As fall approaches, and the holidays near, it’s time for me to consider a visit to Colorado to see my family. Bring on the egg nog and homemade mead! It’s also past time to start letting my four year-old daughter practice with her BB gun. She’s been going to preschool through summer because her best friend was going, and I was unsure of when we were moving, so I put it off. I wanted her to be able to spend as much time with her friend as possible before we move halfway across the country . . .
Now that fall is coming, she knows we will be “shooting with Grandad” in Colorado. My dad bought her the pink BB gun for Christmas last year. Sadly, she’s only shot it once. She did OK, and of course I reviewed the four safety rules with her. This weekend, my husband’s parents are stopping by to visit. I thought this would be a perfect time to take her out for some one-on-one time to shoot her gun. She’s excited, and as we continue to review the rules, she gets more and more in the mood.
The BB gun is also an excellent way to start teaching a child about guns. They have no recoil and they look and feel similar, although smaller, than a real gun. As we get closer to Saturday, she’s asking more and more frequently if we can go shoot now. As with teaching my son to clean a gun, I will go at a slow pace and take my time with her. She deserves to have all her questions answered as best as I can.
I can’t wait to spend some quality time with my daughter so she can “learn to shoot as good as Grandad.” Plus, she is looking forward to putting holes in some boxes. Saturday should prove to be a very fun day; it’s supposed to be cool and sunny. She’s already so excited she’s telling her friends at school about her going shooting this weekend. I cannot wait for the inevitable meeting with her teacher about this – we are still in California after all.
I’m confident that I can show her how to use the BB gun and teach her the rules and the basics (grip, stance, trigger). I can’t wait for this weekend so that we can spend some mother-daughter time together. We are just a little different. Instead of painting our toe nails, we will be shooting. Another proud mommy moment to come.