Growing up in the South, I was hunting with my father and grandfather so early.. I don't really even remember a time as a boy when I wasn't familiar with guns. I remember the first time he let me shoot a .22. My dad had guns in the house, and I knew where every one of them were. I also knew, because he told me, that if I touched them without his permission that he would beat me like a dog. My dad meant what he said, so I took him at his word. My dad gave me that .22, when I was old enough and responsible enough to handle it. I was 9. My grandfather gave me my first shotgun, later that same year. I shot my first dove with it. Looking back, I'm sure my dad took precautions when I was very young. It's not like the guns were just laying around.
Casual gun ownership and use presents problems. If it isn't part of daily life and culture, then it is probably better locked up and unavailable to the members of that household. If you grow up using it like you would a lawnmower or a hammer, and understand what it does, what its for, and the damage it can do, then it's like any other tool that should be kept where it belongs... whether that is a nightstand, closet, or safe.