ABC Nightline: Does Teaching Kids to Shoot Guns Make Them Safer?

The National Rifle Association and other gun industry-sponsored organizations pour tens of millions of dollars into youth shooting programs nationwide. Nearly four million youths attended a training program that followed the NRA's guidelines in 2012, up two million from 2008, the NRA said. But critics question whether children, even under adult supervision, can be trusted with potentially lethal force.

Dr. Denise Dowd of Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City helps write policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says kids' brains simply aren't mature enough to be trusted around firearms. They lack impulse control and their critical thinking skills are still developing, she said.