To be worried about DS2's gun obsession?

[CalamityKate]

Basically, DS2 ( 8 ) is obsessed with guns.

He's got every type of toy gun known to man.

With or without a gun in his hands, his every movement is accompanied by gun noises.

He wants to join the Army when he grows up.

He will play with other stuff, and play imaginitive games that don't involve guns, but ultimately they remain his first love. He had a brief flirtation with a YoYo for about a week, but lost interest and went back to guns.

I don't like it. I've always been of the opinion that if you don't let them play with toy guns, they'll use a stick or their finger, but should I take them away? Yes he'll use a stick or his finger, but is that preferable?

I have told him I don't like him being so into guns, and explained that it's because guns kill and hurt people, and his attitude is to sigh and say "Yes I know that but I'm only pretending".

He says he wants to join the Army. I say "But you'd have to KILL people" and he says "Yes but I'd be SAVING people. The Army only kill baddies so that the baddies can't hurt anyone".

Am I overreacting? I just don't like to see it - particularly when he's SO obsessive. I'm fed up hearing him yelling in an American accent "COVER ME GUYS, I'M GOING IN" everywhere he goes.

I know boys often like guns, but how much is normal??

Feeling rather odd because I'm very anti guns and won't shoot them myself. However I am taking DD (8) to pistol shooting lessons during half term so that she can be taught how to shoot them well for tetrathlon.

"I'm fed up hearing him yelling in an American accent "COVER ME GUYS, I'M GOING IN" everywhere he goes"

DS use to insist on going through the front door shouting 'Get those Jerry bastards' [Call of Duty II] Although you won't find it so, I thought it was rather cute.

Good luck with that comment pushydad.

'On a forum of Woody Allens'

I was one of those woolly liberal peace-marching parents who intended to ban all guns from the home. No son of mine was going to play with the instruments of war and destruction, that's for sure. So I did ban guns. Until I realised that ds1 and 2 used sticks or any other vaguely pointy object instead.

So actually, while I hate great big huge gender statements, there does seem to be something about small boys and a fascination with guns. It was a phase though. Neither of them grew up to tolerate war. Both of them (by then adults) joined me on the Anti-Iraq war protests and they've never had any interest in real guns.

DD has quite an arsenal of weapons, swords, guns and wands, alongside her barbies :)

valiumredhead are you following me mate?

crunchbag, my dd took her barbie to her grandmas where she put her in a box, buried her in a hole and then with her grandmas help, poured concrete over the hole and even made a little gravestone.

I worry about her sometimes....

Why would I be following you rhubarb?

rhubarb at least she didn't shoot her

Because you secretly love me?

It would last 5 minutes rhubrb, I would want a shag in a mate's bedroom at a party, you'd be hissing and frothing at me. It would never work

Certainly I would if you tried to shag me in your mate's bedroom. Really valiumredhead we've only just met!

I can see you doing a cat's bum face now rhubarb

My 10 year old DS is the same. With him it's navy seals etc.

I remember playing cowboys and indians at his age on my bike with all the other kids on the road. Even I had a gun and holster. The boys were all. Ore obsessed but all grew out of it.

Nah, I save that face for when dh asks for a kiss valiumredhead!

Anyway, my chastity belt preserves my precious virginity.

What is it the old feminists used to say? A gun equalled a penis. Apparently.
Or was that Freud?

Also summat about horses and mothers?

Thinking about this - I used to wear my nurses uniform and amputate my brothers legs. And nobody has ever found any body parts under my patio yet.

I gave up this battle long ago. As parentsd, we need to choose our battles, and the whole gun thing was just somethgin I chose not to make a battle over.

It is just role play. It's just pretend. No studies have found that it turns boys into gun-wielding maniacs.

Last week I made DS's gun-obsessed friends one of these. Perhaps your DS would like one?

Thank you all for the replies. It would seem I need to get a grip!

This could have been my DS! Made his first 'gun' from a slice of bread at about 2 years old and the obsession continued in a low level but steady way for the following 19 years! He went to cadets at secondary school and was allowed to handle and fire guns. Didn't cure him! He professed that he would join the Army from the age of 8 onwards and we hid out inner turmoil, did the smile and nod thing and never made a big deal of it - although it caused me years of worry! Anyway - cue college and Uni and although he's still very fond of a gun he's almost completely grown out of it (and about bloody time too!!).

Try to ride it out OP - very few kids turn out to be what they say they'll be!

YABU. Let him have his obsession. I was really into nuclear weapons when I was little but I grew out of it in my late 30s :o

Have you got a gun club nearby? Clay pigeon shooting, that sort of thing?

If its a true love and passion of his, I would nurture it in a safe environment where he's learning to respect the hardware as well as getting pleasure from hitting the target.