Kids playing guns

[robinator]

A friend of mine, who has 3 boys, recently told me that she's noticed a difference between moms of girls and moms of boys at her preschool: The boys run around, pointing their fingers and pretend shooting while the moms of girls get upset. Saying things like, *wraps arms protectively around daughter* "omg, your son just pointed his finger at my daughter and said bang! Omg........."

My friend is of the camp that boys will be boys and it's harmless fun, she was surprised at the reaction at some of the moms of girls.

When I think about it, she has a point: small boys like to play shoot-em-up, while girls play with dolls or have tea parties, etc.

Back in my day, from a young age up until early teens, all the neighborhood kids would gather in the woods behind our house, decked out in face paint and armed with fake guns for a round of War.

Is it okay for kids still do to that? I realize societal standards have changed a lot in the last 25-30 years. Would you let your little boys run around pointing and shooting, or stop him?

 

[fidgets mammy]

Ah the lovely gun debate. Well I've got a boy who's almost 6. I've always tried to shelter him from guns armys etc but I've learnt to realise there comes an age when its what they want to do. They see the army on the tv, they watch boys cartoons, and unfortunately there's fighting in it all. My son loves playing armies. It hasn't sat comfy with me but I suppose we can't say how our men and women in the army are heros then tell our kids not to play it. I now allow my son to play these games as quite frankly how do I stop him at school? His friends play it. He'd be left out. But what I do do is explain how guns in real life hurt people. He understands the difference.

 

[Pearls18]

I don't have too much of an opinion, my husband is an infantry soldier so my son will grow up seeing his Dad dressed in uniform and carrying guns in photos, I don't know how I would feel about him mimicking tbh, probably mixed emotions one being proud (for probably being proud of his Dad) but secondly worried, I can cope being the wife of a soldier I don't know how I'd feel as a mother of one!

But just to make a wee point, my mother in law hates guns even hunting anything like that, didn't like the boys even playing with actions men never let them have toy guns...she has 3 sons 2 of which are now infantry soldiers lol, trying to hide your kids from something won't always have the desired effect!

But no I wouldn't stop him, would be a tad hypocritical lol, I would probably want to know the context of the game though and correct that if needed...if he was playing soldiers killing 'terrorists', go for it, but if he was playing some kind of grand theft auto type scenerio glorifying gangs or anything like that, nope wouldn't allow that...hypocritical? Maybe I guess, but makes sense in our world!

 

[Jaylynne]

Boys pretty much since the beginning have played soldier/hunter and some sort of "war". SS has nerf gun battles and he loves it. However, I really don't like the graphic portrayal of gun violence in the movies and video games. It does desensitize. But boys will always want to do battle in some fashion. I do think that some parents get carried away with thinking playing soldier/fighting w pretend guns equals unbelievable horror. I read the other day that a FIVE year old was charged with terroristic threats for telling another girl at school that she was going to get her with her hello kitty bubble gun. Seriously that's ridiculous.

Anyway, I tell SS that he can play guns with his close friend but in no way shape or form is he to do anything related to that at school or strangers on the playground. Who knows how the parents would take an innocent gesture.

 

[Scottish mum]

Yes it's fine! It's a different story all together if it's a 15 year old male with a imitation gun there that's disturbing and that's why police take heavy action when they have thease incidents reported to then.

But little boys playing in the playground is slightly different!! X

 

[Natsku]

I'd let my child, boy or girl, play guns. Its not just boys that like to play army and cops and robbers and things like that! We used to make origami guns at primary school and play with them, til they got banned

 

[zanDark]

I'm very anti-guns because I watched my father get shot during a robbery as a child...but I think it's normal for little boys to play with pretend guns.

That said, I find it ironic that people will act all shocked at little boys pointing their fingers like a pretend gun, yet throw a hissy fit about how it's their right to own real guns and keep them in their house the problem isn't the pretend guns...it's the real ones that are available to everyone!

 

[dgirllamius]

I used to love playing guns when I was little. I don't see anything wrong with it.

My brothers and me used to play army. We used to make barracks in the living room with parts of the sofa and destroy each others barracks by throwing things and pretending to a shoot an invisible gun. Also my dad is a gamekeeper and has guns and none of us were tempted to use them for our "games". We were just taught the difference between real guns and playing about.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I was the little girl "playing" guns with the boys. Stands to reason I went on to be a competition shooter

From a child development standpoint, yes, very normal, but I know people in the UK freak out about guns so it may be discouraged.

 

[SpringerS]

I'm perfectly happy for my son to play with toy or imaginary guns if he wants. As I will be for any daughter if I have a daughter. I'm also happy for him to play ninja, sword fighter, super hero with repulsor rays, etc. Most kids play games where they are the 'good guy' fighting and catching the 'baddies.' It's normal play. As long as they grow up to understand the realities of fighting and killing while also learning over time how many scenarios that they play out as children are not the black and white scenarios of a child's game but are often complicated and worthy of debate and understanding, there is no harm in it at all.

 

[robinator]

An origami gun? Cool!

 

[Natsku]

They were cool, gutted that they got banned Though I did set up a secret trade in them for a while after the ban but got into big trouble for that

 

[Foogirl]

Playing guns, playing shop, playing doctors, playing anything - it's just playing. It doesn't glorify guns, it's children playing. Should we not give them toy knives in play sets in case it glorifies stabbing? Should we not give them toy syringes in case they grow up to be junkies.

Seriously, I've never understood why people get so worked up about children playing.

 

[freckleonear]

I'm an early years practitioner and I believe that it's important to allow gun play. There's a fascinating book by Penny Holland called "We don't play with guns here", which explains the issues in some depth (I've written about the book here). My personal favourite is still a good old fashioned bow and arrow though!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I'm an early years practitioner and I believe that it's important to allow gun play. There's a fascinating book by Penny Holland called "We don't play with guns here", which explains the issues in some depth (I've written about the book here). My personal favourite is still a good old fashioned bow and arrow though!

While I fully agree that gun play is a part of child development, I did work in a preschool where many of the children had been abused and had family members in gangs. We did discourage gun play because of those reasons. Saying that, it was a unique situation.

 

[freckleonear]

I'm an early years practitioner and I believe that it's important to allow gun play. There's a fascinating book by Penny Holland called "We don't play with guns here", which explains the issues in some depth (I've written about the book here). My personal favourite is still a good old fashioned bow and arrow though!

While I fully agree that gun play is a part of child development, I did work in a preschool where many of the children had been abused and had family members in gangs. We did discourage gun play because of those reasons. Saying that, it was a unique situation.

Yes, I would agree that zero tolerance is still the best option in certain areas, such as inner London, where gun crime is a reality for many of the children.

 

[angelandbump]

I have no objections to children playing with toy guns. People are to quick to moan about things but it was so fun playing in the summer with water guns and thowing water bombs at each other. I bet people forget about toy water guns when they moan. Still do this day me and my partner go paint balling and play lazer quest with all the members of the TA.

People like that drives me mad. I say to people like that women 'you have obviously have issues'

Whats next, banning knives from toy kitchen sets? Or will playing with toy cars encourage bad driving since most boys like crashing cars into each other.

 

[Pearls18]

I think it’s a matter of context, any kind of glorification of gun crime in terms of gangs, grand theft auto, murder type thing I would stop that. But playing cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, soldiers etc I would see as fine. I wouldn’t be comfortable letting a child play a video game with guns.

 

[highhopes19]

I really don't like toy guns personally. Guns are used to hurt/kill people, so i don't like the idea of them being toys. I personally would to buy Isabelle one or any future sons one, but if they did end up having a toy one they only had to point it at someone once and I would confiscate it.

 

[highhopes19]

Playing guns, playing shop, playing doctors, playing anything - it's just playing. It doesn't glorify guns, it's children playing. Should we not give them toy knives in play sets in case it glorifies stabbing? Should we not give them toy syringes in case they grow up to be junkies.

Seriously, I've never understood why people get so worked up about children playing.

As much as I do agree its only playing. The toy knives in kitchen is to pretend to eat with I've never seen someone pretend to eat or cut food with a toy gun.


The only intension with guns- obviously not a toy one I know, is to kill or hurt someone there's no other use for one

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