To expect my sons school not to supply the children with guns?

[ANTagony]

Tin can alley to be precise. He's 4. I just went to the school for a mums meeting and there was a boy a couple of years older using a set of tin can alley in the hall. Very realistic looking gun.

I complained politely that I didn't feel guns were appropriate and my sons teacher mentioned it to the childs teacher who didn't have issue with it.

I do - the gap between realistic toy guns shooting things and real ones is to close especially being provided for children to play with in a primary school.

Opinions please am I just way off the norm on this one?

could i ask, without getting 'shot down' (lol) why mums don't like their dc playing with guns?

Just out of interest, as we explained why we do not mind them having them, just wondered the reasons from the other side?

'
far more people die on the roads than as victims of gun crimes, and yet there isn't this histeria over toy cars that there is over guns.'

no-one plays with a toy car as a weapon, people use guns in RL for the purpose of maiming or killing, same is not true of cars

I would really like to know where the connection is between young children playing with guns as we have for generations, and the gun crimes we have today?

Lulu - children who play with toy guns are doing just that 'playing'. nobody is using it as a gun to 'kill'

Ive seen my ds crash two toy cars together in a "head on" lots of times tbh.

Pretty sure most little boys do this.

Kids will make anything into a weapon, or a dramatic scene.

Im not really worried that he will carry this out later on.

I'm sure I read something in teh times recently about nurseries/schools accepting guns as toys. As usual, I'm vague about what I read. But I don't see a problem with toy guns for small children myself.

But tin can alley is such fun!
Probably not appropriate in school but still not sure you are being reasonable.

When DB and I were young we both had penknives. OK, his was much better than mine . And we both learned to use a shotgun (as does Ds#1 now at my parents house) to shoot real tin cans of a real fence. Guns/knives are not the problem. People choosing to use them and carry then for all the wrong reasons are.

agree ormirian and think drugs is the real problem behind gun crime

Having watched my stepson shot down all of his teddies dead as dead can be using a sparkly fairy wand making drrrr drrr drr noises I don't see the problem of toy guns per se.

But the replica guns sold around were I live is a problem - I live in central manchester at the moment and the crossover age between kids playing with guns and kids shooting at each other for real is minimal,

I dread the day some 11 year old is shot for real because he is mucking about with his mates with a replica( the replicas are scarily realistic)

Also as it is so contensious I think schools should say no

I agree with loads of people on here. If you take the view that we should stop doing everything that has a basis in war, then the olympics would fall flat: javelin, discus, shot-put, archery, marksmanship, boxing, fencing, wrestling - there's probably more that I've forgotten.

There're guns all over the telly and films all the time, and you don't stop your kids watching that. Ditto computer games - and nor should you. Growing up is about learning about all aspects of life, and learning how to navigate them.

I think orangehead has cracked it with the observation that it's really up to the parents and so the OP was not unreasonable at all.

When DS1 was little I did ban guns - he just made them out of Duplo. SO I threw in the towel and DS2 and DS3 have an whole arsenal of weapons, and to me it's not an issue. While they obviously have no real concept of the damage a real gun can do, they do understand that it can kill people, and they do know what that means.

in RL guns are used to kill and maim, forevercleaning, not in play, but IMO it is not something to emulate in play. although in play there is always a lot of bang bang you are dead, with guns / sticks/ swords/light sabres etc...

my point is that in RL, no-one buys a car to kill with, but that is what they buy guns for, so the analogy wannabe was using was IMO, a bit skewiff

yes, children will make a weapon out of anything, but i for one do not like toy guns or weapons.

I am quite shocked that the school allowed this, but not because I necessarily disagree with it, more because I thought that all schools have a no weapons policy,

My childrens school is very strict and boys aren't even allowed to make guns out of their fingers or lego.

The whole little boys and guns/swords/lightsabers debate is a taboo one. I have stood at the school gates when every mother has denied their son has ever played with them (whilst I cringe knowing my own child has a collection), but whenever my son goes to his friends houses I have discovered that behind closed doors most little boys have a vast array of toy weapons.

I think I must be somewhere in the middle. I don't mind dss playing with toy guns (not replicas) but I don't like them pointing them at people and saying 'bang you're dead'. I think it would be a little hypocritical of me to ban them altogether when they know about DHs gun. Don't worry he's not a drug dealer but he's not above providing me with a rabbit for dinner.
I have to say though I'm with tigerlily in that I'm surprised a school allows it as I thought they had no gun rules.
Wasn't there a report out recently about boys playing with guns wasn't bad for them.

My kids put the little people with their trainsets on the track and run them over

I found this article www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/making-provision-for-how-boys-learn-best-3130 a good read