to think you don't let your kid shoot people in the supermarket?

[DonkeyHohtay]

Busy Saturday morning in the supermarket. Boy of about 8 with his Dad. Dad busy filling his basket and behaving perfectly normally.

Boy has a large, black plastic gun. Rifle type rather than a pistol (I'm not a gun expert). Boy is holding gun up to his shoulder, looking down the length of it, pointing it at people and saying "bang bang you're dead". When boy pointed it at me I said - perfectly politely - "Please don't point that at me, I don't like guns".

Father looked at me as if I had grown two heads.

AIBU to think that the supermarket on a busy morning isn't the place for toy guns??

Full disclosure - I'm not a gun fan. Although who is. My kids have in the past had those large "Nerf" type guns which are bright orange and could never be mistaken for a real one. The rules were always that shooting the little foam things at people was not allowed. The had hours of fun in the garden trying to hit a tree or something. This wasn't a gun like that. It was a toy gun, but a black one made to look like the real thing.

AIBU to be a wee bit shocked and think this was completely inappropriate?

No it's totally out of order letting your kid pretend to shoot strangers.

Kid about 6 came up to me in playground recently put finger gun in my face and fired it bang. I said don't do that. I was really shocked tbh it came off v aggressive even though yes he was little and yes it was fingers!

I suppose there's also the point that where we live (n London) although rare even here it's not beyond the realm of possibility that someone he shoots will have had / know someone who has had a run in with a real gun. Not sure if that's a consideration. Suppose same for peeople who have been in armed forces.

More I think about it more I agree, why is gun a toy!? It really is weird.

Yes, it's not on. And especially not in a public place where you don't know whether there is someone who's had bad experiences with a real gun

Actually just remembered 20 years ago was on the wrong end of an armed robbery, so have had a sawn off shotgun in my face.

It wasn't super fun. Why is it seen as normal for small children to play act threatening and killing people?

100% with you op having thought about it and also becoming pofaced about guns as toys as I type.

I would have clutched where I was 'shot' and pretended to die just like I used to do with my kids. Why get so uptight over a kid playing ffs?

Your reaction was a bit unusual, but the principle on playing shooting in a shop is reasonable.

I don't understand allowing a child to wander around pretending to shoot people in a shop. You're out in public. Behave appropriately and don't pretend to shoot strangers.

I think you disappear up your own fundament a bit trying to justify your approval of Nerf guns vs disapproval of other toy guns. They’re both pretend weapons.

Yes in a supermarket. I really don't see the issue at all.

Oh my goodness, how silly. This is the most ridiculous reason to get upset. Clearly it's going to be a toy gun, it was a child. They are hardly going to be armed with a real one are they!? I think you need to have a word with yourself.

In the UK, no. In the US children under the age of 12 shoot themselves or someone else on average more than once a week. It's just a bit unnecessary to be out playing with a gun, toy or not.

YANBU.

It's fine to play cowboys etc with other people who are in on the game.

It's not fine to point a toy gun at unsuspecting people in a supermarket. They probably want to do their shopping without being interrupted, but also some people will have particular reasons why they wouldn't want to have a toy gun pointed at them (eg armed forces, armed robbery, witness to gang violence) and they should be able to shop without being reminded of these things.

I'm not the easily offended type by any means but these days surely it's in really poor taste to let your child walk round the supermarket pretending to shoot people.
YNBU!

Absolutely disgusting if that was my dd she would get a smack on the bum.

You wouldn't buy a child a toy gun then not expect them to pretend to shoot people with it. Why would you smack a child for playing with a toy their parents had given them? The parent shouldn't allow them to take it out in public in first place of they don't want them to aim it at other people.

I don't think the OP is being unreasonable at all. It's just not appropriate behaviour in a public place & adults should teach their children not to bother others.

I'm not anti ALL toy guns. But there's a time and a place. And that time and place isn't a supermarket on a Saturday morning.

Why is pretending to shoot people seen as a suitable theme for a children's game?

I have to agree that the supermarket is not the place for playing with a toy gun. It is totally different running around in your own back garden. When my dc were young I discouraged toy guns and they became very resourceful making guns out of lego etc for their games. However I wouldn't of allowed them to patrol about a supermarket with one. You don't know what that could trigger in someone.

Absolutely disgusting if that was my dd she would get a smack on the bum.

If the irony of this wasn’t so depressing it would be hillarious.

I don’t think the gun was appropriate in that environment but your reaction was beyond pathetic.

I think OP handled it really well. Unfortunately the world is full of entitled ignorant prats these days.

Her reaction was fine, she didn’t go nuts just said what she did, calmly

I don’t know what was ott about it.

People should be more aware of stuff like this with their dc

I wouldn't have let my kids pretend to shoot people in a supermarket as I'm aware some people don't like toy guns. However it wouldn't bother me if a child was doing this. There was a thread a while ago moaning about kids reading the magazines in the supermarket whilst sitting on the floor which I found completely ridiculous though.

As a parent I think it is one's job to recognise when something is inappropriate behaviour and make sure to keep one's child away from it even though the child can't understand why it's inappropriate. It is perfectly likely that one day they will come across someone who has been traumatised by real guns, whether in a robbery situation in this country or having grown up in a warzone.

At the very least, pretending to threaten an unknown adult is poor manners- the parent needs to understand this long before the child does.

There is plenty of other games which are also inappropriate in public. A child who splashes water at people (also perfectly harmless) or play-bites their ankle without hurting them is also "just playing" but it is not appropriate when involving people who are not playing this particular game.

Completely inappropriate. I would never allow any toy guns for my children. I can't fathom how it's socially acceptable. Kids playing finger guns just makes me question what they've been exposed to on TV or gaming. It reeks of irresponsible parenting.

Absolutely disgusting if that was my dd she would get a smack on the bum

Get the impression the poster who posted the above was going for sarcasm