Thread: Childcare Centre developing gun safety kit for toddlers

Evolve Education childcare chain launches cut-out guns for kids - NZ Herald

One of New Zealand's biggest childcare chains is launching cardboard-cutout guns and targets to teach gun safety rules to preschoolers.

Evolve Education, which runs 130 childcare centres plus the Porse and Au Pair Link home-based companies, says the gun safety kit has been developed particularly for about 40 rural preschool centres in areas where hunting is common.

"This is very much around communities where little boys will go hunting with dad in the hunting season and it's part of life," said chief operating officer Fay Amaral.

But Dr Sarah Alexander of the early childhood advisory group Child Forum said she was shocked by the kit, which will be available to download free online internationally

"For the first time in New Zealand we'll have a large early childhood organisation that has declared itself to be pro-gun," she said.

"It could be a potential publicity stunt for Evolve to get its name in the media, but it could backfire from families who are not pro-gun."

Evolve had a "hot debut" on the NZX sharemarket in December 2014 with shares trading 8c above their list price of $1. But it has performed below expectations and its share price has slumped to 54c, almost halving its market value from $191 million to $97m.

Its gun safety kit, which will be available online at gunsafeforkids.com, includes:

• Shooting targets for children to cut out, colour in and shoot at

• Colourful drawings of guns for children to cut out and play with or stick on cardboard-box "gun safes"

• Toy gun licences with space for a child's name and signature

• A cartoon book on gun safety rules in child-friendly language

All the materials include three rules:

• "We never point toy guns at people, pets or ourselves"

• "We only point toy guns at targets"

• "Only grown-ups can open the gun safe"

Amaral, who immigrated in 2016 from South Africa where she ran an entertainment business before moving into education, said Evolve was asked to develop the kit by its Little Wonders childcare centres in South Canterbury and Otago.

"In those communities in particular there is quite a lot of deer hunting and duck hunting," she said.

"And secondly, a lot of young children do make-believe gun play all the time and a lot of us would have had a shared parent experience saying to our child, 'Don't point the gun at anybody's face' or suchlike."

She said the online kit was actually developed by the local branch of the New York-based public relations firm Y&R, formerly Young & Rubicam, and Evolve did not pay for it.

"Y&R have developed the materials. They have worked alongside, as we have, some pretty prestigious and influential figures such as Nathan Wallis and Nigel Latta," she said.

Wallis, a former early childhood lecturer at Canterbury University who now runs his own company X-Factor Education, said he was not paid anything to endorse the kit but he thought it was "a great idea".

"I know someone personally who shot their brother as a child and killed him," he said.

"And with all this stuff going on in America about guns, it's good to think about the safety. It's a good, balanced approach, it's not promoting guns."

Latta was not available to comment but Evolve said he described the kit as "a great initiative which will teach kids important safety tips and good behaviours in a really fun way".

Dr Annette Henderson, an Auckland University psychologist specialising in preschoolers who was asked by the Herald to review the kit, said the approach was age-appropriate.

"When you first think about it, it does sound quite ridiculous, but when I did look at the general approach that we can't ignore kids playing with guns because they are going to do that at any rate, teaching them how to be safe with them fundamentally makes sense," she said.

"I think they are doing it in the right way, and I think that it works doing it with toys."

But she said the kit did not explain the reason for the safety rules.

"The emphasis is on those rules, but it's very important, even though they are for young children, that they understand there are explanations for rules," she said. "There is a reason we do this, and it's because they could hurt people."

Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey said early childhood licensing rules gave parents "opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service's operational documents".

She said the ministry could not comment on "a commercial programme that we don't have any involvement with".

That's way more positive than I would've guessed for an article on kids and firearms by NZ media, dare I say it - it almost sounds like someone has used some of that mythical and completely uncommon thing known as common sense!

Good on the Childcare centre for having the balls to do it

Oh no they will all grow up to be murderers save us do gooders

all children should be taught gun safety, i'm not talking how to shoot etc but more of "if you see a gun, stand next to it, stand guard and get someone to find an adult"
when i say adult i mean a real one not a green part member with a u.n agenda

This is a positive step

There was a bit on 7 sharp as well, and surprisingly it didnt even cover any of the objections listed above, it was very positive about it

"For the first time in New Zealand we'll have a large early childhood organisation that has declared itself to be pro-gun," she said.

Ermagerd! Not thinking for a minute that they're actually pro-education and pro-safety...

Our grand kids are using "REAL" battery powered tools for their wood working class, 4 yr olds drilling holes through timber with a battery drill! Shit even I get nervous! they count fingers before and after. But what an awesome kindy, they climb trees as well! Ah the worlds changing for the better?

I like the idea that if they break the rules you can revoke their licence.

Just wait 'til all the manufacturers cop onto this and start marketing tactical cardboard scopes and silencers that cost them all their pocket money...wait a second...I have to go to the patent office!

https://www.iheart.com/live/newstalk...stchurch-6189/


on frickin tb radio at present. no i dont normally listen to it, was on at the post office so thought i would share and if anyone feels like it they could call in and give their opinion

"For the first time in New Zealand we'll have a large early childhood organisation that has declared itself to be pro-gun," she said.[/I]


Yes, my son is in a pro-house fire and pro-earth quake kindy.

Here a health expert is using the exposure to lead argument against firearms in schools
What is good is that the ministry is having an intelligent (maybe) conversation about it

Marie Russell: When should New Zealand schools have guns? - NZ Herald

The Ministry of Education is currently seeking feedback about its draft guidelines for schools on developing a firearms policy. Questions about guns in schools arose in April 2017, as students at a primary school were photographed handling military firearms when the Army visited.

There was a lot of media and social media comment, and questions in Parliament. Opinions varied: schools should not have firearms; firearms are a normal part of school life for sports shooting and other activities; rural schools need firearms safety training with a practical, hands-on component.

The Ministry of Education responded by expanding its existing committee, the health and safety sector reference group. This would bring in relevant groups and draft up guidelines for schools to assist boards of trustees in developing policies about firearms in schools.

Those draft guidelines and accompanying "tools and resources" are now on the ministry's website, and the ministry is asking for feedback.
On its website, the ministry is less than frank about who it consulted when drawing up the guidelines and tools and resources. Draft minutes from a meeting on July 20 last year of the health and safety sector reference group tell an interesting story about the influence of the gun lobby in New Zealand.

Of the 48 people who attended or sent apologies, half were from the ministry and the education sector – and many of the education organisations represented are listed on the ministry's website. There were six people from other government agencies with an interest in firearms and safety: NZ Police, NZ Defence Force and WorkSafe.

What the ministry's website doesn't mention is that there were also at least 16 representatives from firearms organisations on the group, including sports shooters, hunting organisations, firearms safety specialists and the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners.

Who was missing from this health and safety sector reference group? Well, "health" people for starters. Of course, as a public health researcher, I would say that. But on a "health and safety" group you might expect a few health experts.

If there had been some public health people present, they might have been able to raise a health issue that needs attention here: students' exposure to lead.

Lead poisoning is serious and notifications are required under the Health Act 1956. And yes, recreational shooters are at risk from lead poisoning, especially if they use indoor firing ranges. In fact they make up the second largest group of people notified for raised blood lead levels in recent years (the largest group is house painters).
Public health experts agree that lead poisoning from firearms and airguns is probably under-reported, partly because there are few or no immediate symptoms. Yet the World Health Organisation says there is no known safe level of lead exposure, and children are especially at risk.

This kind of information did not get a look in at the Ministry of Education's initial consultation. The draft minutes of the health and safety sector reference group, Firearms in Schools, do not mention lead, and – no surprises – the draft guidelines do not mention lead either.

Instead, we can see the influence of the firearms community representatives in the draft guidelines. This shows up, for example, in the list of 16 "situations when firearms may be allowed in school". Occasions such as: careers day, Defence Force visits, auctions involving firearms, fundraising, amusement devices and cadet forces (odd, because Cadets say they do not operate in schools).

And the draft minutes show that when the group sensibly talked about the ministry keeping a list of schools that have firearms, the "non-ministry" people present said this wasn't necessary, and would create a "shopping list for criminals". Result: the ministry took keeping a register of schools with guns off its work programme. That means nobody at the ministry will know which schools have guns.

These details are concerning, but at a deeper level, a health and safety sector reference group in the Ministry of Education with virtually no health expertise looks very strange. How about some joined-up government here?

When it's thinking about the health of our children, could the Ministry of Education at least phone the Ministry of Health, regional public health bodies, or local medical officers of health, and not just rely on a big deputation from the gun lobby?

Submissions on the draft guidelines for schools developing a firearms policy close on April 11.

• Marie Russell is a researcher in the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, currently studying firearms policy from a public health point of view.

I'm looking into the future here and see the death of cardboard

Some common sense at last. It's long overdue, burying your head in the sand and hoping guns go away is ridiculous. This Evolve Education Childcare group has taken a huge step ( in the right direction) to teach our youngsters about firearms, well done to all involved.

Originally Posted by stug

But Dr Sarah Alexander of the early childhood advisory group Child Forum said she was shocked by the kit, which will be available to download free online internationally
"For the first time in New Zealand we'll have a large early childhood organisation that has declared itself to be pro-gun," she said.

No, she wants kids to be hysterical and clueless around guns.

In terms of sense, gun safety, etc. reflecting on my own childhood, we had toy guns which we pointed at each other and fired caps in, then came the airguns and you don't point those at each other. That is not useful. I wonder if not toy guns should be banned, and we should then only give older kids actual guns that shoot things out of them and which they are not to point at or fire at one another with. I know, rules out the nerf guns, never mind airsoft and paintball. Hmm. Cat's out of the bag I'm afraid.