Hot Topic!!! Your kids and Toy Guns- what is your stance?

Toy Guns for your kids? 

So, here we are, my little family of four, standing at Bass Pro, checking out the "kids" section.  

My little ladies see these popper guns, you know the ones, they have a cork that "POPs" when you pull the trigger...its kind of large and of course P I N K and my girls want one! 

Hubby of course if all for it.. I am kind of apprehensive.  I mean, there is this thing in society of "doing the right thing" in regards to Parenting. 

What would you do? 

Toy guns are just that.  TOYS!  My Husband and I are both CCW certified and I even own my own firearm.  I was trained to use it, know the safety measures to take to make sure my family is safe, when not in use and also believe that in a situation where my family is in danger, I will shoot!  So, why was I apprehensive.  Wouldn't I, as a Parent, want my children to feel safe around firearms, ensuring that they know how to use them, in an emergency life or death situation?  Oey Vey... On some level YES, but it is so fuzzy.  With all the shootings in America over the years, and much more recently is that enough?  I mean, really think about it.  How many of these mass shootings have involved kids/teens who were educated on firearms?  Well, we don't really know, do we.  I would love to think that NONE of them have been properly trained to know when/how to use a firearm- apparently they missed the WHEN question, right!  A firearm is a killing machine.  Point blank, that is my stance!  Like I said, I have my firearm as a means of protection.  I do carry, let that be clear. Do my children know, nope.  They are five and three people!  So, that being said, and as a person, me being a Pro Firearms individual in this society, what is the big deal with a Toy Gun? 

That day, we did not buy Popper Guns.  I just feel that my children are too young and we will cross that road when they are a bit older and can understand!  It is kind of crazy though because we do play pirates and have Nerf swords that are at play in my household.  I just do not want to set that precedent that guns pointed at people to POP are OK.  Call me a hypocrite if you will, but that is just my personal feelings.  I think that my kiddos need to understand that you do not ever, under any circumstance point a gun at someone unless you are fearing for your life or in absolute danger.  Toy gun or real gun.  Doesn't start with play though? I mean, think about it, as a child you are acting out your imagination. So, you will most likely take these situations with you into Adulthood.  

Back to those swords that we play pirate with, I have been very careful to teach my girls that although we have sword fights, the importance of TOY swords vs. a sharp blade that can hurt, potentially kill someone. And I love the funny looks that I get when I say Kill.  My five year old always, always says, "Kill someone Dead, Mom."  Innocence.  A sword is not a gun.  There is control that a person has over a sword that they lack with an automatic gun, right. 

 

What are your views?  How do/did/will you handle this in your household?  

I will tell you that my Hubby thinks that I am absolutely ridiculous and even wanted to purchase a set of smaller guns with the powder pops- um, absolutely NO!  Luckily, these girls were more impressed with the stuffed animals that make noise, oh and Cotton Candy!  We walked out without Guns that trip. The next one, I can't be so sure.  

Here are some stories and views from others in regards to Guns at Play:

Parents Magazine:

"Parents" magazine that found that 71% of parents think it's okay for kids to play with toy guns. As a kid, I played with cap guns. I played with water guns.

And I this I I'm okay with my kid playing with water guns. I agree with you. My kids have water guns.

No problems? Not a big deal. I don't like the realistic ak-47s too much.

But a water gun. I think everybody's okay. I never let my kids have any type of toy guns.

No toys that represent a killing machine. I understand the feeling. But realistically -- A water gun is not a killing machine.

It's all about parental involvement and guidance. We all had water guns. And most of us did not grow up to be violent criminals.

Fox News:

TOY GUNS: 'Zero tolerance' toward schoolkids could backfire
(FOX NEWS) -

Little boys around the nation keep getting in trouble for guns – whether they're made of plastic, formed by fingers or even fashioned from Pop-Tarts – but some experts say having "zero tolerance" for games children have played for centuries is turning the adults into bullies and backfiring on kids.

Elementary educators trying to discourage children from settling pretend beefs with pretend guns is nothing new. But in the aftermath of the Connecticut school shooting, and with the grownups increasingly polarized over the Second Amendment, rules for recess, on the bus and in the classroom have become stricter than ever.

Some say too strict.

"These zero-tolerance policies are psychotic, in the strict sense of the word: psychotic means ‘out of touch with reality,'" Dr. Leonard Sax, a Pennsylvania psychologist and family physician, and author of "Boys Adrift," told FoxNews.com.

In recent months, there have been several examples of children being disciplined for what was once seen as innocent role play.

A group of students was suspended this month from a Washington state elementary school for using Nerf dart guns as part of a math lesson, despite having permission from their teacher.

In March, second-grader Josh Welch was suspended from a Maryland elementary school after unknowingly biting a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun.

"I just kept on biting it and biting it and tore off the top of it, and it kind of looked like a gun," Welch told a local Fox affiliate.

Last month, also in Maryland, a 5-year-old boy who brought an orange-tipped cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus was suspended for 10 days, according to his family and a lawyer. The child was grilled for more than two hours by a school principal and wet himself, according to his family.

Girls have been swept up in the phenomenon as well. In January, a fifth-grade student in Philadelphia broke down in tears after being scolded in front of her classmates for accidentally bringing to school a piece of paper that was folded into the shape of a gun and given to her by her grandfather. And a 6-year-old South Carolina girl was expelled after bringing a toy gun to school.

Sax said he worries about the long-term effect, particularly on boys, of being told the games they play make them bad.

"Out-of-touch policies such as these, which criminalize behaviors which have always been common among young kids, are contributing to the growing proportion of American kids, especially boys, who regard school as a stupid waste of time and who can't wait to get out of school so that they can get back to playing their video games," Sax said.

Dr. Dan Kindlon, a child psychology professor at Harvard University who specializes in behavioral problems of children and adolescents, said school administrators have a strong basis for delivering the anti-gun message to kids.

"It would seem to be an overreaction to discipline a 6-year-old for pretending his finger is a gun barrel, but I am sure that the specter of Sandy Hook, Columbine, et cetera, haunts the dreams of many school administrators," said Kindlon.

Sax doesn't disagree, but said those school administrators should get their point across in a less heavy-handed way.

"There are more effective ways to encourage good behavior and to discourage criminal behavior, without disengaging boys from school altogether," Sax said.

A Hayward, Calif., elementary school is planning a toy gun exchange for later this month, modeled after the exchanges law enforcement authorities hold to collect real guns. Kids who hand in the play weapons will get a book and a raffle ticket for a bicycle. Strobridge Elementary Principal Charles Hill said he hopes rounding up the toy guns will stop kids from growing up to play with real ones.

"Playing with toy guns, saying ‘I'm going to shoot you,' desensitizes them, so as they get older, it's easier for them to use a real gun," Hill told the Mercury News.

While the toy gun trade-in may be a more reasonable way to address the issue than suspending or expelling children, Yih-Chau Chang, spokesman for Responsible Citizens of California, said kids can handle make-believe games, even if their educators can't.

"Having a group of children playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians is a normal part of growing up," Chang said.

Pellet Gun Scare and Parent Reaction

Trying to Capture the Humor!  

I can see both views here and I do get it.  Maybe I am even a little enlightened by these readings, but at this time, we will not be purchasing until my girls can comprehend the educational information on firearms, real or fake!  This is my view and I totally understand that others will disagree, and I am OK with that.  Am I against firearms, absolutely not. I think that is why my views are so interesting, because I do believe in guns, I do believe in the legalization of them in our society but I also believe that education has to fall hand in hand with them.  If you are not educated on Gun Safety, you have no business carrying a firearms.  

Gun Safety in the Home by Massad Ayoob

I would love your feedback!  Feel free to email me, or post a comment on my blog!  

Until next time!

KEL