So how do I handle this one....Caitlyn is now making guns out of her blocks and playing with them as if they are in fact guns. Now I am not one of those moms that is crazy gung ho about "NO GUNS EVER"!!! We don't keep one in the house, she has never been in contact with one, and she has never been in a house that has had one. So it is obvious where she learned about them...TV and/or school....the 2 most obvious culprits and demons right LOL.
So here is my dilemma, I don't want to tell her that she can't play with a toy gun. Cause after all, it is only a toy. When she has played with water guns in my moms pool we have discussed the proper use of them and that you never shoot it at someone's face, etc. But is there really any harm in playing with a gun in her own bedroom? I don't think it's going to make her become a serial killer in her adult years. If that were to happen it would more than likely be something that I did to warp her not a toy gun right? I mean is it really a big deal to let a kid play with a toy gun? When we are out and about at other people's houses and things, I hear parents telling their kids "No guns" "We don't play with guns." Well, we had guns in my house growing up and we knew that you didn't play with those guns but we could play with our guns from our toy boxes.
So I am thinking as long as the word "play" is involved with the toy guns that she is using that makes it ok?
4 comments:
Can you stop kid playing with gun's?? My two will make them out of lego, bricks, twigs etc.....
I'm like you I've never really wanted my kids to have guns, but have tried not to make too big an issue out of it, just never bought them.
I know things are different in the US, in as much as, we don't have the same gun availability here in the UK, so I perhaps don't have the same issues to worry about, or am I now being nieve???
My daughter did the gun thing too-with a stick. I think she picked it up from daycare when she was 3-I am not sure. So I also explained to her that “real” guns were NOT toys and to not play with them. I used to have a gun at my house in Florida. I learned how to use it when I was 18, because my dad was worried about me being alone. Then I felt comfortable with it after I had her knowing I had it…but it was locked up and it wasn’t like if someone broke in to kill us they would wait for me to get my gun out of the lock box…so I ended up getting rid of it. But I feel that making a big issue out of it only sparks interest-like someone telling me, “No, you can’t do that” Only makes me want to do it! (yes I am awful) So if the day comes up again…I might get a friend to show her a real gun and later in life-maybe even show her how to shoot…but then I will have to get another gun myself!
You've been tagged
I wouldn't worry, aside from telling her that if she ever sees a real gun (or anything that looks like that) she is to leave it alone and go get a grown-up, etc. etc. I certainly understand not wanting to buy her toy guns, but you can't monitor her every second to make sure she's not pretending that a stick is a gun...and if you could, you'd make her intensely interested in guns, most likely! :)
You might be interested in _Killing Monsters Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence_. While the book may go a little (or a lot) too far for you in supporting its main thesis, it does have some interesting things to say. Basically, it posits that kids turn to make-believe violence in order to learn how to process normal emotions that are overwhelming to them because they're new. If you're dealing with children from fairly stable homes (i.e. not ones with armed drug dealers going in and out buying and selling crack out in the open), then generally they know that their "guns" and "swords" are not the same as the real thing, and they're not looking to kill or harm anyone. At the very least, it's a different point of view. (I have nothing to do with the production or sales of the book -- I saw it referenced on another site, picked it up out of curiousity and enjoyed it.)
Post a Comment