To not buy my son toy guns

[Goldchilled7up]

As a threat after school if my 4 year old DS has had a good day, we sometimes go to a local pound shop and let him pick any toy. That's the good thing about this age a £1 toy does the trick

I've noticed that the store keeps having more and more toy guns. DS is fascinated by them and has been wanting me to buy him one, specially today as he could see that other children were buying them. I told him that guns are bad and hurt people, and that although those are only toys, that it's not good to pretend to do something that can seriously hurt people. I believe he understood because he stopped asking and picked another toy.

I'm I being unreasonable? Will this just increase his curiosity?

[monicalewinski]

Guns are fine in our house - just no pointing them in people's faces, and I've always jumped on any ott language 'I'm going to shoot your face off/kill you' etc.

I've always had the opinion that if you ban something it becomes more attractive - try and take the seductive mystery away and it's not as exciting.

[LilyTheSavage]

As other posters have said, they'll make guns out of anything; lego, stickles, sticks.... My sons all used to play with toy guns and as my dh is in the army I couldn't really say that it's wrong to have guns. However, we did drum it into them that you don't point guns at people, and only shoot things you're going to eat or vermin.
It worked for us.

[NaturalBaby]

DH doesn't like toy guns and doesn't want to get any of our boys any guns.
Ds1 got given a nerf gun for his 5th birthday. Now I feel the urge to buy one for my other dc's to defend themselves.

[SPsWantsCliffInHerStocking]

Doctor and Precious I'm glad someone noticed.

[thebody]

Ffs guns are exactly the same as swords unless you see swords as slightly more mumsnet middle class. Like cricket compared to footi.

My lads made guns out of Lego. They also had guns to play with.

They are fine and nice, gentle and caring of their sisters.

[MrsHeisenberg]

As a mother of three sons ( and one daughter ) I'd say that it doesn't really matter if you buy him a toy gun or not. He'll fashion a gun out of a twig or anything. Boys are like that. (And little girls who get brainwashed by their older brothers...my two year old daughter said: I've got arms. I'm an arms dealer.)

[lifelorn]

I too banned guns - he made them out of cardboard or rolled newspaper or the favourite stickle brix! When he was ten he saved up all his holiday money to buy a toy rifle and then moved onto video games that involved War in the title, He is now a captain in the army (yes I did cry hidden tears at Sandhurst). We can only attempt to influence but have to accept their life choices,

[Heartbrokenmum73]

Aaaargh, Nerf guns. DS1 nagged for one for years and years awhile so I got him a target set in the Argos sale last year for his birthday.

It came with eleventy million foam bullets. Could he find one of the fucking bullets three pissing minutes later? Where do they go?

Then the gun disappeared too!

Now, he wants another one.

No.

[DramaAlpaca]

DeWe I agree - there were far more injuries in our house from toy swords than from toy guns.

[DeWe]

(Toy) Guns are better than swords in the hands of a 4yo.

A gun is fired from a distance whereas even the most accurate 4yo will not be able to avoid contact when sword fighting.

I make my 6yo do the safety (NSPs?) checks on his nerf gun when he picks it up.

[Heartbrokenmum73]

Guns, I'm quite 'meh' about.

What I don't like (and they're predominantly in places like 99p Shop and Poundland) are those sets you can get for boys that have hunting knives in them. The ones with the serrated edge.

Who the fuck gives their children those?

'Off you go into the garden, dear. Yes, that's it! Just like Rambo did! Ooooh, clever boy pretending to skin a cat!'

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

My two year old makes what he calls a 'bammer' with his forefinger and runs around shouting 'Bam! Bam!'

We have no toy guns here, but they build them out of everything and even just their hands suffice if nothing else is available.

[MrsWilliamBodie]

I did this with my eldest DS. He would just make guns out of his other toys. He is in the army now.

[ImagineJL]

YANBU. I hate guns, and wouldn't have dreamt of buying DS1 a gun at age 4. However, ultimately you can't fight testosterone and you will have to give in eventually. I held out till age 7.

[DoctorTwoTurtleDoves]

SPs, how lovely to find a fellow fan of the GLC. You're a woman of poor taste.

When the boy was about 21/2 he started playing with imaginary guns of his own accord. Eventually we bought him one. He's now 21 and never killed anybody. Yet.

[Goldchilled7up]

Shylamclaus

[SatinSandals]

Much better not to make it an issue and the phase quickly passes.

[ShylaMcClaus]

at "as a threat"

I might use the same threat of going to Poundland for teenage DD's Christmas presents unless she clears her room out.

[Cat98]

I don't buy guns for ds and as a result at friends houses what do you think the first thing he makes a beeline for is?
His friends who were allowed them can take or leave them.
Therefore I probably made the wrong call there, but still wouldn't buy one.

[squoosh]

To be honest I don't really understand the issue some parents have with toy guns. As others have said kids will fashion guns out of anything they come across, it in no way means they grow up to be gun toting loons.

Guns were part and parcel of life for centuries and children playing make believe with make believe weapons is as old as time.

[SatinSandals]

I stuck with water pistols, space guns, pop guns etc.

[Goldchilled7up]

Cheerfulyank ups I'm on my phone, I didn't notice my spelling until your post

[drbonnieblossman]

if you don't think it's the right thing to do for your ds, stick to your guns.

fwiw, I see no harm in playing with guns and as far as I know there's no correlation between gun crime and playing with you guns as a child. A child's imagination means they will just make one out of something else.

[notapizzaeater]

I really disagreed with guns, and didn't buy them for my ds but he made them out of anything. He (logically) wanted to know why he could have a water pistol but not a gun.

I eventually gave in when he was 10 as all his friends had them.... Tbh I should have done it sooner as he's more obsessed with them now than any of his friends.