WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Most parents haven’t considered the potential risk of an unlocked, poorly stored firearm in a house their child is visiting, a new study shows.

More than 60% of Illinois parents have never asked another parent about an unlocked gun in their home before allowing their child to visit for a playdate, researchers found.

Most said they never asked because it didn’t occur to them to do so.

“Parents need to approach the topic of firearm safety in the homes their child visits in the same way they would ask other parents about supervision during playdates or similar questions related to their child’s safety,” said lead researcher Dr. Samaa Kemal, an emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Nearly 20% of unintentional firearm-related deaths occur at a friend’s home, the researchers noted.

About 40% of U.S. households with children have a firearm in the home, but only 44% of those households store firearms locked and unloaded, researchers said.

“Parents need to ask about the presence of firearms in the home and about secure storage methods,” Kemal said in a hospital news release. “These discussions with other parents are crucial for prevention of children’s injury and death from improperly stored firearms.”

For the study, researchers surveyed 1,000 Illinois parents.

Parents were less likely to ask about firearms if they were female, older than 50, living in rural areas, without a college degree and earning a lower household income, results showed.

The new study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more on firearm deaths among children and teens.

SOURCE: Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, news release, Nov. 13, 2024