Need a parents' perspective...

[JPK]

"Son, not everybody likes firearms. In fact, some adults don't want to have anything to do with them. You need to ask your parents what they think about firearms. If they don't like firearms then don't make them angry by asking to learn about shooting."

Never let a good thing, like asking permission, go unpunished. Too bad for the kid. That sort of behavior is unforgivable.

Look at this as a learning experience. Don't dwell on it too long. Sometimes poop happens regardless of the goodness of the intent.

 

[orangpowr]

Having kids of my own, I would have to say she was right on one issue , you should not have told him you would teach him everything you know about guns if its ok with his parents. That put her in a bad spot. Also if I was her we would have a very serious issue if I didnt know you. You never know anymore what kind of Crazy lives near you. I take my kids as often as they want to the range and let them shoot any of the guns I own. I have taken friends kids and shown them also, but always after I have talked to the parents. Its always a very touchy situation when someone else kids are involved. I think what you did was great just maybe not the perfect way too handle it. My suggestion would be to go have another talk with his mom , give her a chance to rethink and see if she has a change of heart in the matter. If not you did the best you could do and leave it at that.

 

[HMFIC]

Sorry to hear that your good intentions were taken as an affront by a clearly overbearing woman. You were trying to keep her in mind up and if she's too blind to see that, then she should take a minute to reflect.

 

[Neanderthal]

Was she hot? This factors greatly in the scenario.

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

Having kids of my own, I would have to say she was right on one issue , you should not have told him you would teach him everything you know about guns if its ok with his parents. That put her in a bad spot. Also if I was her we would have a very serious issue if I didnt know you. You never know anymore what kind of Crazy lives near you. I take my kids as often as they want to the range and let them shoot any of the guns I own. I have taken friends kids and shown them also, but always after I have talked to the parents. Its always a very touchy situation when someone else kids are involved. I think what you did was great just maybe not the perfect way too handle it. My suggestion would be to go have another talk with his mom , give her a chance to rethink and see if she has a change of heart in the matter. If not you did the best you could do and leave it at that.

Bullsh!t! It's her job as a parent to have the balls to say no to her kid without feeling bad about it, I had to do it a million times. Kids are going to ask parent's permission to do things that we're not comfortable with, it's our jobs as parents to make informed decisions, not to get all pissy because someone offered to teach our kid something outside of our comfort zone.

At least the Mom taught the kid a lesson, he knows not to ever ask her permission about firearms again because he knows that she will over-react and make an ass out of herself and embarrass him. Thanks to her stupidity the next time he approaches a weapon he is likely to have little knowledge about it or how to properly handle it.

OP, you did the right thing, some people are just too weak to be parents. "Made me be the bad guy" is just another way of saying "made me be a parent".

 

[rmark]

It was nice of you to offer, too bad it didn't work out.

'At least the Mom taught the kid a lesson, he knows not to ever ask her permission about firearms again because he knows that she will over-react'

is also true.


(but hey , the kid worked out in my case - my daughter wants a 12 gauge trench gun to go with her .38)

 

[Cedar Creek]

Hard call to make because there are a lot of variables - main one being mom's attitude. I once taught a life skills class for 7th & 8th graders at in a small school - class was funded by a federal grant funneled through the Oklahoma Department of Education: Title IV-C - Innovative Programs. Components of the class included basic carpentry & home repair, nutrition and food prep, water safety, financial lteracy, forestry and timber industry, and hunter safety. Equipment purchased with your tax dollars included two Winchester single-shot 20 gauge shotguns, a skeet thrower, two Mec reloaders, and a bunch of shells, cases, primers, powder, shot and skeet targets. Parents and the public were informed about the program and we never had a complaint. Oh, yeah- this was in McCurtain County beginning in 1979.

I had a few single moms go out of their way to thank me enthusiastically (no, not that much enthusiasm!) for teaching their kids to handle firearms safely. Our SE Oklahoma culture is more pro-gun than most, but I would be surprised if even that area didn't have someone object if we did the same thing now, 30+ yers later. And I can kinda see the point of mom feeling like she had to be the bad guy, but you had no way of knowing her stance on the issue. My daughter played MABI league and AAU basketball when she was in school, and came to me all excited once because some parents had asked her if she wanted to transfer to a neighboring school district to play with some of the friends she made. She was disappointed when I told her gently that she was out of her damn mind and those folks need to shut the hell up...

Cedar Creek

 

[soonersfan]

Well I agree with those that said maybe you got the kids hopes up a little early. I don't agree with the mother's position but it is her right (even though it's wrong). I have to be the bad guy with my kids occasionally but I don't want to have to do it any more often than necessary.

My brother had an ex-seal for a neighbor once. He wasn't one of those who talked about it every chance he got it either. I'm certain he was legit. Anyway, he went to all the parents on the street and told them to have their kids in his yard at a specified time. They were all too scared to say no and showed up as instructed. He pulled out his 1911. Let all the kids hold it, inspect it and satisfy their curiosities. He took it apart, showed them how it worked, talked to them about firearms safety and explained the damage a bullet could do. My brother thought it was very well done and one of the best lessons his kids ever learned. The best part of all is that this took place in California.

 

[J.P.]

Well I agree with those that said maybe you got the kids hopes up a little early.

I can't agree with that....I mean, we're talking about a 14yr old kid here.

BTW,
I have 3 kids: 16, 13, & 6

 

[Blinocac200sx]

Yeah, I'm in the "if you're a parent, being the bad guy is your job" crowd. Parenting isn't for cowards.