A news report from Fox News 13 Salt Lake City about an increasing number of injuries from airsoft guns dropped into our news inbox. The report says that the Primary Children's Medical Centre are seeing such injuries from children due to the proper use of airsoft guns. Is this a cause for alarm for the airsoft community? Yes, of course, as any injury related to airsoft should be a concern.

Injuries to children from airsoft guns is actually old news as unsupervised kids playing with airsoft "shrink-wrap" guns from big box stores with no proper protection and playing in neighbourhoods and their own backyards tend to have these injuries. Rarely are injuries at an airsoft field happen. But the increase is something to be noticed and that airsoft manufacturers and the community should always do some educational campaign to parents and kids on the dangers of playing airsoft without protection.

I have mixed feelings about airsoft guns being sold to children. In other countries minors are not allowed to own airsoft guns and airsoft communities are vigilant about this and this of course lessens the problem immediately. The other thing is that since some of the airsoft guns are being classified as and being sold by many toy stores and big box stores, children should have access to this, especially the LPEGs, or the low powered ones.

The answer to minimizing this problem is easy actually. And I put the issue squarely on parents allowing their children to play unsupervised and unprotected. Since the reports concern children and most of these are eye-related ones, parents, using the  power of their wallets, have to make sure the children understand the safety issues in using airsoft guns. There are already safety precautions already written in the packaging of most of these airsoft guns and thus it wouldn't hurt if they take time to read with them and purchase the necessary protective eyewear. There are many inexpensive protective eyewear so there's no stopping the parents from purchasing them.

But the airsoft community and industry are not off the hook either. With all the videos being produced left and right about airsoft products, airsoft games, and even some high-budget videos with airsoft being used as props, it would help if public service videos aimed at parents and their children about airsoft safety are made and these should be very straightforward ones. The problem sometimes of some the existing public service announcements made by some are just too "tactical" and if they can really make a video that can get children's attention (remember that those who suffer these injuries always have never stepped on a skirmish field where safety briefings and precautions are done religiously), then it will be a very clear step in the right direction.

Such videos can be uploaded online and also distributed to schools in DVDs as the cost of DVDs nowadays are just so cheap. Airsoft manufacturers, if they're willing to shoulder the extra costs of putting the safety CD/DVD in their packaging, can also say to their retailers to make sure that these get into the hands of parents.

Overlooking a problem that is time and time again mentioned in medical publications and news reports is a shortcoming that needs to be addressed. With all the news about these injuries, coupled with children bringing replica firearms to school and even properties damaged with children playing in the community unsupervised, no wonder that some local governments have started being strict in airsoft ownership and play. And when they start making some local ordinances, these will affect even the responsible airsoft players. That is something that we always dread.