[marvin]

WaPo: My Boys Like Shootouts. What's Wrong With That?

Real guns, toy guns only, or no guns for kids? Why?

This is assuming appropriate ages and proper adult supervision. (i.e. Giving a 4 year old your Deerslayer 3000 and letting her loose with it does not meet these criteria.)

I'm 24 now. Like most second generation suburban Asian Americans, my family owned no "real" guns. My brothers and I had plenty of toy guns though. Water guns, cap guns, rubber band guns, dart guns, Nerf guns... You name it, we had them when we were kids. No toy swords, too flimsy and relatively high cost. You can do wonders with just duct tape and newspaper.

Fast forward a few years to middle school, Boy Scouts, and the Rifle Marksmanship badge. Easily one of the highlights of the Boy Scout experience. About the same time, my dad decided we were old enough to trust us with the air pistol, under his strict supervision of course. Some of my fonder memories of childhood were of sitting on the back porch on summer afternoons and plinking at cans with him.

So sign me up for the full measure. Childhood wouldn't have been the same without 'em.

NOTE: I'd like to keep politics out of this one. Mods, feel free to delete this thread if it's too political. Thanks.

 

[goldenratiophi]

Nothing wrong with toy guns IMO. I'm nervous around real guns though; can't even trust myself with one!

 

[Hoppergrass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldenratiophi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nothing wrong with toy guns IMO. I'm nervous around real guns though; can't even trust myself with one!

X2

 

[3x331m]

I believe in Karma... no gun is needed. I do own knifes for survival.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Nothing wrong with toy guns. If they're replicas or airsoft/paintball guns, i would have to see how responsible my kid is. I'm a teenager and i proved to my parents that i was mature and responsible enough to own a few airsoft guns and used them properly. It was my money anyways

 

[The Pieman]

This subject has come up in the public arena in Australia where some primary (years 1- 6) schools have banned toy guns. Alot of people, like me, think this is ludicrous and even alot of child psychologists have said it is stupid. The child psychologists have said that having or not having toy guns will not make any difference in the aggressive tendencies of children. As some of them have said they can see this stuff on the tele anytime.

 

[tjohnusa]

Education...Education...Education of course I am talking about real guns. I also had toy guns as a child and never had the need to feel I had to shoot someone with a real gun. As the OP mentioned it was only under supervision he was allowed the step up from a toy gun. I sadly feel that in this world of latch key kids some of what is lost is a basic respect for many things. I would imagine that if the Columbine killers had parents that put more emphisis on family instead of two BMW's in the driveway that the killings never would have occured. Sorry if I got a little off topic.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

This reminds me of Columbine... I was just viewing the website the other day reading about every victum and their autopsy reports

.

 

[melomaniac]

fwiw, I opposed toy weapons - until one day, sharing stories with a friend who was also a dad of a young child, he told me he was brought up the same as me: father did not serve in the military, grandparents had terrible war experiences in europe, so both our parents felt weapons were not to toy with. however, when he was a kid, he had nightmares and was sent to a therapist. the first thing the therapist did was bring out toy tanks, soldiers, guns, the works. after a few violent play sessions, my friend's nightmares went away. now we both see that (as long as the line between fantasy and reality is marked) play with weapons is important for kids (not just boys by the way): it's a way to act out emotions and lessons about power, etc. - in response to the poster above, I'd like to add: look at many european as well as asian countries. toy weapons are not controversial there, yet their cultures are less violent than the US. maybe something to be said in favor of toy weapons.

 

[boomana]

I grew up around guns. My family wasn't into them, but it was a general rite of passage to get a BB gun around age 11-13, and a real gun when you were a little older. Most kids got rifles for hunting, but I have fond memories of shooting handguns into traps (using magazine pics as targets) in my friends' families' basements. It was something to do on a rainy day (seriously). Not one of my friends grew up to be violent, and I'm still in contact with many from those days. I turned out to be a wimp, pacifist, vegan, but I still wouldn't mind going to a shooting range for fun.

 

[The Monkey]

I was raised in a very anti-gun family, and I've held on to some of that, though not as much.

I don't intend to let my son play with toy guns. My reasons: a) Deal-breaker for Mrs. Monkey

and b) I believe a gun is a tool that people use in the carrying out of their jobs (law enforcement, soldiers, etc.); if my son chooses such a path, then the appropriate tool will be issued to him then and he'll be taught to use it.

[size=xx-small]Edit: and then maybe he'll take his old man to the range...[/size]

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3x331m /img/forum/go_quote.gif I believe in Karma... no gun is needed. I do own knifes for survival.

If I may ask, what is the association between guns and karma for you? Karma deals with actions, not objects. To me, the act of owning a gun has no karmic consequences unless I employ it in an unjust manner. Same as with any other tool.

Also, if you mean "self-defense" when you say "survival", what is the difference between using a gun and a knife if the purpose is to preserve your life?

 

[Coltrane]

Regardless of ones feelings on guns for adults, they certainly are not a play toy. I find playing with guns to be fairly reprehensible (yes, I payed with guns, yes I can from a pro-gun family.) Even gun games are pretty crazy. Nobody should ever 'play' war.

Whether it makes a substantive difference in behavior is not the point. Just as ends do not justify means, lack of ends doesn't justify means either. Turning violence into a game is unacceptable.

 

[tjohnusa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coltrane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Regardless of ones feelings on guns for adults, they certainly are not a play toy. I find playing with guns to be fairly reprehensible (yes, I payed with guns, yes I can from a pro-gun family.) Even gun games are pretty crazy. Nobody should ever 'play' war. Whether it makes a substantive difference in behavior is not the point. Just as ends do not justify means, lack of ends doesn't justify means either. Turning violence into a game is unacceptable.

I can appreciate your sensibilities but "playing war" may be as old as war itself. It is probably the first yearning as a young man in his quest for adult hood. Hopefully it is the sense to protect the ones he loves. My son is a former Marine and he explained that very sense to me when I asked him why he wanted to join...he entered bootcamp on 9/02 so it wasn't for the patriotic response of 9/11. As a parent you should know that many children seek out what is "forbidden" when they are old enough to obtain these things for themselves because they are of age. Your only hope is that you taught them the difference between right and wrong and they will make the best decision for themselves. I think the worst thing you can do to your children is to teach them "because it's wrong" without an explanation of why.

 

[Kirosia]

I'm no parent, but I've friends/family who let their children play with toy guns (water-, nerf, et al). I personally don't think it'll directly lead them to gunnin' people down, though I've no real basis.

Me personally, I played with water/cap guns and toy samurai swords as a kid. Weapons always interested me somewhat, cause I like video games and action flicks. *But* I never had a random urge to pick up the real thing and go mess people up. That said, I may buy a handgun in the future. One of my boys (a hustler) got grazed by some slobs, and a few years ago some acquaintances were blasted at by some drunk dudes. I've been jumped before and will probably be attacked again. The gun will mostly be a deterrent. Mostly.