Dancing on the Edge

Playdates, Children and Guns

Which of those things don't belong? Yeah - kind of a no brainer but here is my question; how do you handle bringing up the question about guns in the home when you are letting your child go somewhere to play?

This question, of course, covers not only your child's (or your) friends homes but also the homes of relatives.

How does everyone else handle, or expect to handle, this issue?

Our home is gun free. But I know that this won't (or hasn't) been the case in the homes of friends and relatives and now that Kelton is getting old enough that friends are coming here without parents and he is going into other homes without me I am getting concerned.

So I need to figure out language to work into every situation when playdates are arranged. I find myself worrying about offending the parents but then I do a quick internal check and think "Umm...offend the parents or risk my child being killed. Not really a toss up, is it?"

I guess I could say something like "Kelton would love to come play with (insert name here). Given kids curiosity though I have to ask if there are any guns in the house." Beyond that, I'm at a loss.

And what is they don't tell me the truth????

How are others handling this? At this point I am feeling like my only option is to have all the kids here to play instead of sending him into someone else's house.

I'm so freaked out about this stuff....it only takes an instant for a life to change - or end.

And I thought being pregnant was stressful and scary.