<P> Prevention programs geared towards children have also not been greatly successful . Many inherent challenges arise when working with children, including their tendency to perceive themselves as invulnerable to injury, limited ability to apply lessons learned, their innate curiosity, and peer pressure . </P> <P> The goal of gun safety programs, usually administered by local firearms dealers and shooting clubs, is to teach older children and adolescents how to handle firearms safely . There has been no systematic evaluation of the effect of these programs on children . For adults, no positive effect on gun storage practices has been found as a result of these programs . Also, researchers have found that gun safety programs for children may likely increase a child's interest in obtaining and using guns, which they cannot be expected to use safely all the time, even with training . </P> <P> One approach taken is gun avoidance, such as when encountering a firearm at a neighbor's home . The Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program, administered by the National Rifle Association (NRA), is geared towards younger children from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade, and teaches kids that real guns are not toys by emphasizing a "just say no" approach . The Eddie Eagle program is based on training children in a four - step action to take when they see a firearm: (1) Stop! (2) Don't touch! (3) Leave the area . (4) Go tell an adult . Materials, such as coloring books and posters, back the lessons up and provide the repetition necessary in any child - education program . ABC News challenged the effectiveness of the "just say no" approach promoted by the NRA's Eddie the Eagle program in an investigative piece by Diane Sawyer in 1999 . Sawyer's piece was based on an academic study conducted by Dr. Marjorie Hardy . Dr. Hardy's study tracked the behavior of elementary age schoolchildren who spent a day learning the Eddie the Eagle four - step action plan from a uniformed police officer . The children were then placed into a playroom which contained a hidden gun . When the children found the gun, they did not run away from the gun, but rather, they inevitably played with it, pulled the trigger while looking into the barrel, or aimed the gun at a playmate and pulled the trigger . The study concluded that children's natural curiosity was far more powerful than the parental admonition to "Just say no". </P> <P> Programs targeted at entire communities, such as community revitalization, after - school programs, and media campaigns, may be more effective in reducing the general level of violence that children are exposed to . Community - based programs that have specifically targeted gun violence include Safe Kids / Healthy Neighborhoods Injury Prevention Program in New York City, and Safe Homes and Havens in Chicago . Evaluation of such community - based programs is difficult, due to many confounding factors and the multifaceted nature of such programs . A Chicago - based program, "BAM" (Becoming a Man) has produced positive results, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, and is expanding to Boston in 2017 . </P>

What percentage of deaths are due to homicide