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Two 2004 studies published in ''[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]]'', found that the Eddie Eagle program was ineffective at teaching children gun safety skills. Himle ''et al.'' studied a sample of preschool-aged children (ages 4 and 5) and Gatheridge ''et al.'' studied a sample of children ages 6 and 7. In both studies, children with and without participating in the program were presented with simulated gun access situations. In both studies, the Eddie Eagle program was found to be effective in teaching children to verbalize the gun safety messages, but none of the children who participated in the Eddie Eagle program were able to perform the safety behaviors in the simulated situations.<ref name=Himle2004Pediatrics>{{cite journal |last1=Himle |first1=MB |last2=Miltenberger |first2=RG |last3=Gatheridge |first3=BJ |last4=Flessner |first4=CA |title=An evaluation of two procedures for training skills to prevent gun play in children |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |date=January 2004 |volume=113 |issue=1 Pt 1 |pages=70–7 |pmid=14702451 |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/1/70.full |doi=10.1542/peds.113.1.70}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gatheridge |first1=BJ |last2=Miltenberger |first2=RG |last3=Huneke |first3=DF |last4=Satterlund |first4=MJ |last5=Mattern |first5=AR |last6=Johnson |first6=BM |last7=Flessner |first7=CA |title=Comparison of two programs to teach firearm injury prevention skills to 6- and 7-year-old children. |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |date=September 2004 |volume=114 |issue=3 |pages=e294-9 |pmid=15342889 |doi=10.1542/peds.2003-0635-L |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/3/e294.short}}</ref>
Two 2004 studies published in ''[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]]'', found that the Eddie Eagle program was ineffective at teaching children gun safety skills. Himle ''et al.'' studied a sample of preschool-aged children (ages 4 and 5) and Gatheridge ''et al.'' studied a sample of children ages 6 and 7. In both studies, children with and without participating in the program were presented with simulated gun access situations. In both studies, the Eddie Eagle program was found to be effective in teaching children to verbalize the gun safety messages, but none of the children who participated in the Eddie Eagle program were able to perform the safety behaviors in the simulated situations.<ref name=Himle2004Pediatrics>{{cite journal |last1=Himle |first1=MB |last2=Miltenberger |first2=RG |last3=Gatheridge |first3=BJ |last4=Flessner |first4=CA |title=An evaluation of two procedures for training skills to prevent gun play in children |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |date=January 2004 |volume=113 |issue=1 Pt 1 |pages=70–7 |pmid=14702451 |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/1/70.full |doi=10.1542/peds.113.1.70}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gatheridge |first1=BJ |last2=Miltenberger |first2=RG |last3=Huneke |first3=DF |last4=Satterlund |first4=MJ |last5=Mattern |first5=AR |last6=Johnson |first6=BM |last7=Flessner |first7=CA |title=Comparison of two programs to teach firearm injury prevention skills to 6- and 7-year-old children. |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |date=September 2004 |volume=114 |issue=3 |pages=e294-9 |pmid=15342889 |doi=10.1542/peds.2003-0635-L |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/3/e294.short}}</ref>

⚫
Glatt (2005) in the ''Journal of Pediatric Nursing'' wrote of the Eddie Eagle program "The NRA believes that it can be effective by teaching children the simple, straightforward message to stop, do not touch, leave the area, and tell an adult when confronted by the presence of a firearm...This is an unrealistic expectation based on the cognitive abilities of children in this age group."<ref>{{cite journal |first=Kathleen |last=Glatt |title=Child-to-Child Unintentional Injury and Death from Firearms in the United States: What can be Done? |journal=Journal of Pediatric Nursing |volume=20 |number=6 |date=December 2005 |pages=448-452 |issn=0882-5963 |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882596305003076 |doi=10.1016/j.pedn.2005.08.006}}</ref>


Himle ''et. al'' (2004), in the ''[[Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis]]'', wrote "...few investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of programs designed to teach children appropriate safety skills to use when they find a firearm. The few investigations that have been conducted have shown existing programs to be ineffective..."<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis]] |last1=Himle |first1=Michael B. |first2=Raymond G. |last2=Miltenberger |first3=Christopher |last3=Flessner |first4=Brian |last4=Gatheridge |title=Teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play |volume=37 |number=1 |year=2004 |pages=1-9 |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1/abstract |doi=10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1 |accessdate=December 7, 2016}}</ref>
Himle ''et. al'' (2004), in the ''[[Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis]]'', wrote "...few investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of programs designed to teach children appropriate safety skills to use when they find a firearm. The few investigations that have been conducted have shown existing programs to be ineffective..."<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis]] |last1=Himle |first1=Michael B. |first2=Raymond G. |last2=Miltenberger |first3=Christopher |last3=Flessner |first4=Brian |last4=Gatheridge |title=Teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play |volume=37 |number=1 |year=2004 |pages=1-9 |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1/abstract |doi=10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1 |accessdate=December 7, 2016}}</ref>

⚫
Glatt (2005) in the ''Journal of Pediatric Nursing'' wrote of the Eddie Eagle program "The NRA believes that it can be effective by teaching children the simple, straightforward message to stop, do not touch, leave the area, and tell an adult when confronted by the presence of a firearm...This is an unrealistic expectation based on the cognitive abilities of children in this age group."<ref>{{cite journal |first=Kathleen |last=Glatt |title=Child-to-Child Unintentional Injury and Death from Firearms in the United States: What can be Done? |journal=Journal of Pediatric Nursing |volume=20 |number=6 |date=December 2005 |pages=448-452 |issn=0882-5963 |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882596305003076 |doi=10.1016/j.pedn.2005.08.006}}</ref>


The NRA reports several examples of program successes in which children who were in live situations where a gun was found lying around did exactly as the program instructed them to.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/articles/2006/nra-victories-eighteen-million-safer-k.aspx|title=NRA Victories: Eighteen Million Safer Kids|date=July 27, 2006|publisher=[[National Rifle Association of America|National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action]]|accessdate=2013-05-15}}</ref> They say that a significant decline in accidental gun deaths dating from the 1980s is due to the program, a claim that is contested by safety experts.<ref name="Luo">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/us/children-and-guns-the-hidden-toll.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll|last1=Luo|first1=Michael|last2=McINTIRE|first2=MIKE|work=New York Times|date= September 29, 2013}}</ref>
The NRA reports several examples of program successes in which children who were in live situations where a gun was found lying around did exactly as the program instructed them to.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/articles/2006/nra-victories-eighteen-million-safer-k.aspx|title=NRA Victories: Eighteen Million Safer Kids|date=July 27, 2006|publisher=[[National Rifle Association of America|National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action]]|accessdate=2013-05-15}}</ref> They say that a significant decline in accidental gun deaths dating from the 1980s is due to the program, a claim that is contested by safety experts.<ref name="Luo">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/us/children-and-guns-the-hidden-toll.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll|last1=Luo|first1=Michael|last2=McINTIRE|first2=MIKE|work=New York Times|date= September 29, 2013}}</ref>

Revision as of 16:08, 22 December 2016

This article is about the NRA's safety program. For the British ski-jumper, see Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards. For the film, see Eddie the Eagle (film).

The Eddie Eagle GunSafe program and its namesake character were developed by the National Rifle Association for children 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 encourages parents and other adults to reach out to schools and inform them of the availability of the program.[1] The NRA provides all the classroom materials at no cost for schools who take advantage of the training.[citation needed] The program has been criticized as ineffective.

Training program

The program, administered in schools by trained law enforcement officers assisted by a volunteer, teaches children a litany to follow should they encounter a firearm: "Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!"[2] Instructional materials, including workbooks and a video featuring Jason Priestly, can be downloaded at no cost via the Eddie Eagle webpage.[3] The Eddie Eagle mascot costume cost $2800 in 2015.[4]

Origins and impact

Marion Hammer, at the time a lobbyist for the NRA, developed this program in 1988.[3] According to the NRA, "with a firearm present in about half of all American households, young children should learn that firearms are not toys."[5] Hammer won a National Safety Council's Outstanding Community Service Award in 1993 for her work on the program.[6]

In 2004, New York Times "Personal Health" columnist Jane Brody wrote that the NRA underwrote the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program "in part hoping to avert more stringent gun control laws."[7]

As of 1997, the NRA says it reached 10 million children,[3] and by 2015 it said that the number had grown to 28 million.[4] The program has been mandated for schools in North Carolina and Oregon, and is used in individual school districts across the country.[3][8]

In 2015, the program was revamped by Tulsa, Oklahoma, advertising agency Ackerman McQueen.[9] The agency has won several local ADDY Awards for the its work on the campaign.[10]

Effectiveness

In 1996 pediatric psychologist Marjorie Sanfilippo Hardy, then Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, conducted some of the first empirical evaluations of firearm safety programs for children, and developed an experimental methodology of dividing subjects into control and treatment groups, presenting the firearm safety program to the treatment group, and then observing subjects in a simulated gun access situation. The intervention used in this study used procedures and materials similar to those of the Eddie Eagle program. Hardy reported that the intervention failed to significantly reduce the children’s gun-play behavior.[11][12]

Jackman et. al (2001) wrote in Pediatrics that although the Eddie Eagle program "has been promoted heavily, it never has been evaluated formally to prove that it works. If gun safety education gives parents a sense of complacency without fundamentally altering child behavior, then it might do more harm than good."[13]

A 2002 survey article by Hardy published in the journal The Future of Children in a special issue on the topic of "Children, Youth, and Gun Violence" identified the Eddie Eagle program as "perhaps the most popular" gun avoidance program for prekindergarten through the sixth grade but said the program "does not give children a reason for avoiding guns (such as that guns are dangerous)" and that "The NRA offers no empirical evidence that its approach is effective.".[14] This study was recreated and featured in a 2014 20/20 feature.[15]

Two 2004 studies published in Pediatrics, found that the Eddie Eagle program was ineffective at teaching children gun safety skills. Himle et al. studied a sample of preschool-aged children (ages 4 and 5) and Gatheridge et al. studied a sample of children ages 6 and 7. In both studies, children with and without participating in the program were presented with simulated gun access situations. In both studies, the Eddie Eagle program was found to be effective in teaching children to verbalize the gun safety messages, but none of the children who participated in the Eddie Eagle program were able to perform the safety behaviors in the simulated situations.[11][16]

Himle et. al (2004), in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, wrote "...few investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of programs designed to teach children appropriate safety skills to use when they find a firearm. The few investigations that have been conducted have shown existing programs to be ineffective..."[17]

Glatt (2005) in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing wrote of the Eddie Eagle program "The NRA believes that it can be effective by teaching children the simple, straightforward message to stop, do not touch, leave the area, and tell an adult when confronted by the presence of a firearm...This is an unrealistic expectation based on the cognitive abilities of children in this age group."[18]

The NRA reports several examples of program successes in which children who were in live situations where a gun was found lying around did exactly as the program instructed them to.[19] They say that a significant decline in accidental gun deaths dating from the 1980s is due to the program, a claim that is contested by safety experts.[20]

Media coverage

In 1999 the ABC News program 20/20 did a feature on Eddie Eagle which was highly critical of the program.[21] 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. 20/20 collaborated with Hardy to recreate her 2002 study featured aired in 2014 reporting results similar to the 1999 feature.[22]

Samantha Bee on her show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, in a segment accusing the NRA of hypocrisy, contrasted an unsuccessful attempt to acquire an Eddie Eagle costume, noting an 18 page application and 20 day review period, while successfully purchasing several firearms without a background check.[23][24][25] In response to the segment the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action noted that the Eddie Eagle mascot is trademarked, to be used "ONLY for the purpose of firearm accident prevention" and subject to private property rights vs. 2nd Amendment rights.[26]

Criticism

Some parents have objected to the program because it assumes there will be guns lying around and makes people comfortable with guns, or because it contradicts their own teachings.[8][27]

Advocates of safe storage laws intended to protect children from unsupervised access to firearms, such as the proposed "MaKayla's Law" in Tennessee, complain that the NRA opposes their efforts and promotes Eddie Eagle instead.[28][29] An early childhood education specialist who helped create the Eddie Eagle program, denies that it is a replacement for safe storage laws. "No one ever told me that's how the program was going to be used," she says. "If they had, I assure you I wouldn't have had anything to do with it. That's giving way too much significance to the lesson."[28]

The Economist says that the program treats children as the problem rather than guns. It says the NRA sends a mixed message, noting that the organization encourages gun use by children as young as seven or eight years old in its magazine InSights.[5]

The American Academy of Pediatrics has maintained a critical position on the program since 1992 noting a lack of evidence demonstrating efficacy and advocating an absence of guns from children's homes as a more effective alternative.[30][31][32]

The gun control advocacy organizations Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Violence Policy Center are critical of the program and its efficacy.[33][34]

References

  1. ^ "Eddie Eagle School Gun Safety Program".
  2. ^ "NRA Explore - Eddie Eagle". 2015-05-22. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22.
  3. ^ a b c d Bendavid, Naftali (November 20, 1997). "NRA Safety Cartoon Attacked: Gun-control Report Calls Eddie Eagle A Bird Of Prey". Chicago Tribune.
  4. ^ a b Bailey, Henry (June 27, 2015). "Eddie Eagle eager to keep kids safe from guns". The Commercial Appeal.
  5. ^ a b "Youth & age: Playing with fire". The Economist. December 23, 2000. pp. 37–39.
  6. ^ Johnson, Carrie (March 15, 2005). "Famed, decried for work on guns". St. Petersburg Times.
  7. ^ Brody, Jane E. (August 17, 2004). "Keeping Guns Out of Children's Hands". The New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Oregon picks NRA to teach children about gun safety". Amarillo Globe-News. June 18, 1999. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Spies, Mike (October 13, 2016). "The NRA may be misusing its child gun-safety program". Business Insider.
  10. ^ "26TH ADDY AWARDS". Tulsa World. January 31, 1993.
  11. ^ a b Himle, MB; Miltenberger, RG; Gatheridge, BJ; Flessner, CA (January 2004). "An evaluation of two procedures for training skills to prevent gun play in children". Pediatrics. 113 (1 Pt 1): 70–7. doi:10.1542/peds.113.1.70. PMID 14702451.
  12. ^ Hardy, Marjorie Sanfilippo; Armstrong, FD; Martin, BL; Strawn, KN (1996). "A firearm safety program for children: they just can't say no". Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 17. Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: 216–221. PMID 8856516.
  13. ^ Jackman, Geoffrey A.; Farah, Mirna M.; Kellermann, Arthur L.; Simon, Harold K. (June 2001). "Seeing Is Believing: What Do Boys Do When They Find a Real Gun?". Pediatrics. 107 (6). American Academy of Pediatrics: 1247–1250. doi:10.1542/peds.107.6.1247.
  14. ^ Hardy, Marjorie S. (2002). "Behavior-Oriented Approaches to Reducing Youth Gun Violence". The Future of Children. 12 (2).
  15. ^ Sawyer, Diane (January 31, 2014). "What Young Kids Do With Guns When Parents Aren't Around". ABC News. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  16. ^ Gatheridge, BJ; Miltenberger, RG; Huneke, DF; Satterlund, MJ; Mattern, AR; Johnson, BM; Flessner, CA (September 2004). "Comparison of two programs to teach firearm injury prevention skills to 6- and 7-year-old children". Pediatrics. 114 (3): e294-9. doi:10.1542/peds.2003-0635-L. PMID 15342889.
  17. ^ Himle, Michael B.; Miltenberger, Raymond G.; Flessner, Christopher; Gatheridge, Brian (2004). "Teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play". Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 37 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  18. ^ Glatt, Kathleen (December 2005). "Child-to-Child Unintentional Injury and Death from Firearms in the United States: What can be Done?". Journal of Pediatric Nursing. 20 (6): 448–452. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2005.08.006. ISSN 0882-5963.
  19. ^ "NRA Victories: Eighteen Million Safer Kids". National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. July 27, 2006. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  20. ^ Luo, Michael; McINTIRE, MIKE (September 29, 2013). "Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll". New York Times.
  21. ^ "20/20 Show on Gun Safety". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  22. ^ Sawyer, Diane (January 31, 2014). "What Young Kids Do With Guns When Parents Aren't Around". ABC News. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  23. ^ Blistein, Jon (2016-04-12). "Samantha Bee Slams NRA Regulations in Pursuit of Gun Safety Mascot". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  24. ^ Cooke, Charles (2016-04-12). "Vox and Samantha Bee Ignore Markets in Favor of Gun Propaganda". National Review. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  25. ^ Wagner, Meg (April 12, 2016). "Samantha Bee proves it's easier to buy a gun than an NRA Eddie Eagle mascot costume". New York Daily News.
  26. ^ "Samantha Bee's "Epic Takedown"? More Like "Epic Fail"". NRA-ILA. National Rifle Association. April 15, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  27. ^ Ghessie, Amanda (November 2016). "Mom Who Taught Son 'All Guns Are Bad' Outraged By NRA Vid That Undoes '7 Years of Parenting'". Independent Journal Review.
  28. ^ a b Spies, Mike (October 21, 2016). "When Kids Pull the Trigger, Who is Responsible? Not Gun Owners, the NRA Says". Newsweek.
  29. ^ "Don't Shoot. Run for Mommy". The New York Times. April 11, 1998. p. 10.
  30. ^ "Firearm Injuries Affecting the Pediatric Population" (PDF). Pediatrics. 89 (4). American Academy of Pediatrics: 788–790. 1992. ISSN 0031-4005.
  31. ^ "Firearm Injuries Affecting the Pediatric Population". Pediatrics. 105 (4). American Academy of Pediatrics: 888–895. April 2000. ISSN 0031-4005.
  32. ^ "Firearm-Related Injuries Affecting the Pediatric Population". Pediatrics. 130 (5). American Academy of Pediatrics. November 2012.
  33. ^ Helmke, Paul (May 11, 2010). "NRA's "Eddie Eagle" Doesn't Fly or Protect". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  34. ^ Glick, Susan; Sugarmann, Josh (November 19, 1997). Joe Camel with Feathers: How the NRA with Gun and Tobacco Industry Dollars Uses its Eddie Eagle Program to Market Guns to Kids. Violence Policy Center. ISBN 9780927291163. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
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