Page 2 - Gray S News Today

I know your husband is training to be a police officer. >> yes. while he was in the police academy he had a gun in the house for a full year. >> reporter: did your kids know where the gun was? >> no. >> reporter: shes sure nine-year-old nevada will know exactly what to do. shes sort of the rule follower kind of kid? >> absolutely. >> reporter: but shes not so sure about 7-year-old luke. >> hes the middle child. hes very outgoing. hes kind of the ham of the family. >> reporter: before we test luk...

Oliver lifts up the gun. the barrel pointing at his friends head. >> oh my gosh. yeah, he just -- >> oh my gosh. >> we laugh because we know its a situation where were testing them, but if that were real -- >> yeah. >> hard to see that? >> it was disappointing. those training sessions were so rent. >> reporter: their dads go to speak with their sons. >> what happened when you saw that g? >> i touched it. >> why? >> i wanted to. >> i love you. im glad youre safe. if this was a real gun, it couldv...

First test, right on the spot, dr. ray gave them the behavioral skills training. >> stop. run away. its a real gun, okay? >> reporter: and he had them role-play one more time. >> see that gun and show me exactly what you would do. >> reporter: now were going to test them again at seans house, the same place they had their last training. they might be on alert since the setting is familiar, but will that help them remember what to do? weve got hidden cameras rolling upstairs and their nervous mom...

For luke and nevada its been only three days since the training session. their moms outside in the watchmobile. and if they go for it, how do you think youre gonna be feeling? >> scared. terrified probably. >> reporter: she told luke and nevada they were here to fill candy baskets to be donated to a local food bank. the baskets will be donated. >> now were going to just filling out the eggs with as much candy as we want. >> reporter: but what they dont know is in a room down the hall. theres a t...

Its a little scary now. >> its okay. >> we tell the boys theyre not in trouble. they just need more training and they need the right kind of training. >> stop and dont touch it. turns out dr. ray is not surprised the boys failed. he used a training that is often taught in gun safety classes. you simply tell kids what to do. he used this talk-only method to illustrate what his research found, that type of training doesnt usually work. >> i expected they would probably touch the gun, perhaps play ...

Its a real gun, okay? >> reporter: and he had them role-play one more time. >> see that gun and show me exactly what you would do. >> reporter: now were going to test them again at seans house, the same place they had their last training. they might be on alert since the setting is familiar, but will that help them remember what to do? weve got hidden cameras rolling upstairs and their nervous moms downstairs. >> so you had a training again with dr. ray, and how did the boys do then? >> they, th...

While he was in the police academy he had a gun in the house for a full year. >> reporter: did your kids know where the gun was? >> no. >> reporter: shes sure nine-year-old nevada will know exactly what to do. shes sort of the rule follower kind of kid? >> absolutely. >> reporter: but shes not so sure about 7-year-old luke. >> hes the middle child. hes very outgoing. hes kind of the ham of the family. >> reporter: before we test luke and nevada we send them to a gun safety class with our expert,...

In trouble. they just need more training and they need the right kind of training. >> stop and dont touch it. turns out dr. ray is not surprised the boys failed. he used a training that is often taught in gun safety classes. you simply tell kids what to do. he used this talk-only method to illustrate what his research found, that type of training doesnt usually work. >> i expected they would probably touch the gun, perhaps play with it and maybe do something dangerous with it. >> reporter: based...

He says it works about 50% of the time. for some kids, the attraction to guns is so strong, that they need to be trained over and over. he says after the role playing, and after youve tested them, you need to train again and test them again. >> kids know their abcs and they know their basic addition and subtraction cause theyve practiced it over and over. its the same with this skill. >> like a fire drill at school. >> absolutely. >> kids have to practice it. they have to know the exits. they ha...

>> oh my gosh. yeah, he just -- >> oh my gosh. >> we laugh because we know its a situation where were testing them, but if that were real -- >> yeah. >> hard to see that? >> it was disappointing. those training sessions were so recent. >> reporter: their dads go to speak with their sons. >> what happened when you saw that gun? >> i touched it. >> why? >> i wanted to. >> i love you. im glad youre safe. if this was a real gun, it couldve been incredibly dangerous, and incredibly scary. okay? >> do...