VERN HUMPHREY wrote in a message to ROY J. TELLASON:

RJT>Five year old Amanda just found out that "Grampa has a gun".  I
RJT>don't think
RJT>she's quite ready to take out to the range yet,  not that I'm going to be
RJT>neglecting safety considerations.  Probably be a few years before
RJT>she's rea
RJT>eh?

RJT>Or do some of you guys out there manage to start 'em younger than
RJT>8 or 9 or

VH> Yep -- get 'em a toy gun and let them go to the range with you. 
VH> Explain everything simply -- especially things like why you have to
VH> wear those earplugs and muffs, and let her watch you shoot and
VH> pretend to shoot her gun.

I don't think she'll have a problem with the hearing protection.  Being a
girl of *very* strong emotions and very much afraid of some things (threw
up all over me a few years back when there were big fireworks going on),  I
came up with the idea of pulling a set of hearing protectors out during a
thunderstorm,  and it helped a lot.

Smart kid,  and I'm not too worried about her or the two older girls (now
12 and 13).  It's the three boys coming up behind her that I worry about. 
Kameron is 4,  and has a single-mindedness that has to be seen to be
believed.  Once he gets focused on something,  nothing else appears to
exist for him.  I've already reached the point where I've had to swat him
on the butt to get his attention...

Then there are two more boys,  after that.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me!

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