"A DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD"
A Gun Violence Prevention Game
PROLOGUE: A Word to Parents and TeachersParent & Teachers
Every day in the United States, we lose the lives of 8 children and teens to firearm-related injuries. For every firearm-related death, there are approximately four other nonfatal firearm-related injuries.
Life is a series of choices. “A Day in the Neighborhood” is an interactive game specifically designed for children to learn to make wise and healthy choices to keep safe when they find themselves in situations involving guns. It is most important that our children and teens to learn, practice, and reinforce these skills. This game provides just that opportunity. While playing “A Day in the Neighborhood”, the player will make choices through the character they select to represent them. There are many options for each scenario, so the game will change each time it is played depending on the choices the player makes.
It is the responsibility of adults/parents to keep children away from guns. However, every day children and teens gain unauthorized access to firearms that can be prevented by proper storage. In this event, children must learn first to get out of the situation immediately AND then to tell an adult/and or authority figure about the presence of the gun. “A Day in the Neighborhood” reinforces this lesson by rewarding the player for getting out of the situation involving the gun and telling an adult by awarding points and arcade tokens with which they can later use to play actual games in the mall arcade. The game scenarios are hypothetical, but are based on real life situations that occur each and every day in the United States.
Who Can Play
Anyone who is able to read at the second grade level should be able to play through the game. For those children who cannot read, the dialogue and dialogue options can be read to them. It is recommended that all players first read the instructions to play the game. That is where they will learn the “rules” of safe and wise conduct when in a situation involving guns. These rules should be read by or to the user to assist them in successful completion of the game.Teaching Moments
Parents and teachers can use this interactive game as an opportunity to instruct and role play with children and teens, by first helping students realize that they can indeed make a choice in any situation, thus empowering them to make the safe choices to never touch a gun, to leave the area/situation immediately and tell an adult and/or authority about the presence of a gun. Teachers and parents can involve an individual or small groups to play the game, pausing to discuss the consequences of available choices and relating them to wise, safe, and healthy decisions and outcomes.Proper Storage
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that a gun should be removed from homes where children are present. The Brady Center’s Steps To Prevent Firearm Injury In The Home (STOP 2) program recommends that the safest thing is not to keep a gun in the home, but if you do keep a gun, unload it and lock it up, preferably in a lock box! AND Lock and store ammunition separately from the gun.More Information
After exiting the game, explore the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence's site for Fact Sheets and the Center's comprehensive efforts to prevent and reduce gun violence in the United States.2002 U. S. Firearm Death Quick Facts: