Kids love playing war games and they are very keen on airsoft replica guns because they look and feel just like real guns they see in movies and in games. However, the question is how safe the airsoft guns are for the kids?
I do not want to break fun for the kids and we all know that sometimes we must take certain things with an ease and do not panic about every small thing, but I still want to find the optimal scenario where the kids can have fun while being safe.
This is not yet another guide that won’t mention what can go wrong and only highlight the positive side, but do not take everything dark because it is not.
Fun can sometimes unfortunately become a danger that no one expected to happen.
I decided to observe how the kids in my neighbourhood play with airsoft guns and how often is there a complaint from the kids or their parents about accidents.
I have also made a research by looking into the history of accidents that were caused by airsoft guns or similar toys.
After the research and the observation I compared it to what I know about airsoft guns from my personal experience, I know that accidents sometimes happen in the airsoft fields just like they happen on the street.
The results are interesting and I want to share them with you, because I think that you should be completely aware of what your kid is doing and about their safety at all the times.
So, should you allow your kids to play airsoft then?
In short you should know that airsoft is safe for kids and they can play it quite safely without experiencing a single negative odd as long as they are thought to respect given rules. Airsoft is not a dangerous sport and has many positive effects for kids.
What is the minimum age to play airsoft for kids?
Most airsoft fields have the minimum age requirement set at 12 year old. Some fields have lower age requirements and some have higher and although it may be difficult to conclude when is a kid ready to start to play because some grow up sooner and some grow up later, the average safe age is 12.
I believe that the parents know when are their kids properly grown up and the age requirements do not matter that much.
In case that the kid is under 12 and the minimum age on a field is set up to 12, the kid can still enjoy the game with supervision of their parents, guardians or anyone who has the consent of parents or guardians.
Some psychologists agree that the age 12 or 13 is the turning point when kids transit to teenagers and therefore develop a more profound sense for responsibilities.
Kids are smarter and more observant than we think
Before I get into what accidents may happen from airsoft guns misuse, I must tell you that we may sometimes have the irrational fear thinking that kids can not take care of themselves, but they indeed can!
The serious accidents are extremely rare and the kids seem to understand what they are allowed to do and what they are not. One of the most important factor here is, of course parenting.
If your kid has been told what the consequences of fire are, I doubt that they will forget not to push their fingers in the fire.
Therefore, most of well-parented kids do not experience any accidents when they play with airsoft guns, especially if we talk about airsoft spring guns.
Teach them to treat airsoft guns like real guns
This is probably the most important part here and you must take this with responsibility.
Whenever I write about airsoft guns and safety, I mention how important it is to treat them just as you would treat the real guns.
People feel threatened by airsoft guns because they assume that if they land in the wrong arms, someone may abuse its realistic appearance and commit a crime or shoot someone who is not wearing safety gear on.
This is one of the reasons why airsoft guns are banned in some states and some states have specific law that applies to misuse of airsoft replicas.
However, not a single law breach or dangerous situation can occur if the owners of airsoft replicas do know how to respect and treat their guns.
Just as you would not bring a real gun to the public or aim at people, you should not do it with airsoft replica neither.
If you can explain to your kids that airsoft guns are not just some toys, but more than it, I believe that there will be no problems at all.
Some people really do think that airsoft guns are simply the toys and do not seem to think further than that.
I do agree that airsoft gun can not kill a human being or majority of grown animals, but it can still hurt an eye, a teeth, ear and other soft tissue.
When I was a kid I almost hit my mother’s eye once, and since that day I learnt to respect anything and I have not even thrown a piece of a rock at someone since that day.
Talk to them about the consequences because even the lowest quality airsoft gun just like the lowest quality fireworks can be dangerous if not treated correctly.
Supervise them and observe their reactions, if they misuse it then you should take the action and take the replica away from them.
How dangerous airsoft replicas really are?
I have seen many injuries caused by airsoft guns and all of them were just simple bleeding on the skin.
There were some cases when players would lose a piece of a teeth if they smiled at the wrong time and unfortunately some did lose an eye if you would look in the history 20 years in the past.
For instance I would put the hand in fire that there are far more cases where kids and grown men lost their fingers by grass machine cutters because they did not follow the safety measures.
Serious injuries rarely happen, but that is because players do respect the rules and know what can happen, kids should be taught the same.
There are many sorts of airsoft replicas and some are more dangerous than the others.
When I was a kid I was playing with spring guns and I assume that most „kid guns“ that can be found today on the streets and neighbourhoods are also spring powered.
In case of a cheap spring gun they do not only lack the power to seriously hurt someone but also lack the fire rate to get out of control. Bear in mind that even a simplest toy can be dangerous in certain scenarios.
Automatic or semi-automatic replicas like AEGs and GBBs are far more dangerous because they have the fire rate and the power to hurt.
For instance a low quality spring gun will most likely not have enough power to break a teeth or bleed the skin, but guns that exceed the price of $40 and are meant for competitive play, definitely have enough power.
Therefore, without supervision and proper parenting I do not think that every kid should use just any airsoft gun that can be found on the market.
I do not want to continue about injuries and accidents, but carrying a gun on the street had resulted in deaths in some cases when the police accidentally misunderstood the replicas for real guns and counter fired.
If you have more questions regarding how much the airsoft guns hurt and what are the other minor injuries the kid may experience, you can find it in my post that I dedicated to this question.
Airsoft as a positive influence for kids
After mentioning safety measures and what can go wrong I think that it would be fair to mention the good side of airsoft that can impact the lives of kids.
When kids are thought to respect replicas and to properly behave, with some supervision and safety gear, airsoft becomes a wonderful game that will not only entertain kids but also teach them valuable skills like discipline, surrounding awareness, self respect and respect toward the others.
One thing is to shoot cans in a backyard and the other one is to bring kids to an actual competitive play where the kid cooperates with the team and works their way to the victory or some great fun that they must earn by following certain principles.
Airsoft also builds the team work skills and as they grow they might have many friends because the community is open and welcoming.
If you want to teach your kid shooting, then airsoft replicas can be a great introduction to real firearms that you can introduce them with, later in a couple of years.
I believe that one of the best ways to introduce them to an actual airsoft game is to bring them to a game with you, be a role model and show them how much fun airsoft can be! Or find someone you trust and let them play with them.
Physical and mental health
I have written about this topic in particular and you can find it here. There are many awesome effects that airsoft has on players and kids are not an exclusion.
Physical activity, responsibility and team work all positive traits and if you want to find out about these benefits more in detail, then check the link above.
After all, it may also pursue you to join the airsoft along with your kid on the side.
Conclusion
To end up this question of whether it is safe for kids to play with airsoft guns or not, I will just repeat how important it is to have someone to explain them important stuff and supervise them, especially at beginning.
This was not yet another guide for parents that only mentions the positive effects of airsoft and remains silent on what can go wrong, but I feel to have the obligation to say as It is, because only when we know what the reality brings we can learn to control it and to avoid the negative odds.
Once the discipline is there, the fun awaits!
I would also consider getting the kids some less powerful and non-automatic gun at beginning, not only for precaution safe measures, but because you should also wait and see how much do they actually enjoy playing with them.
Sometimes it may be just a phase and they might abandon the expensive rifle you have bought them for competitive game.
One thing is for sure, do not let them hit the other kids and animals and they will have great time with airsoft just as will everyone else around them.