What Is Your Position on guns?(PLAY GUNS or PRETEND GUNS)

I have every Nerf gun, sword, starwar sabor you can think of. My son has a wonderful collection of real knifes. He is also the nicest, most respectful child. He is in all advanced classes , has tons of friends. He is a upstanding wonderful young man. He is a boy who likes to still play with friends and Nerf guns.

I'm also raising a non violent, upstanding young man.
I'm for tougher gun control.
My son has/loves (MANY) toy guns.
They're TOYS.
He knows never to touch a real gun.

My son loves nerf guns. We set up targets for him to shoot at since we should not even pretend to shoot anyone with a gun-real or not. I told my son if he even pointed them at his sisters or friends, he would lose them. Never had any issues with him pointing any kind of gun at anyone.

I'm not sure if you're only wanting to hear from moms who agree with you, or if you want to hear from all moms. Feel free to ignore me.

My boys are probably older than your children; they're 8 and almost 15, but we did/do allow toy guns, and our oldest goes to the gun range with my dad and I and shoots real guns. Both boys have been taught gun safety, and are often reminded about gun safety rules. We have had nerf guns in the past, and currently have a plethora of air soft guns, and a couple of BB guns. We live on a farm, and the boys often have friends over to have "air soft wars." All of the boys who come over have parental approval, and wear safety gear. They are also kind, compassionate boys who know the difference between playing and hurting someone.

I completely respect your decision to not allow guns of any sort in your home, and am not trying to influence your decision. You asked if you were alone in this, so I wanted to share how we do things in our home. This has worked well for us, but I know it may not work for everyone.

First, I am all for raising a non-violent child. My husband and I are both veterans for peace, and we want our son to avoid acting out in dangerous ways.

Second, let me tell you that when my son was younger, there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to let play with toy guns.

Now, let me tell you that I have eaten a little crow on this, grown a bit as a parent, done a lot of reading on the subject (from people whose child development philosophies I admire-- because I like to read up) and these are the conclusions I've come to, for now.

My son is five. His 'weapons' interest started with bows and arrow, which we fashioned out of stick and string. He wanted to 'go elk hunting', so he pretended that. He was not allowed to aim at any living thing, only targets.

He became interested in guns and talked about them incessantly. At an arcade, we let him trade his tickets in for a foam disc gun. Same rules about aiming. (If he aims at us, it goes away for a week. I'm hardcore about this.) What we noticed is that the novelty wears off pretty quickly.

My husband and I have agreed that we do not buy weapon toys as presents. He is allowed to make them-- he's made some awesome tinkertoy 'shooters' with a spring, launching tinkertoy pieces off of it. He receives a small allowance to practice spending money and knows he has to save up if he want a lightsaber. (No, he's never seen Star Wars and we haven't exposed him to violent media.) We currently have a 'lightsaber' made from a flashlight and a sheet of colored plastic rolled up into a tube.

However, the nonviolence that we teach isn't just in what we do or don't allow. It's also in how we parent our son and how we teach conflict resolution. I live in Portland; on Tuesday there was a shooting at the mall I used to work at--it's scary. That said, none of these violent crimes and tragedies have happened in a vacuum. There are usually more profound indicators that a person is having severe problems, once we start to really investigate.

I'm also going to say that, in regard to toy guns/weapons, I think if we had forbidden them, they would have become even more alluring. We have guns stored very safely (double-locked, ammunition stored locked and in a separate place) in our home. We do plan on taking our son to a gun club and using their shooting range when he is a bit older, just so he can truly understand what a gun can do. For now, it's all pretend play. He's not asking to watch violent shows, and even wants me to turn off old vintage cartoons when anything even mildly violent (like a boxing match) or hurtful happens.

So, I've got to say, I think this is one of those times when, as parents, we must really balance out a lot of our fears with appropriate amounts of freedoms. What is the price of your boys not having nerf guns to play with their buddies? You don't say your boys ages, but ask yourself this: do you think they could follow simple safety rules regarding this sort of play? Could you find a way for them to 'earn' the guns themselves, so that they really do have to prioritize that toy above other things?

And I haven't read the other comments, but I will say that someone can easily point out the damage sticks have done to eyes, etc. There are always things we hope for our children, and things we fear. We have to figure out how to balance our hopes and fears, the risks we let our children take when we know they can likely handle the risk. I think that there are ways to ensure that this sort of fantasy play stays *safe* in reality and is another way we can get a glimpse into our children's thoughts, imaginations and even their deeper lives if we choose to.

One link that I really like- a conversation about negotiating violent play, taken from a classroom, and the teacher's (author Jane Katch) thoughts about that conversation. I found it very enlightening:

http://www2.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?I...

There are myriad other articles, including interviews on the subject with Bruno Bettelheim, who lived through WW2 in Austria, spending 11 months as a child in Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps, which is one reason I take his opinions with a degree of gravity. You can google "Bettelheim Violent Play" and find a lot of good, thought-provoking information.

I know it was a long answer--just wanted to share how I am evolving as a parent on this subject. I have never bought the 'I played with guns and I'm fine' line, personally, for myself-- I needed to examine why I am choosing what I do as a parent here and now.

I have felt this, and in our house Nerf is allowed. However, there are safety rules that my children know about guns. My husband owns a variety of guns (which are stored in a locked safe and all ammunition is stored separate).

Our number one rule is unless you are wearing the "target vest" you cannot point the gun directly at another person. They love hanging the target up on the sliding glass door and aiming the Nerf darts to that.

There is a way to teach children about guns, without teaching them to be violent. Matter of fact I've been told recently that my children are the best "givers of friendship" they have ever seen. They play with toy guns, swords....video games...and GASP watch movies with guns/swords in them.

They are by no means violent. I've taught them better than that!

It is better that they play with toy guns and they are taught right with those then they get a hold of rule guns and play with those because their curiosity got the better of them and they accidentally shoot someone.

My 10 year old son has a BB gun, a 410 rifle and 30-30 rifle and will be getting a bow n arrow for Christmas and a 22 for his birthday. My five year old daughter is getting her BB gun this year as well as a 22 for her birthday in a few months. They both love to hunt and have been taught gun safety since birth as me or my husband are cleaning or bring out the guns to target practice in the backyard and we are a very active hunting family.

Just because they have guns play or real does not mean they are going to be violent. It is the ones who are not taught how to handle a gun or guns are kept away. Those things that are out of reach because a parent said no is much more interesting and they will try to get a hold of them.

I don't hold anything against anyone who does not allow their child to have real guns, but I just feel that it is much better to have the parents teach them and not hide or not allow, to me that makes it more dangerous.

Personally I don't have a problem with kids playing gun games, but I do want to say good job for standing up for what you think is best for your family;)

Kids who want top play shoot and don't have toy guns will play shoot using sticks, other vaguely gun-shaped toys, or their thumb and forefinger.
Better to let your child have a toy gun and use his desire to play shoot as a teachable moment regarding real shooting and the difference between the two.

We had both play guns (nerf guns) AND real guns... 22 rifle, bb guns, shotguns, handguns. He also had airsoft guns and paintball guns.... and yes, he shot those at other kids, and was shot at in turn......

I don't like the violent games and such, either, but at a certain age, I'm sure my son (now 21) was playing them.

The REAL guns hung in his bedroom, and he also had full access to ammunition.

Is he a violent person? Absolutely not! He is a kind and caring young man. We taught him from an early age that you don't pick on others.... and for some reason, he was the one that was frequently picked on at school AND at scouts. (That didn't make him become violent or retaliatory, either.)

We taught him from an early age the proper way to use guns..... I feel that is the key to raising a non-violent adult..... communication and education.

He is now finishing up Culinary School, and looking forward to a cooking career.

Sorry, can't back you up!! LOL
We have tons of nerf guns. They are fun! The boys run around and shoot at each other (not in the face, that hurts), my husband runs around and shoots at them. They build forts to hide in and jump out shrieking and shooting each other. It's a toy. Even my daughter (2) gets in on it and throws the nerf bullets around.
But, I don't like real guns. I wont allow them in my house. We live in Seattle. There's not a lot of hunting going on around here. Maybe if I lived in a more rural area or depended on animals to feed me I would feel differently.
I don't make a connection between Nerf guns and real guns.
L.

When it comes to play guns, kids will turn any darn thing into a gun - pencils, sticks, umbrellas, their own hands. It doesn't matter if they have a Nerf gun or not. Where there's a will, there's a way. My SIL bought my girls Nerf guns for Christmas one year. I didn't think my normally frilly girls would be into it at all; I pretty much expected to be taking the unopened box to Goodwill in January. Not so! They ripped right into it and proceeded to get out all of their sisterly aggression on each other. It was a lot better than the whining and tattling we normally hear out of them. So far, they do not appear to have turned into homicidal maniacs because of their Nerf guns.

I think you are way over thinking the nerf thing. As you said yourself, boys will MAKE guns out of sticks or whatever they find to use instead, so you aren't really changing anything by depriving them of nerf.

My son made a "gun" out of a STRAW, yes, the kind you use to drink from. And sticks. And whatever else. And we didn't watch violent shows or have toy guns in the house either. I think he had watched a Disney movie was about the extent of his exposure to any sort of gun. Perhaps it was Bambi that ruined him, or maybe the evil poacher from Rescuers DownUnder. But you know what? Once I realized that having the actual toy or not wouldn't prevent him from pretending to shoot things (people or animals) I realized that keeping him from them just made them that much more attractive. Like anything else that is "off limits" or "forbidden".

With toys around, I was able to teach him not to point them at people. And with the nerf, never to point them at anyone's face/head (risk of eye injury?). He has had tons of nerf guns over the years (so has his tomboy sister) and neither of them ever reaches for them first as a toy of choice. Only when they are in large groups where they are teaming up or something, like at their karate school's annual New Year's Eve Lock-in, the school provides a boatload of nerf guns and they have wars. Loads of fun for the kids, and they aren't "learning to be violent" from it.

Just a vote - we don't have real guns, never had and never will as we're not hunters or anythng. My dad was law enforcement though so of course he had one. I wanted to go into that field too so I certainly played "cops and robbers" etc. We actually played crime TV shows a lot like Charlie's Angels. And I kind of always wanted to be a good shot just to have that skill. So I don't see a problem with toy guns. It's been going on for centuries. I will say I don't have boys though so maybe I'd feel differently if I saw them playing with them with a real violent tendency... But on a stand alone basis, nerf guns etc just seem fun. My BIL does hunt and has several guns. I was visiting this summer and some teen boys who are friends of the family came by to "go shooting". These are the nicest boys. One's going to Harvard now and did not come from money etc. So maybe I'd need to do more research but if I had sons, I likely would let them play with toy guns.

My position on nerf products is it is an different way of playing tag. And that is how my kids use them. We do own (as you do) a number of guns and now crossbows for hunting purposes. My boys do hunt and they know full well the consequenses of really shooting something. I believe it is allowing kids to be taught and learn the difference between play and real life.
no, we don't really shoot people - with real guns, because that has REAL consequences.Shooting a piece of foam and rubber is not a surrogate for a real gun, it is a toy and the real consequence of shooting a piece of foam (unless in the eye - ouch!) is not a whole lot. . . .
Interesting question, for sure.

If it isn't right for your house, then it isn't right, but that doesn't mean your kids aren't already playing with them. If friends have them it stands to reason that they will/have played with them.

We are avid gun collectors/hunters (well not me, I don't really agree with hunting) gun safety is taught from the moment they are old enough to understand. Guns, real guns, are not toys. They understand the damage and the harm that can happen when not properly handled.

Even toy guns have rules in our house. Things like no pointing at a person who isn't part of the game. No pointing at another persons head. You must have eye protection on, even for nerf guns. Kids make guns out of anything..anything. So we chose to put reasonable rules in place, that prevent the misuse of that play.

We want them to respect the power a weapon has, even when they are playing.

As for non-violent children, so far so good in my house. My oldest is 21 and the youngest is 3. Good upstanding non-violent, loving caring children is what I have raised.

The toy gun/video game is not the issue.

I question it sometimes but allow it. Mainly because nerf guns have been around for how many years? And pop guns and water guns, etc. I'm pretty sure our great grandparents played cowboys and indians or cops and robbers. Knowing that, I conclude that pretend play such as that is not creating violent people. It's just part of being a kid.

Not sure why the world seems to be a more violent place, whether it me more media hype/access or if video games and movies are playing a part.

My first child is a girl.
So, my house was FULL, of girly girly things and pink things and dollies and princess things and tea cups and kitchen sets and pretend dress-up clothes for girls etc. For about 5-6 years.
4 Years after my daughter, my son was born.
Now, by the time my son was a Toddler, he was just surrounded by "girl" things... because, although he had some baby rattles and teething rings etc., MOST of everything in our home, was girl, things. There was only my daughter for 4+ years and because we could not afford to stock up the house with "boy" things when he was born etc. So besides his unisex onesies and clothing etc., there was MOSTLY girl things in my home.

But still, once he was a Toddler, he was making sounds and gestures, that is "boy" type actions. Playing more roughly or actively, and as he got older, even in Preschool, the boys made, "gun" noises with their mouths. And made his fingers into a gun shape. Ya know, like how even I did that when I was a kid growing up. My son, could make all types of "sound effects" that my daughter NEVER did. Noises that even my Mom, was so not used to.
So, the opposite could also be assumed: that just because my son grew up amidst a girly Sister and amidst such girly things and pink all over the house in the beginning, does that mean he will grow up to be too "feminine" and turn "girly" himself??????
How ridiculous.
No. He is himself... and he is a TOTAL boy with boy sound effects imagined from his imagination.
NOT copy-cat things.
And he plays so... boy like. Not like his Sister. Who is a girl.
Thankfully, my daughter can hold her own. Oh, did I mention that my daughter takes Karate??? And although she is very girly, she can also hit and kick like a boy. And just because she takes a Marital Art... does that mean she will grow up to be "violent" and psycho and mean???
No.
And my daughter has seen Karate movies. Does that mean she will grow up being brainwashed by it and become a violent mean crazy person?
No.
My son likes to watch Super Hero shows. Does that mean he will become a Super Hero?
No.
Does it mean he will become violent and fight everyone on the street?
No.
Does my son think Nerf guns are neat-o?
Yes.
But he is only 6.
He sees the commercials for it.
I tell him, NO, it is dangerous.
If any of my kids say they want something, because all their friends have it... I tell them "What do you think about that? Do you have your OWN mind... or are you letting others decide things for you?"
And I tell them, "friends" will not "pressure" you to do things.

if your kids are old enough to feel the "peer pressure" of wanting a Nerf gun, they have to be old enough to have "pretended" with their fingers, a straw, a stick, etc. have you really not seen them do this? if not, you must REALLY have pounded it into them. congrats!

honestly my feeling on it is, everything in moderation. children should be taught that having fun with Nerf guns is okay, vs pretending to shoot their dog with a gun is not. as they get older, IF they are interested in a bb gun or whatever, i believe that the smart thing to do would be to educate them about the safety and proper use. otherwise, what happens when they get out on their own and decide, hey, you know what, i want a gun! and have ZERO experience. i think that's much more potentially harmful. -and to think, as mothers we could have prepared them.

the fact is guns exist. prohibition has never worked. the world is what it is and we won't change it by pretending certain aspects just don't exist. i think i'm doing my son more of a service by teaching him realistic lessons, than by insisting he never have anything to do with them. i can't control his life F.. the goal is, as you seem to feel, to raise them to be intelligent, sensitive, thinking, successful adults. i intend to give him the tools to do that as much as i can.

(just one more thought, when we were kids, and our parents, and on back - toy "guns" for little boys was a standard childhood toy. "a pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots..." ya know? parents TAUGHT their children, the proper respect and use. i too wanted to shield my little boy from it at first - a lost cause since most of the men in my family are NRA/hunter/military types. so since our "world" includes guns from time to time - no escaping it - i woke up and realized i would do better to help him learn the right attitude about guns, rather than insist we all pretend they don't exist. just something to think about.)

I think I am raising non-violent, upstanding citizens too and I do not believe that toy guns leads to real violence. I guess that is why I have no problem with toy guns. To each his own:). Not sure why you need back up though. I don't feel the need to justify why my kids can play with guns.

My husband was never allowed to have any junk food as a kid. Now he and his twin sisters are drawn to all sweets, like a moth to a flame. His sisters have terrible eating disorders and will eat several bags of candy, ice cream, donuts, etc EACH day. Luckily my husband is very thin, while his sisters both have had weight loss surgeries.

My point is; when you keep kids away from something and make it out to be something terrible, they will be MORE drawn to it and maybe even obsessed.

I can tell which kids are not allowed to play with nerf guns, when they come to my house. My kids rather play something else while the other kid is obsessed with playing with my kids nerf guns.

I believe in balance.

And you NEVER need back up, your home, your rules.

I'm fairly anti-real guns. I abhor them, and some of the people I've been around who have guns that are just fascinated by them scare me. That being said, I have two boys, 10 and 7.5, and they have nerf guns, 'laser' guns, water guns. Boys can turn a sock into a weapon (who knew?). It must be in their evolutionary make up or something. So instead of resisting their interest, my husband and I get in on the fun too. It's also a learning experience to talk about the physics of projectiles, force and mass. Now that they're a little older, we also discuss how real guns hurt people and how final the results can be and how we feel about guns. While I think you can definitely raise a non-violent child, violence is probably something he will face at some point in his life, mostly in the news vs. in person. I think being able to understand it so he can learn to deal with and avoid it will be a healthy thing.

Playing with Nerf guns is not going to turn your kids into violent criminals. Tons of us grew up playing with toy guns, playing Cops and Robbers, or Star Wars, or squirted water guns at each other, and didn't grow up to be psychopaths. My uncle and cousins all grew up with deer hunting every year and are upstanding non-violent productive members of society. My stepsons play first-person shooter video games, they also do paintball, they are fine. I feel that a child that grows up in an abusive household, a violent neighborhood and/or witnesses violence on a daily basis is much more apt to repeat the behavior than a child in a loving stable home that happens to play with Nerf guns. Children should be taught to respect guns as weapons, and gun safety, not just that "guns are bad." I also feel teens needs to be taught how to keep themselves protected from pregnancy and disease if they are going to choose to have sex, not just "sex is bad." - they will still do it anyway, but now they don't know how to keep themselves safe.

You can stick to your principles on this one if you want, because I do feel that as a parent, you have every right to allow or disallow whatever you find offensive. Your house, your rules. But I would also consider that the more you "forbid" something, the more alluring it may become, and in some way, your kids are missing out on what I would consider harmless fun with their friends. If there was a child that for whatever reason was already displaying violent tendencies or an over-the-top fascination with guns, bombs, weapons, etc., I would be much more leery. But for most kids, it's really not that big a deal.

My daughter has a cap gun (I had one too) and a plastic pirate gun. We also own real guns (they are kept in a locked gun safe) and she understands the difference. When she is a little bigger we will teach her how to use a real gun (rifle) since we are not against hunting.

I don't believe owning a gun (toy or real) makes people violent. Most guns used in violent crimes were obtained illegally. People that have permits will also have training to use them and rarely just go around shooting people. They do background checks and fingerprinted to get a concealed carry permit, and you have to take a test (at least that is how it is here in Florida).

If you are not comfortable letting your children play with them then don’t buy them any, but I am sure they do it at their friends’ houses.

You're the mom so you do what feel is right for your kids. My opinion? I firmly believe that you shouldn't let kids play with toy guns (Nerf, marshmallow, BB, paintball, etc) until they have seen the damage a real gun can do first hand. Maybe that sounds kind of crazy, and is probably not going to be a popular response. Oh well.
My father took me out in the woods hunting when I was 6. He showed me the damage a gun can do and explained what would happen if someone accidentally got shot, how dangerous guns are and why. Then he handed me a BB gun and explained proper gun handling and hunting safety. This lesson has stuck we me my whole life and I had a respect at a very young age. Let me tell you, I knew the difference between shooting a nerf ball at someone and the real deal, and I was as nonviolent as they come.

The position in our house has always been no toy guns. Guns are not toys. Having said that.... We held firm with it and made many inlaws and friends shake their heads and say your weird. When my oldest son hit 5th grade he started talking about the local miliarty college prep school. It wasn't til he hit about 10th grade that he said it was because he knew that he would learn to shoot a rifle etc. He did go on to the school and learned to shoot the rifle. in fact went to the junior olympics and holds several state titles which is cool. But even now when the grandchildren want guns he will say guns are not toys. so thats our stand.

Because my younger brother was killed by our neighbor's son in an accidental shooting, I DETEST guns. I do not allow my kids to have toy guns in any capacity because I can't stand looking at the things. My oldest, a girl, has never been interested. My seven year old son knows to not even ask. My three year old hasn't had any exposure to toy guns yet, but he will learn too that he is not allowed to play with them.

I'm with you all the way. I see no need for kids to have guns and shoot each other. I might go along with nerf guns, however, because they don't look anything like a real gun.

I don't think letting them play with a nerf gun will turn them into violent people and good for you for not giving in to the video game craze! We have a system at home that is strictly used to stream movies - we don't own one single game (much to the chagrin of my 8 grandchildren!) If their parents want to let them learn to be mean, violent people who don't bat an eye blood, gore and human tragedy, that's their business but they won't be like that at my house.

You are, however, more generous is your opinion about licensed gun carrying. I don't see any need for it and I believe that it sets the wrong tone for our children. Personally, if I saw a person in a public establishment with a gun on their side, I would not patronize the business any longer.

My philosophy is if there is a gun around, someone is going to get shot. Maybe by accident, maybe not, but nothing good EVER comes from possessing a firearm!

And it's not really any protection since the law requires them to be unloaded. Now you've made yourself a target for the numerous hoodlums out there who want to steal your gun! They are going to approach with a loaded firearm so what the hell good is your unloaded gun on your side? None!

I have never liked it. I enjoyed rough and violent play as a girl, but I never thought that guns were supposed to be toys. I don't like the idea of pointing any gun at somebody for "fun". I don't speak against it for other people, but nobody is welcome to do it at my house. When I have babysat for children whose parents allowed it (years ago, when I worked in childcare), I encouraged them to find something else to do. I don't even like water guns; we use spray bottles or hoses.

Now, I don't mind shooting at things. I don't like it, but I won't get on a soap box about it. I am just against pointing guns at people. I don't encourage any shooting, though.

I totally understand how you feel because I felt the same way when my kids were younger. My daughter is a girly girl even though we didn't necessarily raise her that way, she just is, so for her it wasn't an issue. For my son who is two years younger, we tried so hard to keep them from him, but I could tell he was becoming fixated on having some kind of gun when he was around 4 years old. So I slowly let him have them--first a water gun, then a space gun, then Nerfs. We also talked about real guns and how they hurt people and you have to be safe. We talked about NEVER "sneaking" a gun because it could be real or letting a friend show you a gun (like "come check out my dad's gun" or something like that). If you take the taboo off of it and teach safety etc., you and your kids are much better off. Of course I had these discussions with my daughter as well. I still cringe sometimes when my son plays guns. I just don't like them or violence. But at least I know he is aware of what real guns look like verses toy guns and safety and commmon sense around them. He has shot a few BB guns and air soft guns with supervision and education. I don't mind so much when he is aiming at cans or a bullseye target, but when he is running around with friends and they are trying to shoot each other, I really don't like it.

I don't have a problem with Nerf type of guns. I do have a problem with some toys that do look like real guns. I have shot off guns at coke cans and don't get me wrong that is a huge stress release when I get a chance to do so. My son does know that he can hurt someone if he touches a gun and that he should never ever handle one at all. I don't want my son to be afraid of knowing there are guns around but at the same time I want him to understand that they are not toys for him to play with.

I don't feel comfortable seeing kids play games in which they shoot at one another. I'm getting to the point that it seems to real for me. If it really happened, I'd be heartsick.

I don't see why you need back-up. You're the mom. If this is how you and your childrens father feel about toy guns then you have final say.

This would be a good lesson for your boys resisting peer pressure and how a parent's values need to take precedent over the pressure of friends. Think of this as a test of what it could be like when the children are offered/pressured to toke up or have a beer when they're 14 or 15. How you handle this will be important.

We have Nerf guns, water guns, and some other types of guns that are for certain types of playing but we do not buy any toy guns that look like real guns at all.

We have guns in our home and the kids have been taught rules and that they are not toys. I do believe that if kids were knowledgeable about guns they would not be playing with real ones and hurt others accidentally, just my thoughts on the subject but I have never had any sort of experience with that.

I do think that it is unrealistic to expect your kids to never be exposed to playing shooting or playing games where they are pretend shooting. They are going to play with other kids when you are not around and they are going to do it even at home once they get old enough. So if you don't want them to play that sort of game you need to make sure you talk to them and teach them all about gun safety so if they walk out the door and one is laying there they know what it is and they should not touch it.

I have heard it is often the kids who don't have knowledge about guns and have not been taught are the ones that get hurt or killed from them.

So just educate the kids a lot and tell them they aren't supposed to play with them.

HI,

i didn't read all your responses and I am sure you got lots of support. But I really just wanted to give you support as well. I don't have boys, just 2 girls so I may not know, but I am not comfortable when my daughter starts shooting (she picks up from school), I thought its just me being sensistive because I have girls and I am not used to having boys which may be a normal game for them. So its nice to know I am not alone on this, boys or girls.

I'm sorry but I am going to be the one who says no. No guns. That's our rule. My kids don't play with violent toys not even swords, knifes or water squirters. I gave them spray bottles instead. I grew up in a country were gun violence is the norm and life is not worth a lot. Last year one of the children brought his new nerf gun on the bus to show his friends his new toy. He was 6. He probably sneaked it without his parent permission but our school district has a zero tollrence policy on anything reassembling a weapon. The kid got suspended for a week. I am sure he did not understand the difference. Most kids don't. Good luck.