Dr. Chawla: The message I really want families to understand is that if you have a weapon, you may think you are keeping it for good reasons. You may think it is protecting you in some way. But the reality is that it is much more likely to be used for harm: to your child or to a friend of your child. Kids are impulsive and they don’t understand the breadth of consequences, the impacts it will create.
How can health care professionals help with prevention?
Dr. Kiragu: Pediatricians need to be aware of the significant risk firearms have for families and the importance of educating parents about safe storage. While there is sometimes discomfort about asking parents about firearms, most parents are open to hearing messaging about firearm safety. Pediatricians can also play a role in research and advocacy with regards to firearm safety and work to reduce firearm-related injuries and violence in their communities.
Dr. Chawla: I tell my patients’ families this story when families have a weapon in their house (really you think you have it stored safely??). For everyone who doesn’t have a weapon in their home, I ask those families – do they know for sure if the home they are sending their child to for a playdate after school has guns? Most families are shocked by this, but unfortunately, it’s the question that needs to be asked.
Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
Dr. Kiragu: Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children, having surpassed deaths from motor vehicle crashes. Firearm-related injuries constitute a public health emergency that requires a national, multipronged approach including policy/legislative changes, poverty reduction, violence interrupter programs and increased funding for firearm research.
Dr. Chawla: As a pediatrician, I think of my patient every single day. I remember the room that she lived in in the hospital. I remember the room in clinic when she finally told me she had tried to commit suicide. I remember the conversation that I helped her have with her mother to tell her what truly happened.