to think children shouldn't have toy guns?

[trianglesaregood]

At the park this morning and noticed some pre-school age boys playing, quite aggressively, with toy guns. One looked like some sort of machine gun complete with toy ammo! I was a bit shocked as I didn't think anyone gave their kids these kind of toys anymore; none of my friends do and I wouldn't think it appropriate for my children. Am I living in a bubble? Wondered what others thought?

Saying that, I do not in any way advocate 99% of people owning guns and keeping them at home. The situation with gun control in America is totally wrong IMO.

My DS is only 5 but has play guns (laser style) that makes a noise and lights up. He plays with it for a bit and then it goes back in the toy box for a few weeks.

Boys who play with guns are very unlikely to become a gun wielding maniac, just as little girls who play princesses are unlikely to become one. I for one was obsessed with my play kitchen and spent hours and hours making plastic culinary delights for my family. Now, although I do cook and aren't too bad at it, I absolutely hate doing it. I do things that are quick and easy to make.

My DD has a bow and arrow and two swords. If she asked for a gun I would buy her one. I see no problem in principle with guns; the toys don't teach aggression. DD knows not to hit anyone with her sword or to shoot arrows at people.

I would not buy her a gun that could inflict harm though; air rifle or pellet gun. That's where I draw the line. I would also be cross if DS, when he's older, gets guns as toys purely for being a boy.

To each their own.

DS has a toy sword and loves playing Mike the Knight but I would feel uncomfy buying him a gun but really there isn't much difference so I don't know why one would make me more uncomft than the other

I have a problem with guns because I grew up abroad in an environment where guns were everywhere (not the US though!) and we occasionally ended up in situations which were scary - my parents were intrepid travellers. I just do not like to look at them.

At no point however do I remember any army checkpoint where a cutlass or crossbow was poked through the car windows with the demand for our papers, so those I can tolerate.

I still can't stop DS being obsessed with 'shooting' the baddies and I will not make a big issue of it. Just teach them to be good people, the rest will follow (I hope...)

I want to know whether OP has changed her mind because of this thread.

I don't like anything that looks like a "real" gun, but do admit that I bought my DS a "pirate gun" that shoots rubber-suction things at targets. But we're really rigourous about safety issues and make it clear to him that this isn't a real gun, etc.

He also has toy swords and shields, and now also bow&arrow with rubber suction ends. Same injunctions with these. One of the first things he learned was "you don't poke people who aren't holding a sword", and learnt it so well we had to "re-train" him with relevant exceptions, i.e. 1. Vikings 2. on the battlefield (kiddie Vike), 3. who happened to be holding axes or spears instead of swords.

But the swords and archery are partly because we're historical reenactors, and there's a limit to what we can have for toys in the Living History villages.

FTR, I'd buy my DD, if I had one, any of the above - no gender bigot, me!

we avoided guns with DS1 and then aged 4 he won an AK47 in a raffle and insisted on taking to nursery. It has been downhill ever since. DS2 has been toting toy guns since he could walk. Nowt you can do really

Had guns, swords, axes,bow and arrows,light sabers etc from age 2 I'd say. Never had issue with them, they were toys. Now,ds is 13,have archery and nerf guns, no problems.

Of course playing with guns doesn't automatically turn kids into psychotic serial killers as adults. I think that would be an extreme stance for anyone anti toy gun to take.

I enjoy shooting and want my DC's to learn to shoot properly when the time comes.I want them to be careful,sensible, and understand the rules.

Target shooting in a safe environment is fun.
Playing at killing other people ,not so much.

Dps dad bought ds a nerf gun at christmas. Ds ate the foamy bits (he was 14 months!) He also has a big toy knife that came in an army dress up set.

I personally hate seeing wee ones with violent weapon shaped toys just as much as i hate frilly flouncy glittery crap - gender stereotyping bugs the shit out of me.

I think the only toys shaped like guns we've had so far have been water pistols.

Instead my 4yr old makes them out of Lego and sticks in the park...

My dad grew up in 1940s America so of course he had loads of toy guns as a child, watched cheap gunslinger cowboy movies for hours every Saturday; he's the biggest pro-gun control fanatic I know.

Friend was raised by civil rights activist pacifist intellectual hippies, peace niks, their sons were banned from ever owning any sort of toy gun.

The DAY he turned 18 Friend went out and bought himself a semi-automatic machine gun (America). 44yo and still quite a gun-nut. I really wish banning them worked to discourage all interest.

No I haven't although it is interesting to hear people's different perspectives. I've never believed that playing with guns turns children into murderous psychopaths or increases their level of violence. My children do play with water squirters and have "swords". They don't have toy guns or knives; children playing with toy guns is different from children pretending to have a gun made of lego or whatever.
There's something I find unsettling about seeing children playing with toy guns which, sometimes to me, look quite realistic. If other parents are fine with it that's their prerogative but I haven't seen it before and was quite taken aback this morning when I saw it.

Why is a sword OK and not a gun, they are both weapons of war?

It does seem to be 'in-built' in boys, I have no idea where it comes from TBH. I was a SAHM with DS1 and we never had guns in the house as I never thought to buy them. He still seemed to make guns with anything he could (at age 2 or 3). Its not just the boys, when girls come to play it is the first thing they go for (along with light sabers)

When DS1 was a baby I always said I wouldn't let him have guns but actually when questioned about it I really couldn't think of a valid reason why not so they do have them now - in fact we have a weapons box. This seems pretty normal with all boys I know.

Kids in general have been playing cowboys and indians forever really and have always played with toys guns.

I must say as a rule,other than maybe water guns or nerf guns (in a big field of course) I don't let the DCs take 'weapons' out as I don't want to offend people if they don't like it.

I have an older brother who always had toy guns - even bought a replica Luger on holiday in Spain (customs was interesting, my parents hadn't known about it!). Our Grandad made us play rifles out of wood. I worked in a nursery and agree that toys guns being unavailable does not mean they won't play 'guns' - made out of any available construction toy.
Neither my brother or I have any violent tendencies now - my brother enjoys the occasional day of clay pigeon shooting, but that's as far as his interest continues.
I think it's interesting if you listen in on the play - it's usually as simple as goodies and baddies and the gun is a means of getting rid of the baddies. It never seems particularly 'violent' .
A child I knew who was allowed to watch the news at the age of 5 was a lot more interested in actual violence than any child I know who played with guns, he used to go around saying things like 'I want to chop your head off', 'My knife is going into your heart' - which I always found very disturbing.

I never let my children have guns when they were small, as I was really not comfortable with the idea. However, lightsabres were allowed.

At school we try in vain to ban any type of gun play, but children will make a gun from anything,even writing pencils,so it is like swimming against the tide!

What I really hate is young children who have BB guns ( had to confiscate one recently from an 8 year old at school!) or access to air guns....and I know many who do - or their older brothers or fathers have them.

YANBU.
Idiot child on bus behind me, whacked me round the head with a plastic., model AK47 yesterday. Father didn't even make him say sorry.

I tolerate sword play, bow n arrow play, catapult play, and yes, gun play, BUT The gun play I tolerate is target shooting. In this house there are rules about guns ( never point at some one, never pretend to shoot a person or animal) brake those rules and the gun is taken away for the rest of the day.

I expect sometime when he is older DS will try target shooting for real , either with scouts or the local club. He may well work as a beater for a local shoot and might even shoot game for the table or clay shoot for fun.

As a kid mine had several nerf guns including the electric 20 shot drum one. Today he is at a highly ranked secondary school, plays three instruments and represents his school in multiple sports.

Too soon to tell if he is going to turn into a mass murderer but for the time being playing with guns hasn't had a negative effect on him.

I recently had to write an essay about an aspect of 'play' and chose war, weapon and superhero play as my topic. To begin with, I was probably against it, but all the background reading changed my mind...

It's really interesting; so many schools (and parents!) have a zero tolerance attitude to gun play, yet there are no clear, written policies from either schools or LAs to explain where this approach has come from.

There is also no evidence to suggest that playing pretend shooting games will make children any more aggressive or violent, or likely to shoot anyone for real. In actual fact, some research suggests that it can reduce aggressive behaviour, as children learn the differences between real and pretend, and are able to distingish appropriate behaviour in different situations.

Children will see shooting and violence around them; in the news, on tv, in books. Play pretend can help children make sense of what they have seen/heard, where they may not have the necessary skills to verbalise and talk about it like an adult would.

After all, its just another dimension of the fantasy and role-play that is so well recognised as having benefits for children's development. Most schools have 'role play corners' set up, so are children playing pretend outside shouting BANG BANG really much different?

I'm not saying that when I have my own classroom, I'll order in 30 toy guns for the children, but if when some of them inevitably make guns out of lego or their own fingers, I don't intend to barge in and stop thier imaginative play!

Eurgh, apologies for the hideous spelling and grammar there.

I hate toy guns, killing role play, pretend shooting games, 'you're dead!' Type play...

Am a childminder and the mindees know that at my house we don't do violent games.

Oh god, just been reading other replies, am I too strict?