pups for $1000 each (which is apparently what they paid for theirs). They also want to start showing their male to be able to sell the pups for more. I definitely couldn't justify $1K for a dog.

I paid $1,300 for mine. He was AKC registered, but mostly I paid that much because I was able to finance it and I went through a "stupid" phase where I spent too much money on everything anyway.

But in hindsight, he was worth it!

[Unregistered]

guns

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.

I was the same way, then I seen the news and i realize if someone went in my kids school and shot a lot of kids, a office worker with a gun could have stopped all those kids from being harmed. I am going to tell my daycare parents when I finish the process of being licensed that i have a gun in a safe down in the basement.the basement isn't licensed just only the upstairs so this won't be around the kids. I will make it known it is in a safe, it won't be open during daycare hours and I have a door at the bottom of the steps keeping the kids from going down there and the gate at the top of the top of the steps leading down stairs and on the top of the stairs that go up. so there is a gate, another gate,a locked door and a few rooms, then an office with a locked door, then a closet shelf out of their reach with a safe on it that has a pin number and then the guns are inside also. it will be helpful if someone breaks in and tries to harm me and the kids. I can lock them in a room on the top floor and make sure all of the kids are in there. then I will go down and stay on the steps where the entry is to protect my daycare kids. this is if I look outside and I see robbers with guns running to my yard to break in. It will be better than a daycare provider who has no defence in case of a home invasion and their kids were all killed by horrible people because the provider didn't have protection. I doubt it would happen but so do many people and they let their guard down and then it happens. People target daycares now because they announce "its a gun free zone" aka no one here is protected!! (i was against it until reality hit that guns don't kill people, people who hold the guns are the ones killing people) If i don't have one, what protects me from being shot.

[Unregistered]

your privacy

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~

by law you don't have to tell them if you're in michigan.. my law is:

Rule 35. (1) All firearms shall be unloaded and properly stored in a secure, safe, locked environment inaccessible
to children. A secure locked environment shall include a commercially available locked firearms cabinet,
gun safe, trigger lock that prevents discharge, or other locking firearm device.
(2) Ammunition shall be stored in a separate locked location inaccessible to children.
(3) Firearms shall not be traded or sold on the premises while child care children are present.

then it moves on to rules about animals and says all parents need to be notified of animals.. it doesn't say that about firearms though. I will notify if I am asked but there is no way anyone will know unless they come in and snoop when I don't know they are here. even then they can't open my safe to see what is inside.

[Controlled Chaos]

Old thread but a great read

[Silly Songs]

A friend's child was accidentally shot playing at another person's home many years ago. I don't let my children go to homes with guns. Ever. I always ask when they are going to a home they have never been before. The person who killed my friend's child " always kept the gun locked up" until the day they didn't. It's an emotional issue for me.