[GUTourer]

Here's an interesting one. Myself and my wife have a 2 and 3 (boy and girl) respectively. We had a BBQ with another 5 couples that had children similar ages to our two. One started running around (joel) i think he is 4, with a el cheapo plastic mp5 look alike "shooting" the other kids.

Now for something to me, that seemed innocuous or in laymans terms childish innocence, an almost raging heated debate sparked up that took the best part of 2 hours and when the dust settled it was a 50/50 call as to the yay's or nah's.

I myself was playing with those little moulded plastic army men and tanks and immitation firearms when I was little, building forts and what not in dads sand pile (builder) while he was mixing cement.

I didn't turn into a homocidal maniac (yet). What do you guys reckon?

In this day and age of cotton wool rapped PC, is it still acceptable for kids to muck around with cap guns, toy firearms etc....

 

[GanG]

He'll yes in an age of gender blurring and political correctness it's great to see boys doing what boys do. Toy guns are just toys and I wager most blokes had them as kids the fun police need to piss off and worry about their own ****.

 

[bamr33]

hmmm I wonder what the opinions of guns on a 4x4 forum will be...

Yes kids should have toy guns and Australia should have bb guns not for kids just big kids.

 

[davess]

Hmm I'm a no per se on toy guns, but kidlet does have one of those Nerf cannons and it's free range to drill anyone stupid enough to fall asleep on the couch.. trust me i've been got. But that's his only gun and it's an at home toy only.

As for kids running around "shooting" other people, I don't hold with it and think it's disrespectful but that's my opinion.

 

[estcove]

They are kids toys. No harm at all. Bow and Arrow is something else so is a spear or anything similar. It's the parent's call. If it's dangerous stop it. If it's not, let it go.

Getting into a debate about what it might lead to in later years is just plain silly and where does it stop? Playing with Tanks for instance...going to turn the kid into a soldier?
I don't think so.

These 'concerned parents' need to stop reading glossy magazines they find in doctor's waiting rooms and get a grip on themselves. Don't pay attention to windy liberals and their insane plans to turn our society into 'Wimpland.'

 

[gordonmichaellee]

Other peoples rights

I personaly choose not to have any toy guns in our house.My kids are 4 ( girl )and 6 ( Boy ). I respect the rights of other parents to bring their kids up with toy guns around them and it doesn't realy bother me if my kids play with them at other peoples houses, waterpistols are OK too. I think what I am trying to say is that I want to not promote violence in my home but at the same time not be too uptight about it aswell.

I had toy guns as a kid but I did notice even when I was young ( 6 or so ) that there was some kids who were obsessed with their toy guns and these were the kids that ended up in trouble for shooting next doors cat or similar when they got a bit older.

So all you can do is try to give a well rounded upbringing to your kids and any one choice you make will not be critical, it's the choices put together over a period of years that matter.

Cheers Gordo'

 

[jackd]

As a qualified weapons instructor (.22 through to .50 Cal), I dont have a problem with kids having toy guns. They can be taught the basics from the word go. Doesn't hurt to teach them properly from the word go. I have seen Adults use toy guns, must admit I have used them myself on various occassions.

 

[ethanboris]

i should invest in the cotton wool industry with the state of parenting these days a comedian puts it into a good perspective

YouTube - Dylan Moran - Kids (Monster)

 

[LycraMooseKnuckle]

IMHO video games with shooting are a bigger problem than toy guns.

 

[bloke83]

Had parents who grew up on large farms and then spent a decade in the armed forces each.

I was never allowed to have toy guns, ever. Guns were a tool for farming, and pest control. Anything else was irrelevant to our lifestyles. ie War and the tools to make it happen.

Anything else was related to psycopaths.

And this was a good thing, I learnt a good perspective about guns, that they are a tool for doing something not a favourite play thing.

Let your kids play with trucks and toy diggers, guns are something real, you need to make them learn about real guns, not toys. at the right age aswell.

 

[jackd]

IMHO video games with shooting are a bigger problem than toy guns.

Agree x2, I have a 15 yr old stepson,he is constantly playing those beat em, kick arse games. The other night he got s$%ts with something I told him to do. He then told me he was gonna knock my block off, he decided to have a go so I sat him on his backside and I didnt even thump him. I reminded him afterwards that what he can do in his video games don't really work in real life, he soon learned that lesson, the hard way, Lmao.

 

[bloke83]

IMHO video games with shooting are a bigger problem than toy guns.

I agree with this too, I think some of the graphics these days is really way too much for some teenagers to handle on their own infront of a box, even at 18 with some people. Especially those unfortunate ones who live inside all day and have no imagination to do anything else. A non-stop zombie fest has to f*** thier heads.

Everything in our environemnt needed to make someone mature these days is slowly being diminished.

 

[gordonmichaellee]

I agree

IMHO video games with shooting are a bigger problem than toy guns.

100% agree with that.

Cheers Gordo'

 

[LycraMooseKnuckle]

it comes down alot to the child playing with the items.

not all children will be equipped with the smarts to differentiate play from real life.

heck, not all fully grown adults have the marbles to differentiate the two.

 

[geeyoutoo]

As a kid growing up in the 50's (or as Squalo says, when the internet was guy's riding horses very fast between post offices), we lived in the bush and myself and the kid next door played Cowboys and Indians constantly. At one stage we took it to another level and hunted each other with a couple of old Daisy 16 air guns, have 2 little scars on my stomach from being shot point blank, that only happened once then we learned our lesson. Neither I nor the other kid turned into mass murderers.

I know parenting is difficult (and it always has been) but it's the parents who need to teach kids what is real and what isn't, and to also teach them common sense which is learned from parental behavior, people can't always be their children's best friend.

 

[shanegu6]

My two kids love their toy guns. They've got a bigger arsenal than me.

 

[madk1w1]

If toy guns will turn them into homicidal maniacs then watching the Wiggles will turn them into latent festering homosexuals!!!!!!!!

the whole not letting kids be kids is :bs:

Whoops I grew up to have real guns but I'm no murderer:angryfir:

 

[rourkster]

Let your kids play with trucks and toy diggers,

But then you'll get parents who will accuse you of reinforcing sexist stereotypes or of encouraging your child to become an amphetamine addicted maniac that pollutes the atmosphere whilst running Prius drivers off the road...
Ya can't win.

 

[RustyTruck]

Where did you get those ones from Shane?

 

[Dean0]

me and my younger brother and one of my best mates played with toy guns a lot from a young age and we all turned out fine. 99% of it depends on parenting. no matter what your kids or teenagers do as long as your a good responsible parents your kids will turn out fine.