I don't have kids, so haven't personally navigated this, but I read an article within the last year or two about asking the parents of a kid who invited your kid to a sleepover if there were guns in the home and how they were stored. Especially in certain parts of the country, those conversations can be really fraught and tense, especial…
I don't have kids, so haven't personally navigated this, but I read an article within the last year or two about asking the parents of a kid who invited your kid to a sleepover if there were guns in the home and how they were stored. Especially in certain parts of the country, those conversations can be really fraught and tense, especially if the result is that you're not comfortable with your kid spending time in that home. I wonder if (in addition to the SA concerns, which are terrible and real) some parents would just rather avoid the question entirely and veto sleepover requests.
Yes! And the list grows longer—it used to be pools, then we added guns and now we have to ask about gummies. We are very fortunate to live in a community where the dominate religious practice is pacifism so guns are less of a concern (in Texas, can you believe?) but for a porch meet up with a parent you barely know but may have to interact with for a decade it’s certainly anxiety inducing.
We’ve already had to navigate this with guns and also unsafe dogs. We ended up ghosting a couple we otherwise liked because they had unsecured guns all over the house (AR-15 in a laundry basket, anyone?), as well as a dog who didn’t like kids and we just couldn’t risk it with our then 2 year old, even with us there.
I don't have kids, so haven't personally navigated this, but I read an article within the last year or two about asking the parents of a kid who invited your kid to a sleepover if there were guns in the home and how they were stored. Especially in certain parts of the country, those conversations can be really fraught and tense, especially if the result is that you're not comfortable with your kid spending time in that home. I wonder if (in addition to the SA concerns, which are terrible and real) some parents would just rather avoid the question entirely and veto sleepover requests.
Yes! And the list grows longer—it used to be pools, then we added guns and now we have to ask about gummies. We are very fortunate to live in a community where the dominate religious practice is pacifism so guns are less of a concern (in Texas, can you believe?) but for a porch meet up with a parent you barely know but may have to interact with for a decade it’s certainly anxiety inducing.
We’ve already had to navigate this with guns and also unsafe dogs. We ended up ghosting a couple we otherwise liked because they had unsecured guns all over the house (AR-15 in a laundry basket, anyone?), as well as a dog who didn’t like kids and we just couldn’t risk it with our then 2 year old, even with us there.
In fairness, I also would not want to hang out with people who have an AR-15 in their laundry basket...!!
Absolutely! And they also had a 2 year old!