Here's a tale that showcases the differences between how we treat our children in the US and the UK.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Simon Hughes, who's only five, shot and killed the second largest alligator in Texas history on the 24th of September. The beast weighed in at around 800 pounds (or just over 57 stone) and 12 foot long.
He's been hailed as a hero for triumphing over the beast, and has been featured on the local television news and in the papers.
Here in the UK, people tut at you if your child so much as chases a pigeon.
Simon is reported to have been handling guns since he was four, and told Fox News "I think it's in my blood". He shot the alligator with a single-barrel .410-gauge shotgun. I don't even let my children play with toy guns. It's a different world.
The incident happened in a marshy section of his family's ranch. "Everything out on our ranch will either bite you or stick you," Simon's father, Scott Hughes, told Fox 26 News in Houston. He also told the Houston Chronicle: "That's the way it is in rural areas. We don't think of guns as playthings or something used in video games."
So is this a legitimate thing to do, if you live in a rural area where predators like this are a threat? Or is it your responsibility as a parent to respect the local wildlife and keep your kids away from them?
Would you be proud or horrified if your child killed an animal 20 times bigger than them?
Source [ParentDish US]