Eddie Eagle
Encyclopedia
The Eddie Eagle program and its namesake character were developed by the National Rifle Association
for child
ren who are generally considered too young to be allowed to handle firearms. While maturity levels vary, the Eddie Eagle program is intended for children of any age from pre-school through third grade.
The NRA, which also sponsors training for adults in safe gun-handling, developed this program in response to news stories about deaths and injuries of youths by negligent gunfire.
program 20/20 did a feature on Eddie Eagle which was highly critical of the program. This feature stated that it did not work to simply "Tell [very young] kids what to do" and expect them to follow those instructions implicitly.
The producers had a group of schoolchildren (aged 3 to 10 years old) watch the Eddie Eagle video along with a presentation by a police officer on gun safety
. While the children all appeared to understand the message that guns are not toys, when the children were left alone with prop guns (and a hidden camera capturing their reactions), they all proceeded to use them as if they were toys.
In response, gun rights advocates claimed that the children in the segment may have been encouraged to play with the gun and knowing that they would be on television would act in a manner to get attention.
It is also pointed out that the Eddie Eagle program – like many child-education methods – depended on repeated contact with the message. Materials such as coloring books provide this necessary contact. Likewise, teachers and parents are encouraged to talk with their children about the subject. The children in the segment were exposed a single time to the message, as part of a series of lectures, and not given the follow-up materials or support. Rarely does such a method succeed in teaching young children anything.
NRA spokespersons have numerous anecdotal accounts of "saves" made by the program in which children who were in live situations where a gun was found lying around did exactly as the program instructed them to.
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
for child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren who are generally considered too young to be allowed to handle firearms. While maturity levels vary, the Eddie Eagle program is intended for children of any age from pre-school through third grade.
Training program
The program trains children to avoid causing harm when they encounter firearms, through an easily-remembered litany:- Stop — to take time to remember the rest of the instructions.
- Don't touch — A firearm that is not touched or acted upon by an outside force is highly unlikely to fire, or endanger a person.
- Leave the area — By leaving the area the child removes himself/herself from temptation, as well as from the danger that another person might pick up the gun and negligently cause it to fire.
- Tell an adult — An adult, if not personally trained in handling firearms, should know enough to seek professional assistance.
The NRA, which also sponsors training for adults in safe gun-handling, developed this program in response to news stories about deaths and injuries of youths by negligent gunfire.
Criticism
The ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
program 20/20 did a feature on Eddie Eagle which was highly critical of the program. This feature stated that it did not work to simply "Tell [very young] kids what to do" and expect them to follow those instructions implicitly.
The producers had a group of schoolchildren (aged 3 to 10 years old) watch the Eddie Eagle video along with a presentation by a police officer on gun safety
Gun safety
Gun safety is a collection of rules and recommendations that can be applied when handling firearms. The purpose of gun safety is to eliminate or minimize the risks of unintentional death, injury or damage caused by improper handling of firearms....
. While the children all appeared to understand the message that guns are not toys, when the children were left alone with prop guns (and a hidden camera capturing their reactions), they all proceeded to use them as if they were toys.
In response, gun rights advocates claimed that the children in the segment may have been encouraged to play with the gun and knowing that they would be on television would act in a manner to get attention.
It is also pointed out that the Eddie Eagle program – like many child-education methods – depended on repeated contact with the message. Materials such as coloring books provide this necessary contact. Likewise, teachers and parents are encouraged to talk with their children about the subject. The children in the segment were exposed a single time to the message, as part of a series of lectures, and not given the follow-up materials or support. Rarely does such a method succeed in teaching young children anything.
NRA spokespersons have numerous anecdotal accounts of "saves" made by the program in which children who were in live situations where a gun was found lying around did exactly as the program instructed them to.