Mom Shares Powerful Messages To Help Save Lives and Protect Our Children from Gun Violence

The title of these words is “AFTERNOONS”:

These words are about what happens when a small boy comes home to be alone after school and finds his Dad’s guns and there’s an accident.

“School has ended

Now what should I do?

Dad is working

Mom is too

It’s the afternoon

The days are hot

I could stay in the streets

or maybe not.

I’ll go home

TV’s got tunes

but it’s really boring

All these afternoon

Maybe I’ll play with Daddy’s gun

That will be exciting

That will be fun

I know, I’ll share

this fun with my friend

But I never expected

how the day would end

The gun went off

my friend is dead

It was an accident

I shot him in the head

The days seem long

The streets are hot

Should I go home?

Maybe yes,

Maybe not.

All across America there are parents working hard to support their families and there are untold number of children, who should be supervised, but they are alone. The tragic accidents that happen often happen so fast and often cause irreparable, life changing, family altering problems. We must take action to protect our children. My heart is broken for the families who are faced with the horrors and results of gun violence and something must be done. We cannot sit by and watch more lives ruined and families destroyed.

We have no idea how many weapons are accessible in households across America that should be locked up or not there. We do not know how many children each year get their hands on these weapons and injure themselves or others. We don’t know how many lives are lost that should never have been placed at risk. What’s it going to take for you to take a stand and protect our precious children? How many more children will die before we do something.

I have written educational content for television shows since 1991 and created the educational television show for children and families called Kid’s TV. It was picked up by 100 US. Independent television networks and aired five days a week to 18 million homes. Some television networks said it wouldn’t succeed to just give kids non-violent television shows because there were no characters to market or toys to sell.

As a parent, I have advocated for providing the right direction for our children with non-violent programs that promote family values and literacy. Now, more than thirty years ago, we need to set an example for our children to educate them and to make their safety a priority. Making child safety a priority will take a huge effort by many people but it must be done. We cannot keep waking up to stories of violence destroying our families, our schools and our communities.