Toy guns and your kids

[Texpatriate]

I did a search on this and I couldn't find a thread like this.

As a boy both my dad and my grandfather were moderately into guns, mostly hunting rifles and shotguns, and my grandfather was the BAR man in his platoon during WW2. I had toy guns of my own, and when I was of the appropriate age I got a BB gun, graduated to a .22 later on, and then a youth model Winchester shotgun.

Fast forward to the present. I now have two boys, a 2 year old and an 8 week old. Already our 2 year old is using random toys and sticks to pretend they are swords or guns! So I'm wondering if it's appropriate to buy him a little pop gun or something to encourage this behavior or not? Do I want him to think of a firearm as a toy than he can run around and point at/pretend to shoot whatever he wants? Or do I want him to think of a firearm as a tool that can be fun to use, but is dangerous if used improperly? How have you handled this situation with your kids? If you've decided to let your kids play with toy guns without parental supervision, at what age did you feel this was appropriate?

 

[kingpin008]

Personally - My kids will NOT have toy guns. I had toy guns growing up, and I was nothing but irresponsible with them. Even with the best gun safety lessons and supervision from parents, kids will want to play cops 'n robbers, cowboys 'n indians, etc. and will be tempted to use them unsafely and learn bad habits. When I have kids, and they're old enough, I'll teach them gun safety, and let them come with me when I shoot. if they show interest, I'll get them their own guns after I can be sure that they understand gun safety and what is needed to be responsible with them.

Guns aren't toys, but they can be fun.

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

puh-lease. get him a pop gun. toy guns don't make someone "less gun safe" or tech them bad habits
with all due respect Kingpin, I disagree with you on this one. But you're entitled to your opinion.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

I don't see anything wrong with kids playing with toy guns. Its been happening for well over 100 years. I played with guns all the time and I'm not irresponsible(you have my word I guess).

Even if you don't give them guns the thumb and fore-finger make fantastic improvised guns. Plus they don't run outta ammo

 

[fletcher]

puh-lease. get him a pop gun. toy guns don't make someone "less gun safe" or tech them bad habits

I agree. I had toy guns and had no problem differentiating between something that actually fired a projectile and an immobile piece of plastic with regards to safety.

 

[Crunker1337]

I think it's okay to get toy guns that don't actually shoot anything dangerous, but I'd hold off on BB guns and other potentially dangerous "toys" until they know gun safety.

 

[arthurcw]

Texpatriate,

Your call. You’re the parents. If the wife is on board then why not? A toy is a toy.

But if you two are not on the same page or you feel your kid is not ready to understand the difference… You know your kids better we do.

There are some 40 year olds I would not give a big bright orange nerf gun to. But alas, Natural Selection and Micro Evolution will have to deal with them.

 

[SheB61]

Children have been playing with toy weapons since caveman days....

Letting them play with toy guns is a good way for you to introduce them to some of the safety issues. Kids are surprisingly smart (whodathunkit?!?!?) and with some parental instruction, they will know that real guns are to be treated differently than the plastic ones!

 

[Im283]

The grandson is allowed to have any toy gun he wants. He certainly knows the difference, even at 4.5 years, old between toy guns and my real guns.
and FWIW I consider BB guns to be real guns.

He is a kid and is allowed to have fun, I do work with him on trigger discipline and not sweeping people with the muzzle unless he intends to shoot them

 

[chiliPEQUIN]

I still own a M16 automatic water gun. I also have an Uzi water pistol still too.
I love my toy guns and I had enough brains to know which to play with and which to leave alone.

 

[pdowg881]

Just make sure they know the difference from a toy and a firearm. Don't deprive him of playing cops and robbers. I used to have so much fun with cap guns and nerf guns.

 

[kingpin008]

Hey, to everyone who seems to be downing me for my choice not to let my (future) children play with toy guns - I'm glad you feel that way, because that's your choice. I came to my decision based on the way that I was with toy guns as a child, and I don't think that's a good way to be introduced to guns. My choice, my opinion. If you want to let your kids play with toy guns, that's totally cool with me, I have absolutely no problem with that. But please, don't act like I'm going to be "depriving" my children of anything, because I'm not. I'm doing the best I can to figure out how to raise my (future) children based on what I've learned in my life so far.

That being said - my kids will be allowed squirt guns, and all that sort of thing. I just don't like the idea of letting kinds run around with bb guns, and all that stuff without supervision, because I know the trouble myself and my friends got into with ours. I'd much rather guns be FUN, than TOYS to my kids.

That's all I'm trying to say.

 

[TallPine]

I grew up with toy guns, played all those cop&robber, cowboy&indian type games, and I haven't turned out to be a mass murderer or anything yet. In fact, I still feel more comfortable with single action revolvers after all those cowboy cap guns.

We didn't have to face this question because we had all girls. If I had given them a toy gun or even a dump truck, they would have wrapped it up in a blanket and cuddled it.

I started them on a single shot .22 at about 8 years old.

 

[RNB65]

Every kid should have toy guns, whether he wants them or not!

 

[BBQJOE]

After graduating from paper cap guns the wasp guns came out.
Man they were loud!!!
And cool too.

But that was in my world, you have to decide what's in yours.

 

[zeroskillz]

My girl has her very own rubber band pistol

 

[Colt]

My kids have cap guns and squirt guns that they can do whatever they like with. There are perpetual games of cops and robbers in our yard.

But the BB guns are used on our target range only, to shoot BB targets, and they don't leave the property.

They carrry their BB guns hunting with me, but only to plink at things, not shoot at animals. It's good training, because I can teach them muzzle discipline with minimal danger to myself and others.

But when they are old enough to carry a real gun hunting, they will be given a choice between hunting or paintball. I do not want them putting humans in the sights of their paintball gun one day, and carrying a lethal weapon into the woods the next. I want a human outline in the crosshairs to be unnatural and "scream" NO! to them when they are hunting.

But until they're old enough to carry a truley lethal weapon, they can be kids and play as kids should, IMO.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

puh-lease. get him a pop gun. toy guns don't make someone "less gun safe" or tech them bad habits

+1

All that matters is that he/she knows the difference when the time comes to teach them real firearms safety...If it is hard for them to learn the difference, then your kid isn't mature enough to learn yet and wait a bit longer.

Kids are kids, don't deprive them of cap guns, they are too much d*** fun!!!!!

But now that there are airsoft guns, they need to know its not the same as a BB gun either though.

 

[pdowg881]

.

 

[pdowg881]

Colt, I progressed from cap/nerf guns, then bb and paintball around the same time. I was farily competitive playing speedball and stuff. I have put plenty of humans in the sights of my paintball gun and yes shot them! Paintball is an established sport with national tournaments. It is in no way like shooting a firearm at someone. A paintball gun is designed to do little if any harm to someone besides a welt. I don't play it with a fantasy or illusion of what would happen if I did this with a firearm. If your old enough to use any kind of gun, real, fake, or pnuematic powered hardened gelatin ball filled with paint launcher, then you should know the difference.

And I often do put people in the sights so my paintball gun that are participating one day, then walk into my woods with a shotgun the next to shoot something. Like it has been repeated over and over, if they can't tell the difference they should not have any type of gun. Toy or not.

 

[yhtomit]

"After graduating from paper cap guns the wasp guns came out."

Can someone explain what wasp guns are?

Having recently been made aware of the insane prohibition even on airguns in Philadelphia, I'd like to come up with some fun (yet legal) plinking device for my student apartment. (Until I checked up on it, I figured I could just set up a mini Airsoft range, but apparently even those are out. Obnoxious.)

Am I down to rubber hands, or is it all the way to thumb-and-forefinger?
Perhaps something like this: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/warfare/72f4/

timothy

 

[Dorryn]

When I was a child, my parents tried to prevent me from having toy guns. Every stick I picked up became a gun. Every food group that could be handled I shaped into a gun. And *gasp* I probably pointed these sticks and malformed pancakes at other kids as well as my sisters!

Children are children and act as such. Responsibility as an adult has little connection to the play children engage in. Playing with a toy does not in any way predict adult behavior... or how many of us drive they way we played with toy trucks?

People who justify not buying toy guns for their children are, in many respects, antis. Its the same fear and lack of trust.

 

[kingpin008]

Dorryn - I'd appreciate not being compared to an anti. I have no problem with my kids owning and using guns, I just want to be able to teach them to use and respect them as well as I am able to. I clarified some of my statements, and I know you're not specifically referring to me when you say that - but it's insulting nonetheless.

No hard feelings, but I do want to clear that up. I am 100% for gun ownership and use. I just have a different view of certain types of "toys" and their place around my children.

 

[Beatnik]

I got my BB gun before I had shot a .22.
What was the first thing I did? Shot my brother.

.22 didn't even seem like much more than a toy. It wasn't until I got to shotguns and pistols (skipped the 30-06 and heavy stuff until adulthood) that it sunk in - hey, these things kill.

Only one daughter yet, but she's getting the clear separation between what's a toy and what ain't. She'll have access to toy guys - she'll also have her own suit of armor and go full contact with me (I'm another kind of dork as well). And she'll have access to real guns. But she's going to know from the start which is for what purpose.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

she'll also have her own suit of armor and go full contact with me

What are you talking about?