Any Toy Can Be Used as a Gun :(

[AnythingsPossible]

I am not a fan of gun play, but the boys do it regardless. So when they start up and aim at each other and are shooting each other. I simply tell them that if they are going to shoot something they have to go hunting. There is no shooting at people or aiming at people. Totally agree that if you try to forbid it, it is a losing battle.
So if they want to shoot, go ahead, but it better be at big game or aliens. Not people or pets!!

[QualiTcare]

"that's true - that event and similar events were not caused by children playing pretend with guns."

i was agreeing with that point. :confused:

[Gurdy]

"that's true - that event and similar events were not caused by children playing pretend with guns."

i was agreeing with that point. :confused:

I was not commenting on just that one line in your statement.

Do you not see the positive in a child emulating his father??

Can you not see the positive in teaching kids that there are times and places for certain behavoirs?

[Unregistered]

Nope

I don't have toy guns at my house at all. No toy weapons of any kind. In fact, I don't even allow the kids to use their finger as a gun or any other toy as a gun. I've been given a hard time for my stance in the past, but I stand by my policy. There's enough ugliness in the world as it is and I don't want to let it seep into my house. This is a peaceful place I'm all for dramatic play, in fact, I love it! I just prefer to have it not include "shooting" each other or any other violent activity.

[DCMomOf3]

I don't have toy guns at my house at all. No toy weapons of any kind. In fact, I don't even allow the kids to use their finger as a gun or any other toy as a gun. I've been given a hard time for my stance in the past, but I stand by my policy. There's enough ugliness in the world as it is and I don't want to let it seep into my house. This is a peaceful place I'm all for dramatic play, in fact, I love it! I just prefer to have it not include "shooting" each other or any other violent activity.

I dont' have any in my daycare space for this reason. I DO however have a few Star Wars blasters in my DSs' room. They only come out maybe once a month though (non-daycare hours) because it can get out of hand fast if I'm not watching. I DO NOT allow aiming at living things, but they sometimes get carried away.

[Blackcat31]

I am not a fan of gun play, but the boys do it regardless. So when they start up and aim at each other and are shooting each other. I simply tell them that if they are going to shoot something they have to go hunting. There is no shooting at people or aiming at people. Totally agree that if you try to forbid it, it is a losing battle.
So if they want to shoot, go ahead, but it better be at big game or aliens. Not people or pets!!

Exactly what she said! When the gun play and shooting started getting out of hand here, we started modifying the play. You can do it but not at people and not at pets. If you do it, you can't play any more. I swear since then no one cares any more and I hardly notice any gun play. So I agree with pp; banning it just makes seem more fun and almost encourages it...modifying the way they play it made it not so fun.

[QualiTcare]

I was not commenting on just that one line in your statement.

Do you not see the positive in a child emulating his father??

Can you not see the positive in teaching kids that there are times and places for certain behavoirs?

yes, but that line of my statement was agreeing with the fact that playing with guns doesn't cause people to grow up and do school shootings and you still mentioned that it doesn't lead to that or people being serial killers - so i wasn't sure if you realized that i DON'T think that.

my only point is that kids get into lots of trouble for talking about guns these days, so why fuel that fire?

you're taking the big, broad issue of kids playing with guns and putting it into a small box of police officer's children. those two things can't be compared because MOST kids who are playing with guns aren't emulating their fathers. furthermore, cops don't go around shooting people (except in LA - jk). they rarely if EVER use their gun at all. you don't usually see kids pretending to put a gun in their holster and then going about their business. some things parents do shouldn't be copied. i wouldn't let a child play pretend pole dancer because her mother works at a club and say "she's just emulating her mother). there's no positive that can come from that. if anything, a police officer who has guns in the home should have a child MORE aware that guns are nothing to play with.

i can defintely see the positives and the necessity of teaching children when/where things are appropriate, but i don't think guns fit in anywhere into that lesson. kids need to know what's appropriate to talk about at the dinner table, appropriate behavior at a funeral, appropriate reactions when someone is upset - because these are things they'll be faced with normally. hopefully they will not need to know when to use a gun. i don't think there's anything positive that can come from playing with guns, but there IS a negative (and no, that's not shooting places up or killing people) but emulating that PLAY at school where they will be punished. they won't understand why they were allowed to play guns with their friends all day when they were 4, but now that's they're 5 they are being told it's wrong.

it's our job to prepare kids for reality and get them ready to enter the world (their first world being school) and allowing what's not allowed isn't doing anything to HELP prepare them for it so why do it?

[legomom922]

The columbine kids played violent shooting video games..what do you think they did before that? Played with toys guns I bet!

Shooting animals & hunting is not anymore acceptable to me..lets kill!!

Why does anybody have to kill anything? animals, people even if they are in a game??

Ask anyone of those parents who lost a child in that incident and see what their feelings are on playing with guns/videogames, etc....

[Blackcat31]

On Oct 5th 1966, at my high school a young boy shot another 14 yr old classmate and a teacher (who died 8 days later) because he was teased and ridiculed endlessly (like most of the school shooters). The shooter in our town did what he did because he was teased and bullied. He came from a good family who had strong morals and values. They believed in God and were good people. I can't explain why their son did what he did or all the hundreds of things that led up to what he ultimately choose to do. All I know is that people are good and people are bad. In my opinion, I don't agree with all the craziness and violence in video gaming and on TV we see today, but my brothers (and I) grew up playing cops and robbers and all sorts of shooting games. We also learned gun safety at a young age. We come from a family of hunters, we had guns in our house, yet not one of my siblings or I have ever thought to use a gun to shoot someone at school. I just don't see the correlation there. I think the Columbine shooters had other issues and whether they played violent video games or not probably didn't have much impact on the horrible choices they made. Maybe, maybe not, but what about the hundreds of other little kids who grew up playing shooting games...and still not choosing to shoot up their schools. We can ban guns and violent tv and video games but I think we are only fooling ourselves if we think that is the answer to stopping things like the Columbine shootings. Just my opinion.

[Gurdy]

yes, but that line of my statement was agreeing with the fact that playing with guns doesn't cause people to grow up and do school shootings and you still mentioned that it doesn't lead to that or people being serial killers - so i wasn't sure if you realized that i DON'T think that.

my only point is that kids get into lots of trouble for talking about guns these days, so why fuel that fire?

you're taking the big, broad issue of kids playing with guns and putting it into a small box of police officer's children. those two things can't be compared because MOST kids who are playing with guns aren't emulating their fathers. furthermore, cops don't go around shooting people (except in LA - jk). they rarely if EVER use their gun at all. you don't usually see kids pretending to put a gun in their holster and then going about their business. some things parents do shouldn't be copied. i wouldn't let a child play pretend pole dancer because her mother works at a club and say "she's just emulating her mother). there's no positive that can come from that. if anything, a police officer who has guns in the home should have a child MORE aware that guns are nothing to play with.

i can defintely see the positives and the necessity of teaching children when/where things are appropriate, but i don't think guns fit in anywhere into that lesson. kids need to know what's appropriate to talk about at the dinner table, appropriate behavior at a funeral, appropriate reactions when someone is upset - because these are things they'll be faced with normally. hopefully they will not need to know when to use a gun. i don't think there's anything positive that can come from playing with guns, but there IS a negative (and no, that's not shooting places up or killing people) but emulating that PLAY at school where they will be punished. they won't understand why they were allowed to play guns with their friends all day when they were 4, but now that's they're 5 they are being told it's wrong.

it's our job to prepare kids for reality and get them ready to enter the world (their first world being school) and allowing what's not allowed isn't doing anything to HELP prepare them for it so why do it?

Hey, there are alot of things that kids can do at home that they can not do at school. They understand the difference.
They also have to learn that school is going to be different from daycare and some of the things that they did in dc they can not do at school. Its called growing and adjusting, kids are really good at that. I am not suggesting that you should not tell the kids that they may not play guns at school.

I was using the child emulating his father as an example of how gun play could be positive. He sees his dad leave for work every night in his uniform and with his gun. He sees his dad come home every morning in his uniform and with his gun. This little boy walked around all the time with his lego or banana gun in his holster just like his dad. I did not see anything negative about it. I would have never told him he couldn't have it. I did not let him shoot people with it.

I agree that I would not let a child play pretend pole dancer but I also would not compare the two professions.


In the larger picture, kids have been playing these games for years and years and I would say the vast majority of these kids have turned out just fine with no ill effects from playing this type of role play.

[BentleysBands]

The columbine kids played violent shooting video games..what do you think they did before that? Played with toys guns I bet!

Shooting animals & hunting is not anymore acceptable to me..lets kill!!

Why does anybody have to kill anything? animals, people even if they are in a game??

Ask anyone of those parents who lost a child in that incident and see what their feelings are on playing with guns/videogames, etc....

hunting vrs playing w/guns as a child r too totally different things IMO

I would love to see your kids in 10yrs and see how perfect they are :: just saying..

[kidkair]

The answer to stopping the shootings is stronger communication skills. The kids shooting people because they were teased and ridiculed were not communicating effectively to adults who could help. We need to teach kids to communicate effectively and not hide their feelings from the adults in their lives. Many times bulling goes on behind adult's backs and those being bullied have such low self esteem that it doesn't matter how nice their family is.
My family is very nice and we were church goers and everything but when my brother went to college my mom became depressed and we all started to fall apart. What saved us was that my brother came home for winter break and complained that we had stopped communicating. We were still nice and happy toward the outside world but our inside world lacked communication. We began to remember to communicate when it was pointed out that we had lost that. Now years later we communicate better in our inner world but an outsider may look twice before realizing we are very healthy because from the outside my parents are divorced, my mom remarried, my brother a devout catholic, me a pagan with a pagan husband, my sister undecided in faith and divorced with two kids, my other sister undecided in faith and married, my dad barely making ends meet. We communicate though and that is fundamental.

[Luna]

This thread inspired me to look at the research on gun play and children, and the overwhelming majority of the information indicates that not only is it NOT negative, it has positive play value. Gun play and rough & tumble play have nothing to do with violence. This reinforces my "gut instinct" and I will continue to allow it in my house. People should do what they are comfortable with - your house, your rules.

[legomom922]

I agree that I would not let a child play pretend pole dancer but I also would not compare the two professions.

In the larger picture, kids have been playing these games for years and years and I would say the vast majority of these kids have turned out just fine with no ill effects from playing this type of role play.

Would you have a problem with your daughter pretending she is hooker? The point is there is NO GOOD that can come from it weather its pretending to be a cop, a pole dancer or a hooker! Maybe people need to take the time to teach their kids GOOD morals. How about teaching your kid to play being a minister? a teacher? a doctor?

And you dont REALLY know how these kids have turned out now have you? Honestly? There is more childhood/teen depression, suicide, drugs, child abuse, teen pregnancy, etc etc now in this country than ever before!

I'm 50 yrs old and and we didnt have these problems 40 yrs ago! I grew up with the Leave It To Beaver shows....now the only thing that is on TV is sex, reality TV flith, crime & murder drama! I dont even have cable because their is nothing on there wholesome and with good values on anymore! Its' obvious to me why the world is now so messed up! Kids dont even have a chance these days and wow has parenting changed.. they are no better than the kids..

[QualiTcare]

"In the larger picture, kids have been playing these games for years and years and I would say the vast majority of these kids have turned out just fine with no ill effects from playing this type of role play."

i agree, and i was one of those kids, BUT i also was allowed to do it on the playground at school and make gun or shooting references without being taken seriously. i don't think playing with them has ill effects (not that it has positive ones) but i do know the actions and conversations that take place as a result can get kids in trouble. i can't think of any reason i would stand in the toy aisle and think "hmm, i think a GUN is a good idea" out of all the toys out there. why get it started?

i used to hug my teachers and sit on their laps and nobody got accused of being a child molester or being molested, but kids can't do that anymore either.

and my dad walked five miles to school, in the snow, up hill both ways....times have changed since we played with guns harmlessly. trust me, i wish i could let my son play cops and robbers with a dart gun or the cool little cap guns like i had without having to worry that he'd be punished for it later. it's just a risk i choose to avoid because it's 100% avoidable. they don't miss what they don't know.