Mrs Mop Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 My brother wasnt allowed toy guns or action man etc as my mum doesnt like them. She wouldnt allow my father to keep his air rifle after they got married either. Its her perogative and I dont think not playing with guns as children did us any harm. I dont know if playing with guns makes children more likely to use them when they are older or not. I bet he did play guns Amy, when he was with his friends. It is natural for a boy to play aggresive games, it is how they learn how to control their aggression. If they get too aggressive, other children won't play with them. Other children are the best teachers Maybe I'm in the minority but my children are not allowed to play with toy guns. They've asked once or twice while in a toy shop if they can have one and I've said no. I don't see the point in them. Even if I had sons instead of daughters I'd still say no. I don't want to encourage them to play games based on violence. I hate to see little children playing with guns, it's so inappropriate. I have to admit I did think about not letting my sons play with guns, but they played with them anyway when they were at their friends so I didn't see any point on stopping them. I also found that when playing these games they got a lot more exercise and wanted to go to bed better. They also learnt how to interact with other children and start to learn that others won't accept them stepping over the line of behaviour. What I DONT like is kids playing age inappropriate games on the playstation etc. There you have very realistic looking violent games that possibly are more damaging than a cops n robbers game. imo there are far too many parents who don't for whatever reason either watch what their kids are playing, let alone think to censor it. It isn't the games on the playstation that I am not happy with, when children are playing on them they are on their own and isolated from other children so not leaning people skills nor are the getting any exercise. Children need exercise so that their bones and muscles develop properly. I knew someone who didn't allow her son to have toy guns but they were allowed water pistols. I didn't see the difference myself. Toy guns do less damage than water pistols Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobean Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 As a child I had a toy gun, a water pistol and did used to play with my fingers when I and my friends played war. I knew I was playing and not inflicting injury. I wouldn't have a real gun. Children do know the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menage_a_trois Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Toy guns are fine - as long as they are obviously `toys` - e.g. bright green plastic ray-guns! The ones I wouldn`t let my 3 sons play with are the ones that look like the real thing. `Toy` ones stimulate the imagination - `realistic` ones bring the violence of the real world into childrens lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meandmy4? Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I think by saying they cant have them when other children do then you are making them more intriquing and fascinating. And I agree with the PS2 or 3 comments. My son got a PS3 for xmas and he is glued to it have just kicked his butt out to play and get some fresh air. I think it comes down to parenting Jack knows right and wrong so have no worries with him playing with a gun and understanding it only "PLAY" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Three out of my 4 daughters were into Action Man. My totally PC eldest would be really embarassed to be reminded that she started the ball rolling at the age of 3 by asking for one - the same time as a friend (boy) asked for a doll - and got it. Never did any of them any harm and both were left by the wayside as they got older, along with the Barbies that a couple of my daughters also liked. I must say that I was more worried about the message given by the Barbies than Action Man. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Childen will play games with anything they can get their hands on and use their fingers if they don't have anything. Children, like puppies, need to get rid of a lot of excess energy and need physical exercise for their bones and muscles to develop properly. Playing this type of game fulfills all their exercise needs. As well as this, they also learn from the other children when they have gone too far, they learn how to control themselves a lot better than us telling them they can't do something. I had 3 boys, and like all normal boys there was the odd fight, if it was serious, we put boxing glove on and they had to follow Queensberry rules. We found this worked far better than stopping the fight, they got everything out they needed but it was controlled and they learnt how to live by rules. No child was hurt during this either My brother does target shooting and all of my sons were taken to the club when they were about 8 years old and taught to shoot properly. They only went a couple of times and learnt that guns had to be respected. Someone asked how they enjoyed this and non did, all said that they were not as much fun as toy guns. In their teens, one son had the chance of practicing quite a bit with an air gun, he wasn't iterested but all his friends couldn't get there quick enough, they soon lost interest as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura g Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I must say that I was more worried about the message given by the Barbies than Action Man. Pam have to say i think i agree. my son is 'exploring his musical tastes'. Before christmas found him listening to a grindcore band called AxCx (they've a pretty ripe name otherwise). OH hit the roof more than me (i've worked with young bands for years: I'm not shocked by much). Anyway had to appreciate Sam's argument that how could we not let him listen to this music when we let his sister listen to maken laden bimbos with few clothes on singing about what they sing about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I have never and will never buy toy guns for the lads. I don't encourage it, but if they want to play those kinds of games they can use their imagination and build their own "weapons". I think toy guns are a copout (pardon the pun) really - they just encourage this almost hypnotised braindead violent play - it's not really a moral reasoning for not buying them to me, it's about how much of a waste of money they are when they don't teach them anything and hand them it all on a plate instead of making them make something, or imagine something. And yes I have the same issues with Chris and his PS2, wish I'd never fallen into that trap either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheryl33 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 In 2003 when I worked as a rep, one of my duties was to do airport runs and that summer we had to confiscate plastic water guns from the holidaymakers cos the airline refused to have them on board. I felt stupid taking them and one guy took a picture of me and two colleagues holding the guns and it appeared in the Daily Mail saying it was PC gone mad....! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura g Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 In 2003 when I worked as a rep, one of my duties was to do airport runs and that summer we had to confiscate plastic water guns from the holidaymakers cos the airline refused to have them on board. I felt stupid taking them and one guy took a picture of me and two colleagues holding the guns and it appeared in the Daily Mail saying it was PC gone mad....! x we did disneyland paris a few years back. son bought every toy sword/cutlass going. got himself a collection of about a dozen. had to stash them all into hold luggage as they weren't allowed in the cabin. ps: just reread my other post. for 'maken laden' read 'makeup laden' !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 if they want to play those kinds of games they can use their imagination and build their own "weapons". Most boys do Kathy, as well as quite a lot of girls but these made up guns can be quite dangerous of they get the right piece of wood or piping. To a child who gets wood or piping, this is just a gun he has made, they don't think about how much damage they can do when they pretend to knock each other out playing cowboys and indians, soldiers don't knock each other out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Valid point Mrs Mop, I remember when there was a craze for bows and arrows in our neighbourhood and we all made our own out of sycamore wood. I don't remember anyone getting shot, but in retrospect it could have been a tad dicy. Still, good learning experience for the collapse of civilisation (well, you never know) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Most boys do Kathy, as well as quite a lot of girls but these made up guns can be quite dangerous of they get the right piece of wood or piping. To a child who gets wood or piping, this is just a gun he has made, they don't think about how much damage they can do when they pretend to knock each other out playing cowboys and indians, soldiers don't knock each other out. No, soldiers kill eachother, for real when they're in opposing armies, and unfortunately sometimes by "friendly fire" (I take it that's when they say "opps, sorry mate" to the dead soldier at their feet ). To be honest, I think that parents just might be getting overly careful/worried about their kids getting hurt during play. I don't mean being worried about getting eyes gauged out with a toy sword - that is a bit drastic - but crikey, as a kid I used to play outside all the time, and I would get scrapes and bruises, and the odd sprained wrist or ankle when I'd jumped or fallen off something I shouldn't have been climbing on in the first place, and so what? Out of action for the afternoon at worst, and needing to look for a very good hiding place when playing hide and seek - or thieves and police men - the next day, because you can't run very well with a sprained ankle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranirottie Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 When I met my husband he had a son of four ,his wife had gone and she left the child behind. He was a strange child, very quiet, hardly moved and didn't seem to know how to play. I had 3 lively children who welcomed him into the family and their games but he didn't really mix at all. As he got older he became obsessed with causing trouble for other children and doing strange things like seeming to enjoy hurting people,he told me he wanted to strangle his kitten!! At that stage we took him to see a child phsycologist. The doctor said that because he didn't act out his frustrations and aggressions by playing cowboys and indians,war games etc like the other kids he was bottling it all up inside and plotting evil things! He told us to "make" him play energetic games and use his imagination but it was hard. His mother had not let him have any "violent" toys and I wonder if that had anything to do with it.x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooandboo Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 My brothers played with guns, swords, bows and arrows etc and are two of the gentlest men you could meet. (I also played with them but I'm not so sure about me ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts