5 yo boys and toy guns: a quick poll

[frogs]

I know lots of mners have 5yo boys, so thought I'd do a quick check to see what your policies are on toy guns. As I see it, there are 5 choices:

1. Ban all guns, including pretend ones made out of sticks or Lego.
   
   
2. Allow stick or Lego guns, but nothing else.
   
   
3. Allow toy guns as long as obviously not realistic, eg. pop-guns, water-pistols.
   
   
4. Allow realistic toy guns if given by others, but wouldn't buy them yourself.
   
   
5. Allow pretty much anything.
   
   FWIW, I've gone for no. 3, with the added proviso that he's not allowed to point the pretend gun at any one, or play 'bang-bang you're dead' kind of games. That's mainly because I don't personally like the whole guns thing, maybe cos I grew up without brothers. But I know ds loves toy guns, and his face lights up when he goes to other boys' houses and sees their armouries, and sometimes wonder whether I should just get over myself.
   
   What do you all think?

[Poshpaws]

Probably 2, just to compromise. Would prefer 1.

Just don't like the idea of guns, swords, etc.

[Poshpaws]

Oh, but I would allow water pistols...I think.

[beachyhead]

my 3 year old has multiple swords, but hasn't moved onto guns yet....probably allow cork guns or water pistols, not replica type ones.... his fave book is Arms and Armourments......hhmmmmmm

[puddle]

We've got to 3 as Auntie bought ds one at Xmas - with exactly your provisos. He plays quite happily with sticks though - doesn't need a 'real' one . Realistic toy guns make me feel a bit ill - it's a gut reaction which I can't argue logically.

[Poshpaws]

Agree about the face lighting up.

Ds is 3 and when he goes to see his cousin (boy also) who is 5, they always get the guns and swords out and have a whale of a time.

I just can't bring myself to buy them...yet

[Marina]

We've gone for 3, for similar reasons to yours. But I think it's a bit mean to allow the limited access to toy guns and then not let them be used as (sigh, alas) they are intended. I find ds tends to aim rather than actually fire IYSWIM - doing "reconnaissance" etc. We have never heard bang bang, you're dead, to be honest.
Do you allow toy swords, Frogs? I relaxed my rules on "guns" from 1 when I realised that ds had enough (historically authentic and all bought on worthy trips to castles etc) toy swords to massacre the entire street...

[amynnixmum]

Ds is 4 1/2. I hate guns and used to have a complete ban on all weapons. Then DH (huge star wars fan) bought both dd and ds a light sabre each a couple of years ago. Even though I don't allow anything else (accept water pistols in the summer) DS is still obsessed with 'shooters' and picks up sticks etc and pretends they are guns or light sabres all the time. Unless you lock them up they are exposed to everything in our culture, good and bad, and will decide for themselves what interests them.

[northerner]

I don't have a 5 year old, but I do have a nearly 3 year old ds.

I've always thought I'd stick to point 2. But ds clearly loves all things weapon like and heads for the weapon and armour section in every toy shop. Last week he went to a party and got one of those plastic swords in his goody bag - made his day!

Will follow this with interest.

[puddle]

He does have a sword and shield and knights helmet tho' - I guess I rationalise this to self as historical - whereas some of the toy guns you get are based on real things being used to kill people now.

[mrsflowerpot]

Would go mostly with 2 with special dispensation for water pistols. We don't have any toy guns at all, but ds has been known to bite his toast into a gun shape . He does have a sword and shield though, knights and castles and dragons are very big in our house at the moment.

[Marina]

I've been menaced with a toast crust before now too MrsFlowerpot

[mrsflowerpot]

One of the big problems I have with toy guns there is no way for them to make the link at all between weapons and people getting hurt. With swords though if they clip each other they see the results (and obviously hitting each other is banned but it happens by accident occasionally) - not sure whether this is a good point or not but I think toy guns are sanitised violence and I'm not sure that is a good lesson.

[mrsflowerpot]

the toast guns are the most dangerous of all I gather

[motherinferior]

And you think YOU'VE got problems? Overheard at dd1's THIRD birthday party:

'I'm the red princess' (preen)

'I'm the pink princess' (simper)

'Well, I'm in charge, because I'm the princess with GUNS'.


For this I spent my youth agonising over feminism and non-violence

[Bozza]

Think we're somewhere between 2 and 3. Although DH would like one I think. Although we haven't actually yet got a water pistol think we might eventually end up with one. DS makes a gun out of some piece of his car track and has been known to bite food into that shape too. I looked after his friend on Monday and he brought a toy gun which he left but DH has put it on top of the wardrobe until I return it.

[dinosaur]

Never been an issue - DS1 have never shown any interest in guns of any kind.

[binkie]

Hmm. With MI as usual. Dd (4) is the gun-toter in our house, as well as being "really the actual real Queen of Children" in a satin cape. We don't have anything remotely gun-shaped, so she has to make do with bits off ds's HotWheels track. So we're in camp 2.

Ds, who's the 5yo, is very keen on where you'd expect guns - ie games about baddies and disappearing them - but somehow doesn't do guns - how odd, now I read these others below. In fact, he does things like include in his school essay on NY resolutions: "to try to hide some guns" [by which he means get rid of them]. It's rather like the tone of suppressed horror he uses to say he can see a cigarette. I think someone has got at him.

[northerner]

My ds (2.10) has only just started using the word gun. Before that he reffered to them as 'fire things' whilst shouting FIRE very loudly.

[hewlettsdaughter]

We stand at 3, as ds has a water pistol and a foam dart gun - neither were bought by me, though.

[bunny2]

So far, we have avoided all guns so option 1 for us. I hate them. I dont see anything wrong with water-pistols though, even though ds hasnt ever had one.

[Kayleigh]

I have two boys ages 6.5 and 3.5. With ds1 we had no weapons of any kind in the house, but as soon as he went to nursery at almost 3 he started "Bang-bang your dead" with anything remotely gun shaped. Lego, toast, a finger...whatever. This went on for ages but in the last year or so gun games have completely disappeared, which may be the reason ds2 has never really shown an interest. We do have water pistols in summer but no other weapons (guns or swords). I am quite happy for them to play with them at other peoples homes but if they need a weapon at home for a game then they can use a make believe one. It's good for their imagination

[Titania]

Option one here.......I cant stand guns of any kind and the children know that. I have explained to them that even though they are pretending they can still upset people. I can't stand the wretched things.

[lowcalCOD]

5 but not poitned in faces
theya rent interested int hem really
so I rest my case!

[nerdgirl]

My two boys, 4 and 6, run around like lunatics with anything even vaguely weapon shaped. They have fun, they get great exercise. I'd rather they were shouting 'I shot you' than actually pummelling each other. They know they are toys.

Went to the local Garda station with the Beaver Scouts and saw an actual, real gun and the boys just stood there in quiet awe.

[DaddyCool]

can't imagine my childhood without playing guns but that was a different time. We used to use caulking guns! If they were all gone we would use sticks.

I wouldn't want DS to have a plastic realistic one. I would probably limit it to water guns and spacey sci fi type things like a star trek 'phaser' or something of that nature that was fantasy rather than real life.