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i never allowed it w/MY first 3 kids but they would pick it up elsewhere , the more i said something the more they would do it. so w/our last child i just ignored what he did unless it was mean kwim, then i woud step in. now hes 6yr and is very into guns because daddy hunts. we taught gun safety which he pretty much doesnt get at this age but when playing w/the other kids and my dck's we just encourage NO pointing at people. shoot 'birds' or 'bugs" or trees but NOT another person. that seemed to help my situation. i feel its a totally normal child behavior.
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No guns allowed here either. I dont allow anything that looks violent, or encourages violent behaviour. My kids are not even allowed to watch wrestling. They are not allowed any shooting games on their playstations, etc.I have sheilded them from any form of violence. Yes they pick things up from other kids and school, however they have been taught it is wrong, and they make good choices and do not want to engage in that type of play. If a 2 yr old is doing it, they are picking it up from somewhere. I do not believe it is hard wired in any childs brain. They get it from somewhere or see it on something. hek even some toddler shows and cartoons are violent! Has anyone seen Toy Story 3?? It was horrible!!!!!! I would not allow anyone to see that movie!!Comment
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My kids are 13 & 14.........They make good decisions now because of HOW they were brought up!Comment
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Really ? Punishing kids for being kids what harm are they doing they are boys for gosh sake thats how little boys play they are rough and tough what do you want them to sit all day and play tea and Daddy come on get a grip and let them be kids.Comment
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I agree with Silver Sabre. I think gun play is part of development. As long as it is guided appropriately I don't see anything wrong with it. We follow pretty much the same rules as she laid out. No parent afaik has had a problem with it. I generally have lots of boys of conservative, hunting fathers though too
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i agree aside from wrestling. i mean, my son wrestles with his dad and it's really more of a sport than a violent behavior IMO. they don't watch it, but i can't say i would tell them no - i'm not sure.
it's not that i shield my kids, but i'm the one that buys their games and toys, etc. so why would i buy a game that has people shooting each other or a toy gun when i can get something productive, creative, or
educational! they have seen cops with guns on t.v., at their uncle's house in a safe, and in the toy stores - but they know that cops need guns incase someone is trying to hurt another person and they are used for hunting in their uncle's case - but i'll save the conversation i had with them about hunting :
: all i know is they have no interest in guns, don't ask to play with them, don't pretend to play with them, and they aren't part of our life. that can't be a coincidence.
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I don't think there is anything wrong with playing "guns". And I feel that the bigger deal you make out of taking everything away, them more they are going to want to do it.
As someone else said, cowboys and bank robbers, cops and bad guys has been played for years!! I did when I was little, and I am fine!!Comment
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but when does the boy rough and tumble end, when they start hitting each other, jumping on each other, sitting on each other, pretend shooting each other, the animals, or even myself. Give your head a shake just because they are boys doesn't mean they have to be taught to play rough, act rough and become bullies. I had my 3 yr old tell me that he can't cry because boys don't cry, and thats what his mother told him, is that the type of child you want to develope into an adult.Comment
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that's true - that event and similar events were not caused by children playing pretend with guns. however, since the shootings at columbine, schools have gotten a LOT more strict when kids even make references to guns or shooting due to the fact that shooters had made comments and they were ignored because people thought "they were just playing." before if a kid said to a friend, "i'm gonna shoot you" or a similar phrase (which i used to say all the time) just goofing off - it was no big deal. now, kids can actually get in trouble and be accused of "threatening someone."
i just see nothing positive that can come from kids playing with toy guns or pretending to play - so why do it? yea, i had fun doing it as a kid, but it wasn't a big deal then! now it is. at the same time, i wouldn't have been heartbroken if i wasn't allowed to play with guns from the very first time an adult told me to stop. kids might naturally want to play with guns if they've been exposed to them just like they'll naturally say a cuss word if they've been exposed, but that doesn't mean they should be doing it, and they will stop if someone tells them to stop. that's the problem - people don't tell them to stop because they "see no harm in it." well, if that's the case, why not let them curse too? what's the real harm in that?Comment
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Look, I was simply commenting on what a pp said about someone allowing gun play must have "thought the columbine shooting was fun...."
That is an outrageous statement!!
You are right times have changed. Kids do need to be taught that gun play is unacceptable at school, because they do have a zero tolerance policy at schools. Just like they need to be taught that cursing is wrong and they shouldn't do it anywhere.
I do not think that gun play as a preschooler will cause children to grow up and become a mass murderer. If it did we would have alot more mass murderers out there. Playtime is for fun, imagination and role play. Some kids like to role play cops & robbers etc. it does not mean that they will grow up to be serial killers.
In my daycare I do not have any toy guns and I do not encourage gun play. At the moment I have all girls and they never build guns out of legos or use a toy banana as a gun. When I had mostly boys they did those things all the time. I did not allow them to "shoot" each other, but they would build guns and put them in their "holsters" (pockets) and pretend they were cowboys or cops. I have had several dck that were children of police officers and had guns in their homes. It is natural for them to want to emulate dad and carry a "gun" in their "holster". This does not mean that their parents thought that "Columbine was fun".
I allow my kids to run and scream at the park, but not at the store. They understand the difference. Kids who play guns at home should also be taught that they may not do this at school.Comment
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