Moral Quandry

As I always say, Guns dont kill people, people kill people.

I agree 100%. DS has a few toy guns, and he is just over 2. I dont mind if he has them at all. I will explain to him what guns do etc when he is old enough. I think if you educate your child about guns then i dont think they will turn into a mass murderer

Ok so I only have girls but if they asked me I would let them have toy guns as in water guns (don't know what a NERF gun is!) but I wouldn't let them have a gun that looked real.

I live on a farm and my stepdad has quite a few guns. My DS will be taught gun safety and how to shoot when hes alot older. He wont be getting any toy guns that look real when hes old enough though.

No guns. No water pistols. No nurfs.

I have 3 boys and these things will NEVER be allowed in my house. I am their mother and if I don't protect their innocent minds, who the hell will?
I'm sorry, but with all the violence and shootings you hear about EVERY news bullitin somewhere in the world I will never be ok with glorifying guns. It's saying violence is ok, and it's not.

I don't let my children watch the news, or violent shows, i don't let them hurt other people or swear, as a parent I make rules, they are there for a reason and my children will respect that. I can't wrap them up in cotton wool and shield them from all the nastiness in the world, but damn it they are my babies and I will try!

My brother and I never had guns/swords growing up and there is certainly nothing we missed out on.

There are hundreds of toys/activities/games that can be played that encourage them to use their imagination which don't contain violence.

better than them resorting to spit balls I suppose tongue

No guns. No water pistols. No nurfs.

I have 3 boys and these things will NEVER be allowed in my house. I am their mother and if I don't protect their innocent minds, who the hell will?
I'm sorry, but with all the violence and shootings you hear about EVERY news bullitin somewhere in the world I will never be ok with glorifying guns. It's saying violence is ok, and it's not.

Hey there, just wanted to comment and I am not disregarding what you have written as that is yourview and you are entitled to that , but both DH and myself use guns, we have a locked cabinet with 5 guns in it, the kids have been with us whilst using them but we are not violent people and we do not condone violence, the kids are taught the dangers of guns, they know that people shooting guns can cause death etc. We use guns for hunting, they see rabbits shot and either cooked or used for dog food, they see the ducks shot and eaten for dinner.

Our kids when playing with their toy guns go outside and 'hunt' for dinner,that is what they know, we have taught them that guns are NEVER to be pointed at people, not even toys and they are confiscated if they are.

So just wanted to say that we DO NOT say violence is OK

i honestly dont think letting kids play with fake guns will make them violent.... i play grand theft auto on playstation and i dont go stealiing cars and beatiing up hookers LOL

i find that kids that cant play with something etc are more likely to rebel anyways

I only have a daughter and she has never seen a gun yet played with a toy one so I am basing my info on what I would do, IMO.

Its such a personal choice and each to there own, I think if children are educated about the risks and informed about them, then a toy gun to be played with (with rules for the 'play') would be acceptable. I can see where other mothers are coming from in regards to not wanting there children to play with guns. It's such a taboo subject now a days with all the shootings and the likes going on.

Do what you feel is right smile

I think that it too is only a game.

My DP had an interesting side to this argument. He was NEVER allowed to play with guns growing up, so as soon as he was old enough to have a job he bought one on the black market. Now he is older he does have them legally, but he said that in his opinion is more dangerous to hide things like guns from kids, because then as soon as they can they do get one and it could be more dangerous.

i am actually really undecided on this one. ds does the puill puill noise and points his finger or random object when he does it. tell him to not do it AT people cos it bothers me, especially when he does it at dd.

but a fortnight ago we had a playdate at my sil and my 6 year old nephew walked my son out to the lounge room. my nephew was behind him holding a toy gun to his back and ds had both his hands up in the air with a 'i have no idea what is going on, mummy is this ok' expression on his face. without even thinking i told my nephew off for it. once again before my sil could even intervene (she must get so annoyed at me smile ).

i just did not like it one bit and what it implied. maybe when he is older, but i just dont know now...

As the mum of an almost teenage boy. They still play pretend shoot em up games with whatever is available if there is no toy guns.

I have no problem with toy guns. They are just that toys. And he knows the difference between a fun game and the real thing which is a huge NO NO & causes death & pain.

Nerf guns are huge at the moment. And we all play water pistols in summer.

Hey there, just wanted to comment and I am not disregarding what you have written as that is yourview and you are entitled to that , but both DH and myself use guns, we have a locked cabinet with 5 guns in it, the kids have been with us whilst using them but we are not violent people and we do not condone violence, the kids are taught the dangers of guns, they know that people shooting guns can cause death etc. We use guns for hunting, they see rabbits shot and either cooked or used for dog food, they see the ducks shot and eaten for dinner.

Our kids when playing with their toy guns go outside and 'hunt' for dinner,that is what they know, we have taught them that guns are NEVER to be pointed at people, not even toys and they are confiscated if they are.

So just wanted to say that we DO NOT say violence is OK

I respect that guns have their place, i.e for farming/hunting purposes, security, war etc; but that place will never be in my home. I believe (like most things) it comes down to the parenting; and unfortunately a lot of the time children are given toy guns and told to 'go play' without any explanation of the rules or what a gun is and can do. I respect the way you have discussed it with your children.

In my opinion, (and it's just that; MY opinion), there is no need for children to be exposed to toy guns.

I would never tell another parent how to raise their child. We make educated, informed decisions about what we feel is best for OUR child. Each to their own.... smile

And in regards to KW60F2, your DP going out and getting a gun on the black market is a pretty extreme and rare demonstration of rebelling. I'd be interested to know if he was educated about guns/violence as a child, or if he came from a more sheltered background?

I have been blessed to be raised in an open minded, educated family. We spoke about everything from history, war, violence, drugs, sex and politics around the dinner table. There was no 'taboo' subject and we were educated on actions and consequences, which left no wondering or desire to go out and do something just because we were told not to.