I think a diagnosis of idiocy is indicated in the case of the mother as she presents with pernicious pre-mortem mental stultification.
The kiddo almost did the right Eddie Eagle thing. He told a presumptive adult. He really shouldn't have touched it, of course.
However, I do think the mother deserves partial credit even if pulling the trigger to see if a gun is real is an incomplete test. After all, even a real gun won't discharge if the bullet buttons aren't in the fully semi-automatic shoulder clip that folds down.
It is, although far from elegant, one means of telling if a gun was loaded. One must note it is a flawed way of determining if a gun
is loaded, but it does indicate if a gun
was loaded.
For a less exciting (and probably longer) life, the four big rules keep you safe and answer the question at hand, to boot.
Is it possibly a gun? If yes, it's loaded as far as any rational person cares.