Toy Guns

[Katie Mc]

My 4 yr old got a pretend gun for his birthday and to be honest he doesnt bother with it. but I see it as part of growing up, what they play with when there young will not influence the decisions they make when their older( shooting someone for example). If someone grows up into the world of thugs and guncrime I dont think it would to do with what they played with when they were a toddler. As long as we show are children the right ways in life I dont see it as a problem. Just my opinion though.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I'm from California and have been shooting since I was 16. Both my father (former police officer) and I are trained rifle instructors. Forget the toys! My dad has already bought my son a real .22 rifle. He will only get it under supervision and learn the proper way to fire and take care of it. It's just a cultural difference between the US and the UK.

 

[amygwen]

I absolutely hate guns. I won't ever buy him a toy gun.

 

[PrayinForBaby]

I dont see a problem with it, however, I was raised around weapons and my daughter will become educated on their safety from an early age. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[Cattia]

No, I will not allow any toy weapons and I will discourage violent games as much as possible for as long as I can. I know you can't control how they play in childcare or at others' houses but in my own home I would rather not have these kind of toys as I feel that there is a great deal of normalisation of violence in society already so I don't want to add to it any more than necessary.

 

[bbyno1]

I just don't like the thought of kids running around pretneding to shoot eachother, that, playing or not, just doesn't sit well with me, so no, if i had a son (or a boyish daughter), they would not be allowed pretend guns.

this ^^

Agreed

 

[special_kala]

No, I will not allow any toy weapons and I will discourage violent games as much as possible for as long as I can. I know you can't control how they play in childcare or at others' houses but in my own home I would rather not have these kind of toys as I feel that there is a great deal of normalisation of violence in society already so I don't want to add to it any more than necessary.

I agree with this

 

[smelly07]

I have two girls so its not something i personally have thought about really but i work in a pre-school and below is what we are suppose to work by and we do so to a degree... we dont 'encourage' it neither do we have super hero costumes or toys guns (atm but this may change) but IF a child makes a gun or pretends to be a super hero so be it.

below: out of one of my work books:

Boys should be encouraged to take part in role-play involving superheroes and toy guns, according to new advice from the Government.

Guidance on the EYFS for practitioners describes how boys play differently from girls and includes case studies from early years settings on how to support boys' learning through play, including superhero and weapon play.

Confident, Capable and Creative: Supporting boys' achievements says that 'sometimes practitioners find the chosen play of boys more difficult to understand and value than that of girls' (end)

boys think differently to girls, boys learn in a different way. women dont understand men men dont understand women right????

i dont think children playing with guns will make them more agressive nor do i think it will make them shoot someone when they are older and if i had boys when it got to the point where they asked for a certain dressing up outfit or a cowboy hat and toy gun i wouldnt say no.

 

[Katie Mc]

I have two girls so its not something i personally have thought of really but i work in a pre-school and below is what we are suppose to work by and we do so to a degree... we dont 'encourage' it neither to we have super hero costumes or toys guns (atm but this may change) but IF a child makes a gun or pretends to be a super hero so be it.

Boys should be encouraged to take part in role-play involving superheroes and toy guns, according to new advice from the Government.

Guidance on the EYFS for practitioners describes how boys play differently from girls and includes case studies from early years settings on how to support boys' learning through play, including superhero and weapon play.

Confident, Capable and Creative: Supporting boys' achievements says that 'sometimes practitioners find the chosen play of boys more difficult to understand and value than that of girls' (end)

boys think differntly to girls, boys learn in a different way. women dont understand men men dont understand women right????

i think if i had boys i would let my OH decide whether they should or not as he can relate to their thinking and learning better than i would.

i dont think children playing with guns will make them more agressive nor do i think it will make them shoot someone when they are older.

couldnt agree more

 

[cherryglitter]

It's just a toy in my eyes

 

[Natsku]

I don't have a problem with toys guns, I really don't think playing with toys guns is going to make some more likely to be violent when they're older. When I was a kid I was obsessed with guns, knives and violence (such a tomboy!) but I'm definitely don't go around attacking people now!
When Maria is older I'd like to have a gun myself and I would then teach her respect for it and how to use it safely. She'll also get a knife when she's older and learn appropriate uses for it and safety (not sure how old, maybe 10).

 

[aliss]

None for us.

I'll preface that by saying that we have real hand guns in our house. They are for work purposes only and of course, kept in a locked/key padded safe. If our son, at a much older age, decides he would like to go to the range with his father and learn proper gun safety then of course he is welcome, but until then, guns are not meant to be toys in our home and there is no casual use of them.

I don't see anything wrong with toy guns in general, but I don't think they should be toys in homes with firearms.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Having taught firearm safety to children as young as three (YES! THREE!), I've learned that by calling them weapons, you automatically categorize guns as something that will always harm another person. In the scouts, we call them sporting firearms and teach that they are strictly for shooting targets, not other people. One of the rules that we teach is never point a firearm at another person. I have kicked children off the range for forgetting this rule accidentally after having been told numerous times. Safety is number one in my book. If taught safely by trained instructors, guns are less harmful.

I don't remember who said it, but yes, playing with toy guns is part of the development of children. It is often discouraged for fear that children will imitate it with real guns.

 

[Shining Star]

Such a contraversial subject.

I agree that children (esp boys) love the idea of playing with guns and knives and I know that I did so (playing cowboys etc) when I was younger. However, I think that the media that influences children now is very different from that which we were watching when we were their age. I have been teaching for about 11 years now and I can honestly say that I have seen a difference in the 'type' of gun play over that time (IYKWIM?) - it used to be pretending to aim and fire, now though - daily I see the most violent play that more often than not leads to injury. If my LO was a boy, I would really discourage gun play and wouldn't want guns in our house. However, as I read in a previous post, if they want to, the children will turn ANYTHING into a gun! We have a 'no guns or gun play' policy in our school and it's amazing how many children find ways around that - and when you speak to them about it - they have the most imaginative explanations to explain what it is they are holding!

Each to their own and I know that if our LO was a boy my husband and I would have conflicting opinions on this!

 

[aliss]

I think in this instance it really needs to be up to the parent, of course there are cultural influences, as a Canadian I can really see both the US/UK perspective as we tend to view things as a blend of both... I think that teaching firearm safety is super important, I just don't like the idea of guns and play together I suppose, because there are guns in my own home (which I don't care much for either but that's OH).

I don't like the idea of toy guns for another reason, and that's because some kids (actually, this would be more of a teen thing), seem to make really stupid decisions (like we all did), and play around with airsoft/pellet/etc guns in public, which can result in an armed police response. I'm a police dispatcher and have seen a young kid (maybe 13-14) almost get shot because he panicked and pointed his pellet gun at police (a pellet gun which is nearly a handgun imitation unfortunately). People see this and panic, call 911 reporting an armed gunman, it happens a lot and results in an ERT (SWAT in the US) response because gun calls in Canada are also dealt with differently than in the US. I just ... ugh, very conflicted on the issue.

I don't think anyone is right or wrong and I would like my son to learn proper gun use from OH, as I think that's a great bonding activity for them when older, I just don't want them in his hands anytime before he's 18, LOL. Or at least when I'm around - I'll let OH take him at 12,14, whatever and they can do that on their own.... I'm not good with guns anyways, I am uncoordinated and a crap shot.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

aliss, in the USA, pellet guns have to be clear or some sort of color so the police don't mistake them for real gun It's a good idea, in my opinion. I have seen pellet guns in the UK however that look like real guns. DH has one that was red though and he went and started painting it grey (it was for a costume party) I went mental at him and he ended up leaving one side red

 

[Kota]

I won't ever buy P a toy gun/knife/sword, and will ask that family/friends when buying gifts don't either, and they won't be allowed in this house, however I'm not naive enough to think that this means he will never play with one, or make his own out of sticks and lego, in which case, it will be discouraged, but not forceably banned. He will be a little boy, and as long as gun 'play' doesn't happen each and every time, then I accept its part of him growing up,

 

[aliss]

aliss, in the USA, pellet guns have to be clear or some sort of color so the police don't mistake them for real gun It's a good idea, in my opinion. I have seen pellet guns in the UK however that look like real guns. DH has one that was red though and he went and started painting it grey (it was for a costume party) I went mental at him and he ended up leaving one side red

That's a very good idea. As much as people love to bash the USA gun policy (although they should try going to other places and see kids roaming with authentic AK 47's), it's good to have regulations to distinguish them from real guns, especially in the US when police are at a much higher risk of being shot.

Here, there are a few that completely replicate a police issue handgun and sold in regular department stores alongside camping and fishing supplies. I couldn't believe it when I saw them, it was horrible. It's really, really stupid.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I definitely agree! What people don't realize is there are policies and procedures for gun ownership in the US and most people do follow them. We're not as gun happy as the rest of the world thinks.

 

[missbabypo]

My son loves Toy Story and currently thinks he is a dinosaur but no doubt in a few weeks he will think he is a cowboy or a spaceranger and want a gun or a laser or something.
Its all part of growing up and although I wouldn't personally go out of my way to buy either of the boys a toy gun I don't have a problem with them.
I know riley has a bubble sword somewhere and I don't even think of it as a sword bu as a massive tub of bubbles lol x