Can I ask if you buy your children

[nappyaddict]

Toy guns, nerf guns, foam disc shooter guns, foam ball guns, water pistols or army toys?

Yes I have done. Why?

Also what about swords and bubble guns?

I have so far refused to buy my DS these sorts of things and so far he hasn't asked for them. However I know a lot of people in RL think I am being OTT and I just wondered if many people on MN did the same?

I haven't bought any gun type toys and my children have never asked for them.

They do have swords and shields. They will use sticks and cardboard if they can't find them.

How old is your DS? If he hasn't asked then you're not really refusing.

My two do have them BTW but my DSs are 9 & 7- probably got the first one as a birthday gift when DS1 was 7. They are fairly sensible with them!

they both had swords & bubble guns as well. But they made swords out of anything lying around the house so a foam pirate sword was better then the broom handle/piece of hoover they were using

Sorry forgot to mention laser guns and light sabers.

Also would you take them to a nerf gun activity or laser quest/laser tag activity?

Yes, mine have things like that.

No I haven't, and don't really want to

They have bubbles. But just ordinary type

artandco would you let them have a toy archery set or do you put that in the same category as swords/guns/light sabers?

What do they have instead of water pistols?

Wooden and plastic swords and shields. Big huge sci-fi-looking water pistols. Cap gun. Plastic crossbow with sucker-tipped arrows. Light saber. Been to laserquest several times (used to go myself with works nights out).

Oh, and we all went for archery lessons too .

Washing up bottles instead of water pistols.

We allow light savers (thats what the DS call them), swords and bows and arrows.

We don't allow anything that fires missiles (except the bows and arrows) or bubble guns.

My reasoning is you are aware with a wooden/ plastic sword if you hit/ get hit it hurts. Learning you can hurt is I suppose a necessary part of learning. i'm not saying my DC are allowed to whack each other, they're supervised but they make the connection.

Never bought anything that fires, but I have bought a toy gun that makes a noise from this cowboy place that we went to. DS hasn't bothered with it.

I haven't thought about it because he's never asked.

I allowed DS to have fantasy stuff, like laser guns and light sabres, but nothing that looked realistic and explained that real guns hurt people so I didn't like the idea of making a game of them.

And no nerf guns because the dogs chewed the pellets.

He is now 14 and our battleground is the xbox...

Yes re nerf guns and water pistols, buy them as party presents too.

DS went to Laser quest with scouts.

I don't buy guns, or gun style products. We have bubbles but they are the want type, or DS2 has a machine.

The kids do like the laser shooting game at Legoland though.

Never bought my DSs (8 & 9) guns but I have bought water pistols in summer. They've never really been into guns. Their cousin who is badly behaved is obsessed with them. But my two would rather kick a football.

Yes I would probably allow archery when older in a lesson environment but not just as home in garden etc

Never really thought what they use instead of water pistols. They use buckets, watering cans with sprays, and other containers combined with paddling pool in summer

We try to avoid, but have had water pistols and 5yo DS has playmobil/lego weapons.

He also has sword/helmet, bow and arrow. And a small toy tank.

It has been a bit difficult to stick to even that, as he has autism, and war/fighting is one of his fixations/special interest. As his graphic descriptions upset the teachers (and sometimes us, tbh), we try to keep his opportunities to learn more to a minimum. But I do slip up from time to time (can't believe I told him about the London blitz/evacuation - parenting fail).

Nope.

I would be disappointed if somebody gave DS a nerf gun type thing as a present - and wouldn't buy it as a present for somebody else's DC - as I would expect that to be left to the individual parent's discretion.

Oh yes, Laser Raiders is DS's favourite ride at Legoland.

I haven't at the minute but we live in a tiny house so I have that as an argument as he couldn't really use them anyway.

He does have a wooden sword, though. And a sonic screwdriver which he uses both to "fight baddies" and to fix stuff with.

He has a hot wheels toy where you can launch the car at high speed into a monster which he loves. I think you can get that kind of play without it being gun shaped? I don't have a problem with them acting out fighting (as long as it's not real) but I don't like toys which are gun shaped. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to remove one if he got bought one by somebody else, though. In fact I think he has a water pistol for the bath.

I suppose my position is "I don't like it if I think enough about it, and for that reason I wouldn't buy one, but I'm not sufficiently bothered/upset by it to try and shelter DS from any mention of things like this".

Artandco What about an archery set in the garden where the darts are plastic and flat, not pointy so no one could get hurt?

And would you let your children attend the nerf gun/laser tag activities I mentioned above?

Nappy - no I wouldn't. I would want them to learn they can fire anything potentially into someone's face whether rubber or spiky

I would let them go to a lazer thing as teens if really wanted as feel they are old enough to decide then, but I wouldn't encourage, and wouldn't let them go under about 14

That makes sense.

Can I ask how you feel about toys involving monsters, aliens or zombies?

We don't have guns but both boys (4 and 8) were bought nerf guns as party gifts for their last birthdays. I didn't want to make a big deal of it so they played with them then they got hidden away. We have cardboard and foam swords and water pistols in the summer but nothing realistic.