Kids playing guns - can we discuss?

My $0.02. I would bet that even in ancient China, two little boys picked up sticks and started pretending they were swords. Boys pick up anything and pretend it's a gun. The Nerf thing is harmless.

Video games where you shoot and kill people probably have a worse impact.

I understand your concern, but I think you're ok there.

I'm with GomesBolt on this one.  No big deal.  Every so often it would devolve into, "I got you!,"  "No you didn't!"  "I got you first!"  Fun stuff.  

The first-person shooter video games are not appropriate imo.  You want a shooter game?  Play darts.  ...or, if you're an old stodgy stick in the mud fogie like me, whip out an old NES and play Duck Hunt.  

You are fine and your kids will be well adjusted. How do I know this? because you are thinking abut your kids and involved [now if you hand your 6 year old an empty .22 to play with - um, this would be a problem] in their lives. Your kids are doing what boys have been doing for thousands of years. It is just part of our culture. Boys play cowboys and indians, video games, war, or actually real hunting; girls play school, house, and dress up. These 'games" are just part of our societal norms and nearly all know the difference between reality and playtime.

I don't have kids, just fur babies; American Pit Bull Terriers to be exact. Just like real kids and my furry kids... it is how you raise them. There will always be an exception to the norm just like the _________ in Connecticut. Most shocking news stories involve someone at the center who was mentally unstable or lived in the most horrid social structure and is a product of their environment.

Sometimes, I think we as adults forget just how easily kids learn things. The simple act of throwing or being hit with a rock teaches a simple yet important lesson about pain and how/ why not to inflict it on others.

Just hug you kids and tell them you love them. 

I'm not sure what your fear is.. ? 

Thanks for the replies. Like I said, we are very sensitive right now. I did not grow up playing guns, my parents did not have a gun (that I know of anyway), and I have ZERO exposure to guns. I grew up with sisters, we just did not play this way and it makes me uncomfortable.

But I hear what you are saying. I will chill.

I like that. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with what everyone has already said.  I would add that the 1st person video games are far more treacherous than playing guns, army, cowboys and indians, etc. because in the video the person/character never comes back to life.  After you shoot the person you move past them and keep killing more characters.  When I played army my opponents always got back up and played another game with me and then we went to have some cookies and milk to replenish our carbs so we could get out there and do it again.

In the video games, as unreal as they are, I think they create a heavier desensitization than any other real life game kids play.  Add that many parents don't police these activities at all and allow their kids to play these games for hours on end creating a "different world" to live in.  A world of no reality, one in which their lives are in the game and not outside of it.

Do I think you should allow your boys to play guns?  Sure.  But continue to be a good parent as I already know you are Dina.  Keep teaching them right and wrong, strong values..............

.......And, continue to ask questions and worry if you are doing the right things because that shows that you are a true parent and concerned about your children.  It's only when you stop asking and "know" you are right that things can begin to slide.

Well nerf guns can hurt too... 

Teaching gun safety is very important.. for sure. He learned a bunch of that in cub scouts with BB guns.

My dad did this to me, too. It's incredibly effective. Not a watermelon, but same idea. And then took me to the gun range a couple times a week until I went away to college. Education=safety.

Being a police officer I have a few handguns in my house. I don't know what is the best way to handle the situation but here is what I did. I exposed my son, who is 6 yrs now, about 2 years ago to my guns. I let him see them and actually hold and empty one to see how it felt. I explained to him how this was a REAL gun and not like the ones in TV shows. I explained the dangers to him and I had been a cop for at that time 15 years and never fired my gun (at a person). Like I said I don't know if I did the right thing but I wanted my son to be exposed to my guns while I was with him instead of alone when he was curious. This has worked for us because he has never messed with my weapons and when he sees my gets dressed for work he doesn't asked to see my gun or play with it.

I also let my son play with Nerf guns and other toy guns. He plays army and has abttles with his friends. I played with toy guns when I was little and I my father was a police officer as well. I never touched his real guns and he explained to my how dangerous they were. I played army and cops and robbers when I was young so I let my son do the same.

Like I've stated twice now, I don't know if I'm taking the right approach but its what I have choosen for my kid. When my daughter gets older, she is 2 yrs old now, I will explaine how dangerous guns are to her as well.

I echo what the others are saying, I think boys will be boys in our culture and to shelter him from it would be futile at best.

A little bit on the same topic I think every parent should teach their kids about gun safety.  Even if there are no guns in "your" house there are guns in other peoples houses.  If my kids go to somebodies house and somebody brings out Dads gun I want my kids to know that it's unsafe and get the heck out of dodge.

Good point. Many of our relatives and friends hunt so guns in the home are common in our area.

I also echo what everyone has said.

To expand on the point above, I had a friend in high school, who's brother was over at a friends house.  They decided they were going to play with a shotgun, thinking it was not loaded.  Well, you guessed it, it was loaded and went off, shooting my friends brother.  I believe it was a buckshot, and he had a lot of them in him.  He ended up fine.  Although you may never have a real gun in your house, it's still best to educate your children about them and the harm they can do.  It's best not to  shield them from them, real (educating) and toy (playing with them).

I have two boys, 6 & 7, and they play guns, swords, etc.  I try to tell them not to point them at people, etc.  We watch some movies together that may have some sword fights, etc, but they know what is real and what isn't, and we educate them on the difference, and always make the point that real guns, swords, knives, etc can harm/hurt people.  They are good to separate reality from play/movie.  I do not want them playing FPS video games, probably EVER, as I see those as being far worse.

When I was younger, we played guns, etc all the time.  Cowboys and Indians, etc.  I had a full army uniform from the local surplus, complete with helmet, water bottle, fatigues, back pack and everything.  We spent hours in the woods playing army, guns, etc.

And, I've never owned a gun.  Although I've considered one for protection as an adult, I go back and forth whether I want one in my house or not.  I feel if I get one, I will have to tell my kids about it and teach them about it.  I'm not sure I"m ready for that.

Looks like it is pretty well covered but I just wanted to add. Better to expose and educate rather than to shelter. Kids are smart, they can learn the difference between a real gun and a nerf gun, better they learn that from you than from a bad experience when you aren't around.

Stirring the pot a bit here - but curious on the bolded point.

How is it so different?

I ask because after consulting with my sister, I bought my nephews a Call of Duty (Black Ops 2?) game for their Xbox for Christmas. They had asked for it, and supposedly the game has options where you can turn down or off the blood/guts stuff. My sister, who is typically pretty anti all of this stuff, is perfectly okay with it (which surprised me a little) after learning about the parent options. The boys are 9 and 12 if that makes a difference.

They play "pew pew pew" games with neighborhood kids every day, including one called "Hunger Games" - which is exactly what you'd think it is if you've seen the movie. I'm struggling to figure out how acting this stuff out in real life is better than doing it on screen?

A little while ago there was a news story, the kids name was Hunter, he was deaf, went to a deaf school. The sign for Hunter is similiar to finger guns, the school wanted the family to change the way he signed his name because they felt it was appropriate. Hunter was three. I think its a bit overkill. Kids are kids, they need to play. Playing with toy guns doesnt mean they will go out and shoot someone. There are millions of us out there that played with guns as kids....

That reminded me of when I was 12 years old, we had a similar incident.  I had a pellet gun that was hanging up on a gun rack in the living room.  It was "empty" and I was in the other room doing something, I can't remember.  Well one of my friends grabbed the pellet gun and pumped it up and was shooting air at people.  Well apparently there was a loose pellet still in there somewhere and he shot a kid in the back of the head with a pellet.  Blood was everywhere and we all freaked out (me more than others).  The pellet lodged in his skull just before it hit the important stuff so he was ok, but it's yet another example of kids needing to know gun safety.

A couple of thoughts...

• There's just something genetic about 7-12 year old boys and playing "guns".  You can try and stop it all you want, but they just seem to have that "male competiveness hunting shooting war power" gene thing in them.  (SEE THE CARTOON BELOW WHICH SPELLS IT OUT PERFECTLY!)
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• We have a veritable ARSENAL of Nerf toys mounted on the wall in our playroom.  And yes, I participate in the "epic Nerf battles" that the kids and I have.  So I'm not helping.  BUT, I do everything I can to clearly define "toys" vs. "guns".  These are going to sound very silly to many of you but, it's how I roll...
• We "nerf" each other, never "shoot" each other.
• They're "Nerf toys", not "Nerf guns".
• They're "Nerf darts", never "bullets" or "ammunition".
• We always wear eye protection.
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• And I have instructed my children (8-yr-old boy, 11-yr-old girl) on proper gun handling (we live in NC and lots of people here own firearms.  The biggest concern is a lack of safety/responsibility at someone elses house.):
• The kids have both gone through an NRA child safety course by a certified instructor.  Then my rules...
• Rule #1:  Consider every gun loaded, unsafe, ready to fire, and extremely dangerous.
• Rule #2:  See a gun, don't touch it and immediately call a grown-up.  If you're at a friend's house, make sure NO ONE touches it and call a grown-up.  If the kid won't set it down, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY and call mom or dad.
• Rule #3:  Any gun that is not locked away in a safe and inaccesible is to be reported to ME.  The result will be they will not be going to that child's house again and I will have a talk with their parents.
• With our own two handguns and the shotgun, they know how to handle and treat them as always being loaded.  NEVER pointing them in ANY harmful direction.  i.e. They always hold them pointing straight down.  Oh and...  A finger on any trigger means instant severe punishment!
• With the handguns, the first thing they do is make sure the gun is on 'safe' (Baby Eagle), eject the magazine, then pull back on the slide to lock the weapon (S&W M&P) and check to make sure a round is never inthe chamber (never is).  THEN you may hold the weapon in a safe manner.  With the shotgun, check to make sure no shells are loaded (never is).
• We've been to the range and the kids have practices at circular targets (never any human silhouette targets).  Typically we rent a .22  The kids have both fired my .40s and it scares the heck out of them.  One attempt with the 12-gauge and they'll probbaly never touch it again.  Way too much kick.  Although they do enjoy watching me and rooting me on in skeet shooting.
• I then showed them what the .40s and the 12-ga do to a cantalope, plywood, and sheet metal.  They totally get how dangerous a gun can be.  The sheet metal and plywood do practically nothing to stop a round and the cantalope is vaporized.  At close range, the 12-gauge might as well be a grenade.  The kids were actually scared when they saw that.

So my two kids have learned how to differentiate between toys and guns.  They've learned how to identify, and alert an adult of an unsafe gun.  They've learned as a last-resort how to unload and safe a gun.  And they've learned to respect guns to the point where they have little interest in them any more.  When you attach the safety rules and understand how much more potential harm than fun there is with firearms, the "thrill" goes away.  They'll stick to Nerfing which is much more fun!