Ask card · free

One question before a visit.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests asking it the way you would ask about pets or allergies. Print the card, keep it by the door, or just remember the words.

Before a visit

"Is there an unlocked gun in your house?"

Ask it with the other questions: pets, allergies, who will be home. Ask every home, even ones you know well.

Question from the American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, "Guns in the Home: How to Keep Kids Safe" (updated March 2, 2026).

If you are the host

"Thanks for asking. Everything here is locked and unloaded, and the ammunition is locked separately."

If you cannot say that yet, the AAP's guidance is: "All guns in your home should be locked and unloaded, with ammunition locked separately."

Wording of the reply is ours; the quoted guidance is the AAP's.

For children

If you find a gun: do not touch it. Leave it. Tell an adult.

Project ChildSafe's pledge: "if they find an unattended firearm in their home or a neighbor's to not touch it, and tell an adult." The AAP adds that talking to children is not enough on its own.

Project ChildSafe (NSSF), "Ten Tips for Firearm Safety in Your Home"; AAP.

If the answer is yes

If there is, you can reconsider allowing your child to play there or talk with them about keeping the guns unloaded and locked.

AAP Guns in the Home: How to Keep Kids SafeLast updated March 2, 2026

Lesson 4: Children, visits and one question