Concern for one’s own safety or the safety of his loved ones should be a priority. With crime rates escalating to new highs, and with more low-income families moving into your neighborhood that once catered to the middle or upper class, one must be on guard in defense of himself or family members.

At what age should a person be allowed to carry a personal defense item such as pepper spray? Before a child is allowed to carry pepper spray for his/her own protection, parents must take into account several considerations:

1. maturity of your son/daughter,
2. environment that your son/daughter is mostly going to be in,
3. personality and needs of the child,
4. local laws regarding a juvenile’s use of pepper spray.

First you must consider the maturity of your son or daughter. A juvenile, or minor, must be able to understand that pepper spray is to be used for self defense only. They are not toys or something to show off at school to their buddies. They are not to be used for horseplay or practical jokes.

Second, you must consider the environment that your child is in. If they live, work, or attend school in an at-risk area where their safety is a concern, that factor should be taken into consideration.

Parents need to understand the personality and the needs of their child before they are permitted to carry defense pepper spray. If parents of a 16-year-old girl feel that their daughter is mature enough to go on a blind date with a stranger, she’s probably mature enough to carry defense pepper spray. However, she must be taught how and when to use it.

If parents have a wild, uncontrollable, 16-year-old child who is more likely to show off his new “toy” to his school buddies, use it as a joke, or use it to commit an assault on somebody else, then perhaps their child is not mature enough to keep pepper spray.

The key question for parents is whether or not the child needs the pepper spray and whether or not they have the maturity to respect and use it only for self defense purposes.

A final consideration for parents is the local and state laws on your area. Always check the local laws in your home area before you buy defense pepper spray for your children. Some states require that they must be 18 years of age or older to buy or possess pepper spray. Some states require that they must have a license to carry pepper spray. Many states require that you do not have any felony conviction or a misdemeanor conviction of moral turpitude.

Fabiola Castillo is an online marketer for the website NinjaCOPS.com. This virtual store specializes in personal defense products where you can buy pepper spray, kubatons, wholesale stun guns, nunchaku, expandable police batons, Taser guns, and many other self defense products.