Child's ear and eyes gear

Yellowdog · Jun 27, 2021

I promised my granddaughter that when she turns 8 she can come to the range with me. Not to shoot as she isnt quite ready yet , but to watch and experience what her Grandy enjoys.

Her birthday is in a couple of weeks and she reminded me today of the promise.

My question to the group is what recommendations do people have for protecting childrens' eyes and ears. Is it as simple as adult protection but in smaller sizes or more stringent? I thought I would ask here first before I do a google search.

Mule · Jun 27, 2021

I got the 3M/Peltor Tactical Sport 100 for my kids:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgnar2349/

The main reason I chose those is because of the electronic amplification. That way, the kids can wear them all the time, but still hear conversations and commands, especially while walking/standing in front of us.

Although the Peltors aren't "kid-specific", they scale well fitting a 4 year old (slightly larger than "kid sized" muffs, but not overly large), all the way to adult. And, they have soft ear cups, and a flexible over-head band. So, they're comfortable to wear for long periods.

I also let the kids personalize their set, by picking out a headset band cover, and putting a sticker on the battery door.

US Tactical Sewing makes a great product, with an integrated D-Ring. So, you can easily clip the folded headset onto a belt/pack, etc., for hands-free carrying.

https://www.ustacticalsewing.com/

US Tactical Sewing used to offer non-military solid colors. But, it looks like they only have tactical colors now. So, not sure how appealing those would be.

However, other manufacturers make headset covers, too. So, I'm sure someone would make one with a D-Ring, in the preferred color.

For the eyes, these seem to fit kids' heads well:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-Indoor-Safety-Clear-Glasses-VS-9300-clear/309028882

kstone803 · Jun 27, 2021

My kids wear kids sized walkers but I have to ask why isn't 8 old enough to shoot. My oldest started at 5 and my middle started at 3 and my youngest is 2 and about to get into it this summer. 8 is plenty old enough. Do the girl a solid and let her shoot.

Yellowdog · Jun 27, 2021

Yes, my granddaughter is old enough but not quite there yet for comprehension. We will see how her first trip goes and then progress accordingly.

gwchem · Jun 27, 2021

My 5 year old is big, but I have her in adult sized electronic walkers.

Sundazes · Jun 27, 2021

WIth my kids and all the scouts I work with, its not an age related actively. It's being able to listen, follow directions and do what I say.

Speed3 · Jun 27, 2021

For ears, id double up with foam inserts and over the war protection. Loud noises tend to turn young kids away rather quickly.

For eyes, id just go with clear glasses. You can read their reactions by seeing her eyes.

Good luck, should be a fun time.

MaxVO2 · Jun 27, 2021

Speed3 said:
For ears, id double up with foam inserts and over the war protection. Loud noises tend to turn young kids away rather quickly.

For eyes, id just go with clear glasses. You can read their reactions by seeing her eyes.

Good luck, should be a fun time.

*****This is good advice. I've taught younger kids before and it is generally a good idea to double up on ear protection with over ear as well as foam inserts. A childs ears are still developing and you don't want to risk damage to the sensitive ear mechanism in case their ear muffs don't have a proper seal or they mistakenly have the over ear muffs not producing a nice tight seal as they can shift.

Clear glasses allow you to gauge reactions and you can get an idea of perhaps progressing or regressing certain skills during instruction based on their reactions.

Like adults, kids learn visually, auditorally, and kinesthetically. A good instructor can figure out quickly what the best method to teach a child is based on experience but also a childs reactions.

Good for the OP for asking though. I've seen kids with improper ear protection and you can see they are scared and have a massive flinch, close their eyes and just really don't have a great experience due to improperly fitting ear protection or just too much shooting too soon.

Do whatever is needed to make them comfortable and always complement before correcting. Kids IME really respond well to that. Always focus on what they do well first.

lazarus · Jun 28, 2021

yellowdog said:
I promised my granddaughter that when she turns 8 she can come to the range with me. Not to shoot as she isnt quite ready yet , but to watch and experience what her Grandy enjoys.

Her birthday is in a couple of weeks and she reminded me today of the promise.

My question to the group is what recommendations do people have for protecting childrens' eyes and ears. Is it as simple as adult protection but in smaller sizes or more stringent? I thought I would ask here first before I do a google search.

More stringent in terms of what they need. Why I'd never take a kid to an indoor range. Their hearing is significantly more sensitive to damage (adult hearing is damaged by instantaneous sound pressures of 140dB or higher. Children's hearing is damaged by instantaneous sound pressures of around 132dB). So you do NOT want to be shooting the braked 50BMG around them no matter what hearing protection they are wearing and want to make sure it is the highest level of protection you can find. A shame in ear is hard to do on little kids (not impossible, but even with kid sized foam inserts I've had a terrible time getting them to fit for my kids. That said, my oldest can fit in ears and has been shooting my M1 carbine some along with my 10/22. Younger son, just the 10/22. Also a borrowed bolt 22 awhile back. The 13 year old I am going to step him up to the 6.5 Grendel Howa once I load some softer shooting rounds).

That said, I'd have no issues shooting a 22 around with basic, well fitting ear protection. Heck, I'd have no real issues shooting large calibers if they aren't right on the firing line (though again, I would not shoot braked or short barrel rifles around them no matter what they are wearing).

lazarus · Jun 28, 2021

kstone803 said:
My kids wear kids sized walkers but I have to ask why isn't 8 old enough to shoot. My oldest started at 5 and my middle started at 3 and my youngest is 2 and about to get into it this summer. 8 is plenty old enough. Do the girl a solid and let her shoot.

Might not be what the parents are comfortable with. As a grandparent you respect your kids' wishes when it comes to THEIR kids.

Or it might be he's not comfortable enough. Or the granddaughter might not be comfortable enough. Just depends. I taught my boys to shoot when they turned 8. My daughter is 9 and is behind largely because of the pandemic. I'll take her later this summer, but I didn't need her learning having to wear a mask and what not because of the restrictions my club had. I want it to be as enjoyable an experience as possible. So once swim season is up for her and she doesn't need to spend the mornings at the pool, first week day cooler weather and I am taking the morning off work and taking her.

Her brother's enjoy shooting and my oldest (13) is really in to guns, WWII, etc. Younger brother is very in to the outdoors and fishing and would like to go hunting sometime soon. My daughter has no real interest in guns or shooting or hunting. But she, "thinks I should learn how to shoot a gun because it seems like the kind of thing that is important to know".

She is BY FAR the most level headed and sensible of all of my kids. I think she'll enjoy shooting my 10/22. especially at clays and plastic spinners.

By my wife was not comfortable at all with our kids learning to shoot at an earlier age and I respected that decision. Don't need to rock that boat when she is willing to let them shoot and hunt at some point (the lack of taking them hunting has been as much time pressures for me and not having a good time I could take them. I am hoping this fall I can finally get my oldest out hunting).

Biggfoot44 · Jun 28, 2021

The short answer is that many of the major brands offer kid sized ear and eye protection, and they are readily available .

sundaeman · Jul 23, 2021

For my 6 y/o daughter I used sized small safety glasses and amplified Peltors. I wanted to be sure she would clearly hear directions.

Foohaus · Aug 15, 2021

Home Depot sells a variety of kid sized safety glasses and also normally stocks small earmuffs. On the earmuffs, my son used a normal sized 3M set when he was very small—I have a nice set of Peltors, so he gets my workshop ears.

Child's ear and eyes gear

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