I cant stand it when other people try to tell me how to raise my kid. I got the same crap from my co-workers when I gave my 3yr old son a .22LR chipmunk (A really small bolt action 22 cal youth rifle) It's not like I gave it to him and said "here go kill something furry". Its locked up when I'm not right there with him. Now since he has been taught from a young age how to handle a firearm he not only knows how to tear it down, clean it, and reassemble it. But I would feel safer with him walking behind me with a gun than I would most of my co-workers. I recently got lecture from my In-laws for encouraging my son (now 8yrs old) by telling him that if he keeps the gas wide open a little longer he can drift all the way around the end of the house instead of just half way. They bought him a little kids quad for Christmas a few years ago and and then have the nerve to tell him "don't go fast you'll get hurt" which I immediately followed with "and it will be really fun". He recently rolled the quad and they all took off running to make sure he was all right, by the time they got there he had flipped the quad back on its wheels and was trying to bend the handle bars back up. sure he had some bumps and scrapes but all he was worried about was getting the handle bars fixed so he could try the jump again. They told me about it when I got home and I was like(with my ok whats the big deal face:-/) Yeah you'll have that. Did he get back on it? they were like
"well yeah..." I was like thats my boyI:I.