A question for those who think playing with toy guns is okay?

[politicalcorrectnessisgreat]

Would you also approve of your child playing pretend drug taking? Or pretend rape?

I am not okay with my two DSs playing with guns. I asked my friend if she would be okay with her little boy pretending to inject heroine or snort cocaine and she said that of course she wouldn't.

I just don't get why people think it's okay to allow their child to pretend to kill someone but are utterly disgusted at this.

Anyone care to explain?

How old are the boys in question?
I'm guessing that they don't watch tv or play computer games.

Would you allow a bubble gun?

I can't equate foam bullets that come out of Nerf guns with murdering, sorry.

How will you cope if one of your DC wants to go to Laserquest or paintballing?

They’re different because my children have never seen anyone take drugs. They have unfortunately seen armed police around.

You should have thought this through before posting OP, ridiculously weak arguments you have there.

Fucking stupid thread congratulations.

Parenting is a long haul pursuit, OP. Tone down the outrage and enjoy it a bit more.

We never had realistic plastic guns, but more swords, axes, and nerf guns than I care to remember. And shields. So many shields. Both boys are very gentle teens.

They also went to a CoE school and are brutally atheist. We're omnivore, expect one - he is a vegan. My vegan was the one who really loved swords and shields. His brother just played along.

So what if they’re pretending to be policemen? Is it acceptable to you then OP?

I think it's safe to say that most kids haven't seen drug-taking or rapes. (They will have seen people smoking cigarettes on the street which are possibly weed)

Nerf Wars was the best fun ever. The whole family played. Nobody managed to murder a relative AFAIK.

Have your kids been in childcare or at school?

I had a machine gun, it was bigger than me! We played war all of the time. I'm talking late 70's. Kids don't seem to play war anymore but still like to shoot things!

I'm am a little uncomfortable with the toy gun stuff tbh but DS picked up on guns /shooters at nursery - and does indeed make 'shooters' out of lego etc. I ignore it because I don't want to make it a big deal. What I don't get is why girls don't spend their time making guns out of lego - must be a cultural thing (as I don't buy into the typical boy shite)

A gun does not commit murder, a person commits murder.

Pretending to kill people - not OK.
Learning to shoot at a target - different thing.
Not sure why that's hard.
I did once see an excellent play set in Poundland with the usual play plates and cups plus a play corkscrew. Don't think it came with a play cigarette lighter though.

Go paintballing OP. You'll have great fun shooting people

Fucking great thread. Pissing myself here

@codswallopandbalderdash I never made Lego guns but I ripped the metal bars off my first double bed and used them as fighting sticks (and batons for dancing. Smashed a few lightbulbs that way).

They will be playing soldiers or with pretend guns soon whatever you do OP, and if you ban it they will want to do it even more. Better to talk to them about guns than bam them.

Okay I'm hiding the thread as HQ won't delete it. Enjoy the laughs.

When I buy rolls of wrapping paper, my kids always wave them around like lightsabers.

Haven't the boys seen Star Wars? The Original Trilogy is awesome.

Boys will make guns out of anything, Lego, duplo, cardboard tubes, twigs, hell, even their fingers
Shall we chop off their fingers?
I see no harm in weapon play, I've studied children's play to degree level and its entirely normal and healthy and essential in some ways
My own children grew up with guns in the armed forces, we had armed guards on the gate living in military camps
I work with children, I won't be banning gun play anytime soon
Guns don't shoot people , people do

okay nobody on here gets it no op, it's you that doesn't get it. I remember when my DC were small and I was precious about all sorts of silly stuff. Don't worry op, you will grow out of it.

The kids know that the shooting to death is entirely pretend.
Kids don't even know what rape or taking drugs are, much less how to pretend.
If you're gonna say we've been socialised into pretending something awful... I guess I can accept that. I also think I've got to raise my kids to have a chance of fitting in with the real world they are in. So guess what? They can learn to pretend with all the others.

You really aren't going to let your kids watch Sharknado when the time comes, are you? Or Mars Attacks.

Typical!!

Flouncing because nobody agrees!

Girls do too.