To remove the toy guns

[AlmostAlwyn]

I've ordered a second hand playmobil set for DS (3.5). There's lots of people and horses and a prison/jail cell type thing. I imagine it's some kind of wild west themed set as there also quite a few rifles. I told DH that I was going to take the guns away and he thinks I'm being ridiculous, I can't pretend guns don't exist, etc.

DS is on a bit of a police/robbers track at the moment so AIBU to avoid the 'guns and what they do' chat for a bit longer?

Yes, you're being an idiot. Your DH is right. Sorry.

My ds 19 has a real gun at work.
He is in the army...
All my ds's had guns. 1/8 chose to use a real one..

Your child isn’t going to turn into a murderous maniac if you let him play with some tiny plastic guns. Your husband’s right about you being ridiculous.

I'd probably do the same, to be honest. I'm not a fan of the idea of guns being used as toys

Chances of them not getting lost within ten minutes are pretty slim anyway.

I think you are on a hiding to nothing. If children want to play at guns and shooting then they will find a way to do it whether or not they have or are allowed toy guns. This does not mean they are all going to turn into murderous thugs.

Reminds me of a time when I was playing a make believe game on the sand dunes, aged about 8. I had made a pretend camp (this is relevant bear with) that had a few twigs for the camp fire and then a structure I was very proud of which was a few more sticks fastened together and set over the "fire" to be a cooking spit. While I was down the side of the sand dune (checking my imaginary fishing lines) a little boy of about the same age as me came running down the beach, ducking and diving and obviously in his own private and different fantasy. As he ran over the top of my sand dune he clocked my "cooking spit" said "Brilliant! A machine gun" and picked it up and ran off with it.

See? If a kid wants to play at having a gun they just will

Haha! Have you actually seen the size of playmobil accessories? It'll be down the back of the sofa by bedtime.

If he has two fingers and a thumb he's going to play guns if he wants to.

I agree with you. Of course you can’t pretend guns don’t exist, but that doesn’t mean you need to encourage your child to play with an aggressive weapon!

Of course I can't pretend guns don't exist, and that's not what I'm doing. And I don't think there's anything wrong with imaginative play where they make their own with sticks or fingers, etc.

But I just don't think it's necessary for toddlers to play with guns. He likes playing police and robbers, so what now? Should the police have guns and shoot at the robbers?

So how do you intend to stop him potentially being a robber op?

I took all the guns out of the Playmobil sets, when my Dc were young (about fifteen years ago) but they were mainly policemen I think, not cowboys, all fine.

They’re not guns or aggressive weapons....it’s a plastic playmobil toy that in no way resembles the real thing.
Now if it were a banned imitation gun, of actual size and looked real- that’s a different matter.

Most dangerous thing in the world is people. I think you should remove the little play people instead.

My 2 yr old the other day when changing his nappy grabbed his penis, pointed it at me and made shooting noises. Think I need to remove his gun.....

I have never stopped my dc from playing with guns, but they're not that interested. Only in nerf guns and even that not much. They don't play and shooting computer games or watch films with shooting, so they're not very interested. Don't make it a big issue. If you start drawing attention to it you're more likely to make him want to play with the now exciting and taboo guns. They'll get lost quickly enough, and your problem will have solved itself.

I took nerf guns off my 6yr old when he decided to aim them at me one morning because I told him to hurry up and put his shoes on for school.

The hoover is your friend here 😉

I agree with you OP. Guns are not toys and I don't understand why they're passed off as being. Playmobile 'bad guy' characters don't come with knives or other weapons, that would be madness, so why guns for the 'good guys'?

Imaginative play is different, I don't particularly like kids using a stick or their hand or whatever in place of a gun but that can't be helped. Tiny replica deadly weapons aren't necessary.

My boys both had toy guns. One grew up to be a nurse, the other a soldier.

I, also, used to be a supervisor in a pre-school where we didn't have guns. The children still found a way to make them from Duplo, Stickle Bricks, Mobilo etc.

If you take them away now and he wants to play with guns he will still find a way

YANBU. Little boys don’t have to have violent toys, your kid won’t notice the difference.

People will tell you that he’ll use sticks as guns - he won’t, if you explain that the sole purpose of guns is to hurt. It also makes it a zillion times easier to have the Toxic Masculinity conversation when they’re older.

My DS makes a 'fireball gun' with my washing pegs. I try to discourage it and have removed guns frok toy sets before now. I feel quite strongly about it, maibky because of DH. He isn't UK born and is from a place where armed army are commonplace on the streets. It terrifies me when we visit, genuinely scares me. Of course I'm not scared of toy guns, I just don't want my DC to have toy guns.

I hate guns and have 2 sons , i did'nt buy them toy guns but if they were given a toy gun as a gift i let them keep it .
Both were gun mad and made them from sticks , lego etc.
I don't think it mattered really looking back , they had a lot of fun growing up and certainly know right from wrong.

You know OP at first I was in the YABU camp until read this
guns and what they do' chat for a bit longer
And started wondering how I would explain to DD when she's older what a gun is and what it can do and why people use them. I don't blame you for wanting to put that talk off for a bit longer frankly. I think I may feel the same when she's older and we have conversations like that.

I did the same op, my dc appear unscarred by their lack of early access to toy guns.