My kids started going hunting with me when they were about 4 or 5 years old. They have seen dead deer since that age and they have seen first hand, several times,what a bullet can really do when it strikes a living thing. They have a respect for firearms that many kids this day and age simply don't have. They have been shooting 22's since about 4 or 5 and started shooting center fire rifles, shotguns and handguns at about age 7 or 8. They don't have that "curiosity killed the cat" mentality when it comes to firearms because they have been educated about them. My son was able to get permission from his school to take a disabled bolt action rifle to his 5th grade elementary class so he could do a report on how to properly clean a rifle.

It is never too early to teach children about firearms and firearm safety.

Your cousins children are the ones that unfortunately get accidentally killed when they happen upon a firearm and no adults are around to protect them. AS mello said, they are a statistic waiting to happen.