Considerations for Fighting With a Little One at Your Side
Read: Considerations for Fighting With a Little One at Your Side from Melody Lauer on May 22, 2019 for Recoil.
Imagine you’re eating out with your family. Your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or maybe grandchild is sitting in your lap, telling you an elaborate story the way that only a small child can. You’re fully engaged in their excited eyes and animated features— the way they tilt their head and stumble over words as they kick their foot against the leg of your chair has you both distracted and delighted. You’re enraptured with the little bundle of joy.
Then you hear it. A scream. A demand. You peel your eyes away from this lovely child, only to find yourself staring directly at a violent offender in the midst of an armed robbery.
What do you do?
According to 2014 Census Bureau data, around 60 percent of the population over the age of 15 has at least one biological child. So if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you don’t have to reach too far back into your memory to picture the scenario described above, to picture the face of a child you love silhouetted between you and a violent individual with a gun.
If you’re a parent or spend time around kids and you carry a gun, it’s very likely you’ve already considered how it could be used to save your child’s life, or the life of another child you love dearly.
But what if it happens?
What if your child were in the midst of a violent attack? What if you’re attacked and a child is between you and your attacker? What if your family is caught up in violence it wasn’t prepared for? Do you know what to do?
Citizens Defense Research was formed in 2015 and set out to answer these questions. We named our flagship course Contextual Handgun: The Armed Parent/Guardian (TAP/G) and spent a year researching, studying, testing, and crunching data. Not surprisingly, defending your loved ones with a gun is no small task. It’s a complicated and frightening prospect with many moving parts. While many things can be done well, this article will focus on a few important — but sometimes unintuitive — ways that armed parents and loved ones might fall short when defending children.
Your Self-Preservation Instincts May Be Stronger Than Parental Ones
In times of extreme stress or sudden violence, the brain triggers the body to produce a flood of hormones meant to prepare the body to fight or to flee. This state of hyperarousal can cause you to act impulsively and without clear direction. While in this state, it’s very difficult to think rationally, and actions taken may in retrospect seem unintelligent, counterproductive, or even negligent.
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Considerations for Fighting With a Little One at Your Side
Read: Considerations for Fighting With a Little One at Your Side from Melody Lauer on May 22, 2019 for Recoil.
