Then, once our major safety questions are answered, we should allow our kids to take acceptable risks for valuable rewards, just like we do all the time. It’s not crazy or wrong to ask these kinds of questions, as long as after doing so we separate the likely risks from the unlikely ones.
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What if he gets hurt? What if the product is defective? What if the house burns down? What if your kid eats the glue? What if a friend comes over and the friend doesn’t know how to use a glue gun and the friend gets burned and the other parent gets mad at you?
What will he lose by not using a glue gun? This news shouldn’t discourage you from using hot glue guns, but from buying appliances priced at $1. The last glue gun recall from the CPSC was in 2008, for glue guns sold at dollar stores that were short-circuiting, and while four smoking guns were reported, there were no injuries. What if he does everything right and the glue gun still catches on fire?
This problem is even more easily avoided by purchasing a glue gun with an automatic shut-off, or, if you’re planning on lots of plugged-in crafting, a smart outlet with an automatic shut-off timer. A glue gun fire is easily avoided by keeping the gun on a clear, flat surface, not leaving the gun plugged in, or not hiding the fact that you have left it plugged in for fear of getting in trouble. News reports of glue gun-related fires pop up every few years, and nearly always include a description of where the gun was left: on top of a carpet, a plastic chair, or a pile of newspaper. Leaving a hot glue gun plugged in can absolutely cause a fire, especially if the heating element is resting on something flammable. That pain may be worth the joy of construction. It’s uncomfortable, but the pain lasts for a few seconds. If it’s been a while since you’ve wielded a low-temp glue gun, squeeze a drop of the glue on your own hand and see how it feels. The low-temperature (often called “craft”) guns are designed for use on more delicate materials and heat to a much lower temperature, between 170 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. I do not recommend either tool for young kids.
The big guns are advertised around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about ten degrees cooler than the world’s best curling wand, with which I have burned myself on multiple occasions. The question sounded a bit more like an accusation, which led me to read up on glue gun safety…and to this quick primer on hot glue guns and kids. My son was so proud of his work that he told everyone he knew about it, which yielded one predictable question for me: You let a five-year-old use a hot glue gun?
Hours later, he presented a ten-foot marble race course, with walls, ramps, a tunnel, and a fidget-spinner turnstile. I returned to the couch, where my dozing was interrupted only by the occasional “ouch!” and a few sharp words aimed at the glue gun. I offered a few gluing guidelines: 1) use the gun in a clear, uncarpeted area, 2) never leave the gun laying down, 3) don’t touch the tip, and 4) unplug it when you’re done. I left the couch long enough to empty a few boxes and locate the glue gun. My son spent the early part of Friday begging me to make him his own “SSS” game, but as I’d spent the better part of Thursday evening vomiting from the same illness that led to all the YouTubing in the first place, I told him he’d have to make one himself. You may know the anthropomorphic pink blob from his work on this marble labyrinth, this hamster maze, or this mini-basketball game. A few months ago I was entertaining an on-the-mend but too-sick-for-school five-year-old, which is how we discovered Slick Slime Sam.