The antithesis to your scenario are adults who've never seen a firearm - let alone held or fired one - who are so scared of them that they want to ban their very existence. I'm all for exposing children and young adults to guns, if for no other reason than to demystify them. What age is too young? I don't know. In fact, I don't know that I would use chronological age as a limiter. Perhaps physical size, and mental maturity? But that's a tough call.
I didn't hold/fire my first gun until I was 25. I had to be 'forced' to do so. I didn't like the experience - too loud, too dirty. To this day, I still don't enjoy firing weapons - even with all the conveniences of air conditioned ranges and electronic hearing protection. Yet, I recognize their utility and value when it comes to self (and family) preservation.
My dad started me with a BB gun when i was 6 or 7, and moved up to a .22 rifle at 8. He even let me try his 30.06 deer rifle at 9, but it knocked me down when firing from a standing position because i didn't expect that much kick (i hit my target though!). it really is about the child's maturity level though. by comparison, my younger brother wasn't ready for even a BB gun till he was 9 or 10 because he showed too much interest in killing small animals just to be mean.
the lesson dad gave me that i remember the most was when we were at home, cleaning the rifle after the first time he took me shooting. i had the barrel in my hand, with the bolt and trigger removed for cleaning , so the gun could not possibly fire. i was looking through the barrel to see if it still needed more cleaning, and without really thinking about it, i took a bead on my little brother playing in the back yard. dad saw me do it and slapped me on the side of the head, knocking me off the milk crate i had been sitting on, since the hit was completely unexpected. "Don't you EVER aim at anything unless you intend to kill it. Doesn't matter that you think it's unloaded - NEVER aim at someone unless you're ready to kill them." 30 years later, i still vividly recall that moment, and the lesson learned. guns are to be taken DEADLY serious 100% of the time, no matter what, because guns are deadly serious.
My wife was the same as you - in her late 20s before she really saw a gun up close and in person. we got to my place after a date, and one of my roomies had left his long-barrel "dirty harry" revolver on the kitchen table. since i was comfortable with firearms, i didn't hesitate to pick it up, with my finger across the trigger guard and thumb pushing the hammer up, to be extra safe. i tried to open the revolver portion to make it fully safe, but the release was stuck, so i couldn't. meanwhile, my then-girlfriend was freaking out, even though i had the gun pointed at the floor, away from us, and i was trying to explain WHY the way i was holding it was perfectly safe with zero chance of accident. the way she reacted, i might as well have been playing with a stick of dynamite and a lighter. i ended up putting the gun on my roommate's nightstand, and eventually my wife calmed down. a year or two later, she surprised us by asking to try firing a gun. i gave her a basic safety "class" at home, showing proper handling, why certain things were safe, and what it took to actually make the gun fire. she's still a little uncomfortable with guns, but now she puts more than one round at a time in the magazine when we go to the range.
sadly it took another 2 decades before the idiot died.
Best to just say "OK dear" and forget it- you can't win that game!
