6 year old using the word "babe".

Not a term I like myself but obviously lots of people use it all the time (in an absolutely non-sexual sense) and a child in that environment is just going to repeat it.

I guess it's not really an appropriate term for an authority figure but he isn't to know that.

I don't think I'd be happy with a youth worker ringing me to say they were concerned about my child for these reasons. Seems incredibly overzealous.
He's making a gun out of Lego. I think given the army environment this is something that shouldn't be flagged as hugely unusual. If he started pointing it at other children in the group or said anything threatening then that would be a cause for concern, but building with Lego alone is a stretch.
The use of babe is probably something they could've casually mentioned to him. Youth workers are guides to children too. A simple 'its not ok to call other people babe here, not everyone likes it' would've been fine. A call home to say it's an issue is excessive.

My six year old can make a gun out of anything. I remember my eldest reception teacher saying the boys made guns out of whatever she had put out for them to play with!
He doesn't watch age inappropriate things although he does have an older brother so is probably a little more "grown up" than he would be otherwise but I'm not sure this is unusual?
Calling people Babe would just make me smile.

Do boys not draw pictures of gunfights while making all the bullet noises anymore? They all did that when I was a kid.

If he can’t explain it I’d be pulling my kid and finding something else. He’s given you nothing concrete and “I just know” isn’t nearly enough to go on or to get yourself worried about. Absolutely link in with your son’s dad to ensure you’re on the same page about what content he’s exposed to re gaming and so on, but otherwise I wouldn’t sweat it.

Sorry, cross posted!

we're in a forces heavy area and it's an army type thing

Not really surprising he's playing guns then? Especially if e.g. cadet posters on the walls?

It's an Army related club and they wonder why he is talking about guns 🙄

As a teacher I taught many children who came across older than they were. Often because they had older siblings or slightly lax parenting and were allowed access to tv/films/games for an older audience. If nothing else was going on I wouldn’t have bought it up. So the fact you haven’t previously heard from teachers etc about him making guns out of Lego isn’t surprising IMO.

I have a 6yo and I would say that children that age, especially boys, talking about knives and guns is very normal. I hate it and I wish it wasn't, but it is.

The hugs thing sounds like a child much younger than 6, I don't think any of my DC's friends do that any more even if they did when younger.

The babe thing is maybe regional - it's not something you'd ever hear used by or to children here so it would sound very strange.

None of it sounds worth raising in isolation except maybe the hugging but maybe the whole picture was concerning to him or something?

It’s an odd one. None of what he’s saying to you is massively alarming, like the kid is six and some kids that young some need support with boundaries - that’s ok. The guns and knives stuff sounds worrying in a surface level but what he describes also doesn’t seem like an issue. He sounds a bit pearl clutchy! I’d be digging deeper to understand what exactly his concerns are.

My DS sometimes calls me “babe”. He got it off Bluey and thinks it’s hilarious. He’s 6 too!

Could this be a regional difference ? Babe in some places is what romantic partners call each other. I hear words like honey, baby, sweetie etc being said to a child but not really babe. Maybe explain that babe is for family members so there’s no misunderstanding in future.

I’m not sure how holding hands and lots of cuddles is older than his age behaviour because I’d say the opposite but could it be interfering with the leader working and wanting to give attention to the others? Unless he was hurt and needed comforting, the only physical contact I’d expect is stuff like guiding him into position in a line or showing him how to do something.

Ds was a hugger (he's 17yo now, so objects most of the time). His school report at 6yo said "MasterThursday will hug anyone if they stand still long enough."

Looking back it was one of the signs he had ASD. It was a comfort/sensory thing.

The babe thing is a non issue and as long as you’re teaching him about consent and appropriate touching I think that seems ok. He’s only 6 and the important conversations are happening.

The knives and guns thing is far more concerning in my view. What exactly was he saying?

But tbh it's not funny or cute outside home to not related people. Just teach him that.

This man seems to have a lot of time on his hands to ring again, what was he saying about knives and guns, he's obviously just talking about the games he played, and if it's not that, have a word with him. If he keeps ringing I'd take your child out, it's ridiculous..eta you mention its army type thing, surely that's why he's mentioning guns and knives??