Toy guns | Mumsnet

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 2021-08-26T18:15:42+00:00

I saw a child at the park today. Maybe about 8 or 9 years old playing with a toy gun. He was playing nicely, causing no issues, but was pointing his gun about...as you would expect I suppose if you had a toy gun. It got me thinking. Personally find toy guns distasteful and inappropriate. Especially in a public park. However, I never had a toy gun as a child (bar a water pistol but that's played with more as a get each other wet type thing) so I don't know whether I'm being judgemental. My husband said 'its just a toy - no problem.' So over to you... YABU - toy guns are fine, they are just toys YANBU - inappropriate to play with a toy gun

Yellow85 · 26/08/2021 19:23

As a child of a former army Sargent who had a child point a gun at him on active duty, we were NEVER allowed guns as kids. I mean he hated the idea of any kind of weapons toy or otherwise.

Now as a mother of boys myself, there’s just something in them that gravitates towards toy guns/ swords etc. My kids play relatively politely with them, but it’s like it’s hard wired in them to enjoy those types of toys. Although we don’t let them take them outside or to grandparents out of respect for my DF’s history. But I don’t have an issue with other kids playing with them so long as they aren’t violent about it.

RaspberryThief · 26/08/2021 19:25

I'm pretty pacifist, but I take the view that they are just toys and almost entirely symbolic (and that if you make a big deal of it and stop DC who really want them from having them then they usually just make a "gun" out of Megabloks/their fingers etc). That being said, I do have certain caveats:

I don't allow any toy gun that looks too realistic. (Growing up my brother played very happily with a toy rifle that was just a roll of newspaper wrapped in masking tape!)

I don't allow them to be pointed at anyone's face or head.

I would not hesitate to take them away from my DC immediately if I thought they were playing with them in a way that was over-excitable, or likely to upset another child (or adult).

ohfook · 26/08/2021 19:26

I fucking hate guns my kids all love them. I quickly realised the more I went on about hating them the more appealing I was making them.

OnTheBrink1 · 26/08/2021 19:26

I let me boys play with them but only in the house and garden.
They make guns out of anything anyway- Lego, sticks, leaves, twigs and once even a poppadom & naan bread from dinner!!

Original poster

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 26/08/2021 19:29

@OnTheBrink1

I let me boys play with them but only in the house and garden. They make guns out of anything anyway- Lego, sticks, leaves, twigs and once even a poppadom & naan bread from dinner!!

😂 to the poppadom and naan bread!

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Original poster

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 26/08/2021 19:33

@Yellow85

As a child of a former army Sargent who had a child point a gun at him on active duty, we were NEVER allowed guns as kids. I mean he hated the idea of any kind of weapons toy or otherwise.

Now as a mother of boys myself, there’s just something in them that gravitates towards toy guns/ swords etc. My kids play relatively politely with them, but it’s like it’s hard wired in them to enjoy those types of toys. Although we don’t let them take them outside or to grandparents out of respect for my DF’s history. But I don’t have an issue with other kids playing with them so long as they aren’t violent about it.

Mine have toy swords (made of foam). Interesting I wouldn't buy a toy gun but did buy that swords..I just associated the sword with playing knights/castles and didn't really think of it as a proper weapon...which is obviously stupid! 😂

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SkylarFerris · 26/08/2021 19:33

I don’t like toy guns either.
My son is 15 and I only allowed water pistols and later nurf (bright colourful, not real fun looking)

TartanJumper · 26/08/2021 19:38

They are just toys, but I think children playing with realistic looking ones in public can be a problem sometimes. Especially with older children/teens.

SquirryTheSquirrel · 26/08/2021 19:38

I don't know - where do you draw the line with toy weapons? No toy swords, light-sabres etc.? We had a cap gun when I was a child (40 years ago!) - quite realistic, but we didn't play with it much, it was a five-minute novelty.

I don't really think there is a need for toy guns. I can imagine if children wanted to enact a shooting game, they'd improvise if they didn't have one - make a 'gun' with their fist and fingers if it came to it.

Rubytinsleslippers · 26/08/2021 19:39

There are lots of studies on toy guns. Adults project their associations about weapons on play. Children have very different ideas of war / death. Read some of the studies, it's about rough and tumble, excitement and not actually about the gun. Same with old school cowboy games. It's not about stealing land from indigenous people and the other things adults may perceive.

moita · 26/08/2021 19:42

I grew up in East London and had classmates killed by guns. I hate them but will admit my 4 year old has water pistols. I would draw the line at realistic looking ones. But he's only 4 so come back to me in a few years!

Josette77 · 26/08/2021 19:43

I think it depends.
Where I live the cops were called on a black boy playing with a nerf gun with his friends. So no, my black son has never had toy guns. I think it's a lot easier depending on where you live and if your kids are white.

Cotswoldmama · 26/08/2021 19:44

I hate them don't mind water pistols though. My father in law bought my son one for Christmas and then told him off for pointing it at him and pretending to shoot!! As soon as he left it was hidden and donated to the charity shop!

Camomila · 26/08/2021 19:47

My DS1 has water pistols and a nerf gun that lives in my grandparents garden (we live in a flat). He also adds "blasters" to his lego vehicles often.

Original poster

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 26/08/2021 19:47

@Josette77

I think it depends. Where I live the cops were called on a black boy playing with a nerf gun with his friends. So no, my black son has never had toy guns. I think it's a lot easier depending on where you live and if your kids are white.

Bloody hell! Those NERF guns are like orange arent they!?! Clearly not real looking

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FoxesAtDawn · 26/08/2021 19:47

As a child I don't remember if we had toy 'replica' style guns - we did have water pistols, laser guns (remember those with the odd headset/googles thing) and my brother had nerf guns.

I am conflicted. I'm taking a 'no any gun' stance with DS(he's 4) at the moment but I haven't decided if I will continue it. Water pistols are fun, but replicas unsettle me a bit. But then gun crime in the UK is typically very low so I'm not sure if it encourages anything here (maybe it's different in US).

Do you think guns are the same as plastic/foam swords? I'm not sure if they are but still wonder if we shouldn't be encouraging any type of weapon replica.

MurielSpriggs · 26/08/2021 19:48

Wait until they get onto Call of Duty and GTA! You're fighting a losing battle there (and doing it without the right weapons).

Original poster

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 26/08/2021 19:48

I do feel water pistols are different. Kids play with them more to squirt each other with water rather than role play shooting/war

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FoxesAtDawn · 26/08/2021 19:49

Oh, we did have tin can alley with a rifle, but that wasn't about replicating fighting I guess. It was aim and agility. I'm still not sure if I would or wouldn't buy something similar for DS when he's older.

Original poster

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 26/08/2021 19:51

@FoxesAtDawn

As a child I don't remember if we had toy 'replica' style guns - we did have water pistols, laser guns (remember those with the odd headset/googles thing) and my brother had nerf guns.

I am conflicted. I'm taking a 'no any gun' stance with DS(he's 4) at the moment but I haven't decided if I will continue it. Water pistols are fun, but replicas unsettle me a bit. But then gun crime in the UK is typically very low so I'm not sure if it encourages anything here (maybe it's different in US).

Do you think guns are the same as plastic/foam swords? I'm not sure if they are but still wonder if we shouldn't be encouraging any type of weapon replica.

Yes I posted about swords. We've got them so I didn't view them the same...I was thinking more about playing castles. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. But I wouldn't let them play with a toy knife as if it's a blade. Swords and water pistols feel different to me. But I don't know if I'm wrong and it's all the same!

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LivingNextDoorToNorma · 26/08/2021 19:52

It’s a funny one isn’t it. The reality is that in England, teens are far more likely to be a victim of knife crime than gun crime. Yet as pp have said, we don’t have the same problem with swords, which are literally giant knives.

Very recently a local 14 year old inflicted ‘life changing injuries’ on another teenager, using a machete. A few days later I happily let dc choose a foam sword as his prize at a funfair. I didn’t even give it a thought. I don’t know if I would have tried to dissuade him if he’d asked for a gun.

Original poster

Mybatteryisalwayslow · 26/08/2021 19:54

@LivingNextDoorToNorma

It’s a funny one isn’t it. The reality is that in England, teens are far more likely to be a victim of knife crime than gun crime. Yet as pp have said, we don’t have the same problem with swords, which are literally giant knives.

Very recently a local 14 year old inflicted ‘life changing injuries’ on another teenager, using a machete. A few days later I happily let dc choose a foam sword as his prize at a funfair. I didn’t even give it a thought. I don’t know if I would have tried to dissuade him if he’d asked for a gun.

It is interesting. And you are right, in the UK our problem is knives more than guns. Maybe it's because swords aren't really a modern weapon? I associate it with history and therefore differently, but you are right at the end of the day it is a giant knife. Interesting points.

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FoxesAtDawn · 26/08/2021 19:56

Swords and water pistols feel different to me. But I don't know if I'm wrong and it's all the same!

I think part of why swords might feel okay is they aren't a current threat (DS does have an inflatable sword from his pirate paddling pool and a wooden shield, but it's a novelty to him at the moment anyway). Knife crime is very real in the UK (especially where I live) but swords have a more fantasy feel about it. Like you say about water pistols, the goal for the game is different than it is with guns in a 'cowboys' type style.

gwenneh · 26/08/2021 19:58

DH and I really didn't want the DC to have any toy guns. They were a fairly frequent toy when we were children but the world has changed. When I grew up, my sister and I enjoyed target shooting with our BB guns/pellet guns, and the DC have used them under supervision but those aren't toys, I suppose.

A few toy guns have made their way into our house, as gifts from others, and they've made their way back out quietly via the bin. I don't know what it is that bothers me about them, but it does.

WhoIsPepeSilva · 26/08/2021 20:06

I don't have an issue with toy guns but I'd still be strict with it's use.

As in:

Don't point it at anyone and never fire it at anyone's face.

It's not appropriate for out in the park, it's a stay at home toy.

We don't "shoot" pets - the noise is often scary enough, I understand that the cat or dog doesn't know it's a "gun" but they still don't like it.

If water guns the first two rules would be relaxed but still no firing at people's faces. The don't shoot pets rule would still stand.

I have been brought up with the "treat it like it's real" thinking behind these things.