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?

This has to be a wind up?

#brokenbritain

I have family in inner London Boroughs, Haringay and Enfield they’ve gone in school as pirates
It wasn’t challenged it wasn’t linked to knife crime.it was seen a kids having a fun day

A child's hand is no place for a toy gun or indeed anything resembling a weapon used for killing people.

What an asinine statement, meaningless

I would have wanted to produce a massive machine gun from down my jeans a la Indiana Jones

YANBU unfortunately our world has changed and gun play is no longer a distant fantasy about the wild West of America. I think they should be banned.
Gun play is not allowed at the primary school that I work in.

I don't like it at all when my nephews point their toy guns at me (nerf or otherwise) and I ask them not to. My children have super soakers but nothing else that resembles a gun. I probably wouldn't have the nerve to ask a random child not to point a toy gun at me but i wouldn't like it at all so I don't think you're being unreasonable. I think the parent should save it for their home.

Bad experiences with BB guns when I was younger has made me nervous.

Oh Jesus.

Another thread about a Mumsnetter having to ‘politely’ speak to some one else’s child and waves of perfect parents pearl clutching ...

Have you read the thread Brenda or is that just a stock response you’ve saved up
Your post bears no relation to the thread

There you go not tonight, plenty of people saying it's fine for kids to pretend to shoot strangers in the supermarket.

I don't think it's fine. Disagreement is fine though which is where we are at.

Lol at person who thinks pointing toy guns at people pretending to kill them saying 'you're dead' is totally different to pretending to murder someone. That is literally and exactly what it is!

Kids pretend to murder each other as well through all sorts of means including mock strangulation, I find the squeamish around language very odd.

So pointing a toy gun at a woman you don't know in the supermarket, pulling trigger and saying you're dead is fine, describing this as pretending to murder someone is terrible.

Agree this thread is v v funny!

I’d have maybe just said “that’s not very nice” but YANBU.

I never let my kids play “killing” so I’m fine with toy guns but would hate bang bang youre dead .

I live in a town where there was a mass shooting within the past few years so I can’t imagine anyone round here would be very happy with that behaviour and I bet someone would say something.

With toy knives? Not pirate swords?
I’m not suggesting all schools have a ban, but I’ve worked in both one private and several state primaries that have. More central boroughs than those you mention and sadly very badly affected by knife crime/gang related violence.

The OP (and me) were more talking about toy guns. Which to reiterate, I’m not against in all contexts but this was not ok. An 8 year old should know pretending to shoot and saying “you’re dead” is random, not positive, not polite way to interact with a stranger. To their pal, sibling, cousin or even parent if the parent likes that sort of thing, fine!

Back in tne 70s and 80s we all played with toy guns. Shock horror we didn't turn into murderous psychos. This was a little boy playing, that's all Reading AIBU recently it seems people have forgotten what childhood is, they are supposed to display perfect behaviour all the time while the parents take offence to every single insignificant thing. It's quite depressing really.

Toy knifes and toy sword to be exact
Plastic tat,looked as threatening as a pointed fish finger

We didn't allow guns except bright water pistols however I suppose it's a parenting decision. I would support the supermarket not letting it in the store though, the parent should have reprimanded the kid not you, and you should have spoken to the parent. Some people have a laissez faire attitude to guns though

Hate toy guns . And I don’t think they should be allowed at all personally as they do frighten people and cause alarm . If an adult had a toy gun that looked real enough there would be uproar so we need to lead by example .

My son has severe special needs and at a Sen playscheme a boy with Down’s syndrome had a replica toy gun - fortunately staff said he could not have it with him there otherwise I would have said something . Looked absolutely awful seeing him with it

I’m not laissez faire I understand difference between toy and a weapon
I understand the difference between an adult and a child being in possession of a toy and a gun

Also a laissez faire attitude to their children’s manners towards strangers, apparently.

Starsparkle that is so sad. That poor little boy having a toy taken from him because adults find it offensiveness 😢 To the boy who also has severe special neeDS that must have bern extremely destressing to have his beloved TOY taken away with no regard to his feelings. Adults baffle me sometimes they really do.

You are bonkers.

This is ridiculous. I thought you were going to say he was firing a nerf gun or a water pistol at you or something. That would be something to get pissed off about.

Who cares if a kid in the supermarket is playing with a toy gun? Just ignore him and get on with your life.

He shouldn't be allowed to pretend to kill strangers. Wonder if all these "I don't see a problem" pps would be happy if he kicked a football around the aisles

There's absolutely no comparison to a toy gun and 'kicking a football around', I can't believe you even need that pointing out.

I don't know why Mumsnet has such a low tolerance for children lately. There was a thread the other day about a little girl, hitting 2 plastic sticks together and 'shouting quite loudly' (which I don't believe, she was probably just singing) on her way to school, walking through the street...most of the responses were bizarre to say the least.

3,2,1...to all the people who will now call me a 'bad parent' because I don't see a problem with a little boy playing with a plastic gun.

Exactly like that, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g.

Seems the thread is fairly divided between those who think I'm an attention seeking, easily-offended snowflake, and the rest who think I have a fair point.

I think it's horrible OP, sorry this happened to you.

Eh? Nothing happened.