CHICAGO
– The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is renewing its call to reduce the
destructive effects of guns in the lives of children and adolescents, including
counseling parents about safe gun storage as well as supporting legislation to
prevent firearm injuries and deaths.
According
to the AAP, the safest home for children and teens is one without guns. If
there are guns in the home, scientific evidence shows the risk of injury or
death is greatly reduced when they are stored unloaded and locked, with the
ammunition locked in a separate place. Pediatricians routinely offer this
injury-prevention counseling as part of their guidance to families at health
care visits.
“Firearm
injuries are often fatal – there are few second chances,” said Marion Burton, MD, FAAP,
immediate past president of the AAP. “Young children are curious, and are often
unable to remember or follow safety rules. Older children and teens naturally
tend to be moody and impulsive. When you combine these traits with access to
guns, the consequences can be tragic and permanent.”
The
policy statement, “Firearm-Related Injuries Affecting the Pediatric
Population,” will be published online in Pediatrics Thursday, Oct. 18 in
advance of the AAP National Conference and Exhibition Oct. 20-23 in New
Orleans. The policy will appear in the November 2012 print issue of Pediatrics.
The statement updates a previous policy statement published in 2000.
While
the rate of firearm-related deaths has declined over the past two decades, it
is still one of the top three causes of death in American youth, far exceeding
the rates in other high-income countries. An estimated 38 percent of American
households own guns; in gun-owning households with children under age 18, many
of those guns are stored loaded and/or unlocked. The presence of guns in the
home increases the risk of death from suicide or homicide.
Strong
scientific evidence suggests that the presence of a gun in the home of an
adolescent increases the risk of suicide, even in the absence of a psychiatric
diagnosis, said pediatrician Denise Dowd, MD, FAAP, one of
the lead authors of the statement who will be discussing the recommendations in
a session at the AAP meeting in New Orleans Oct. 20.
“Adolescents
often experience very strong emotions and have difficulty seeing past a
temporary setback,” Dr. Dowd said. “Their brains have not matured fully, which
makes them impulsive, and relatively more likely to attempt suicide. When those
attempts are made with a gun, there is little chance for them to change their
minds. The odds of suicide are particularly high if the gun is kept loaded. It
is absolutely critical that families who own guns follow safe-storage
practices.”
Firearm-related
injuries and deaths can be prevented when guns are stored safely away from
children and adolescents in a locked case. Because of the severe, permanent
nature of gun injuries in children, the AAP supports the strongest-possible
legislative and regulatory approaches to reduce the accessibility of guns to
children and adolescents:
Consumer product
regulations regarding child access, safety and design of guns
Child access prevention
laws that enforce safe storage practices including the use of trigger
locks, lock boxes, and gun safes
Regulation of the
purchase of guns, including mandatory waiting periods, closure of the gun
show loophole, mental health restrictions for gun purchases, and
background checks
Restoration of the ban
on the sale of assault weapons to the general public
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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary
care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical
specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants,
children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.
