I would never leave a gun out and my kids are older at 7 and 8. Tragic and entirely preventable.

They had seen some men near their home, and there had been a break in nearby.

So instead of gathering their children, they gathered their weapons.

of a toddler, a 5 year old and their 3rd child.

"He knew not to touch the gun" means "it's his fault, not ours."

Because my children are so very, very, very, very speshul they never make mistakes or disobey...until they do, and then the results are their fault for being imperfect, unlike myself.

Her distraught reaction sounds as much like fear for herself (wetting herself) as grief.

After all, if he 'knew not to touch the gun', then he knew the difference between right and wrong and can be prosecuted as an adult.

her death. Not to mention the burden of guilt that the brother will carry for the rest of his life. I think it's only right that they be charged as they are.

Maybe they did tell their children not to touch the guns, but it's a damn fool that thinks for a minute that a warning like that will keep a child from playing with a gun if they find them available.

How many times did my parents tell me not to use a knife when they weren't home? Many times. And I was allowed to use knives when my parents were home. So when I was home alone (I was a latchkey kid) and wanted a piece of cheese, out came the knife. I would wash it carefully afterwards and put it away so my parents didn't know. I was about 8 or 9 at the time. Yeah, I knew it was wrong, but that didn't stop me. At that age, you don't really think it's all that bad, you over estimate your abilities. Once I did cut myself and I panicked because I knew I was going to get it for using a knife, so I made up a lie about hurting myself at school with someone's hockey skate.

The point I'm trying to make, like you said, is any parent is a damned fool for thinking their kids heed all warnings about danger. Things my parents warned me about that I disobeyed them on:

going near water alone
wandering off without them (I was bad for that - got lost many times, in the mall, in the neighborhood, in the woods)
using a razor blade (to my credit, I didn't test it on myself to see if it was as sharp as my mom said, I used my brother as my guinea pig)
getting in a car with strangers (this was one of those 'wandering off' times. A thunderstorm came, I got scared and some guy picked me up. And brought me home. Yeah, lucky for sure)
using the stove when they were gone
playing with fire
using an ax


And if I wrote down all the dangerous things I did as a teen...yikes.

Children are not equipped to know the consequences. They can say they understand them when you explain it to them, but they don't REALLY get it. Even if they do, it's likely other feelings and impulse control overrule good sense. If a child is familiar with an object, they are more likely (IMO) to tinker with it. If it's okay when mom and dad are there, why can't I use it when they aren't around? Kids brains think differently. And with the dire consequences of a mishandled gun, it's shocking to me how totally negligent these parents were. It's one thing to leave a handle of a pot sticking out on a stove, but leaving multiple loaded guns out? wtf?

That's why there's no such thing a child safe caps on medicine bottles....