What do you think of toy guns?

Question

I think they should be taken off the market!!!

Answer 1

I have a son and taking toy guns away is pointless. My son made toy guns out of legos and pretended sticks were guns. Boys will be boys.
What parents need to do is teach kids the difference between toys and real guns. And teach them gun safety when they are old enough.

Answer 2

taken them off the market want do a thing what people should do is start teaching them at a young age what is good and bad about guns. i have a 3 year old and he knows that guns can be dangers and not to point guns at people that it's bad to do that but if you want guns off the market then you should take everything off the market that has to do with violence. i mean think about it people on TV kill with there bare hands too so are you going to stop them messing with there hands too?i think parents that not let there kids have things like toy guns have the kids that grow up wanting one and when they find it then who know it could be the real thing. there's nothing wrong with toy guns the don't hurt nobody what you should be worried about is if you have a real gun in the house. i would put that up somewhere high and out of reach because not letting him/her have one will make her/him get the real one out to play with if they find it. plus the toy could be something to learn with, teach them right and wrong with it.

Answer 3

Before I became a mom, I worked in a preschool with 3 year olds for several years. It was a rule that the kids were not allowed to play with guns in school (no bringing them from home, no building them from legos, etc.). Well, the kids were all well aware of this rule, but daily I would see the boys 'shooting' at someone else with a lego gun, or a banana, their finger, or whatever else they could manufacture to look like a gun. When I would ask them what they were doing, they would always come up with the most creative response: "It's a camera! It's too look at the stars! It's medicine for Joey!" I found it rather amusing.

My point is, as other answerers have made as well, is that boys will play guns whether you give them toy guns or not. One of the problems stems from avoiding the topic of guns - children need to be taught that they are very dangerous and that real guns are not a plaything. When children are older and become violent, like the awful school shootings we have seen take place in our lifetime, there are much deeper issues than having played with toy guns as a child. Depression and anxiety to name a few. Parents need to be watching out for signs of these problems (and be able to differentiate between normal teenage moodiness) and know when to intervene.

I played with guns with my brothers and sister as a kid. I watched in Looney Toons as they threw anvils on each others heads. My family was a loving and communicative one. I, nor my brothers and sister, do not have a violent bone in our bodies. We were raised to know how to treat other people. We were able to distinguish pretending to be 'cowboys and indians' (I know, extremely politically incorrect, but that's what we called it then!) from reality, just as we knew that I wasn't really a princess and our basement wasn't really a castle. Children like to pretend. In fact, it's a crucial part of their development, it leads to a higher level of thinking.

If you choose not to buy your children toy guns, that is completely your prerogative. But I don't think they should be taken off the market. Hey, I still like to play with nerf guns, and squirt guns are a great way to cool off on a hot summer day.

Answer 4

Most toy guns are taken off the market, water guns are still around and some guns at the dollar store are around. But, most chain toy stores they are gone. I feel if you raise your child and teach them that guns are bad, and that ONLY fake guns are good to pretend with is okay, but never to really hurt someone.

Answer 5

I'm torn on this one. Personally, I am opposed to the idea of buying my son a toy gun. However, when I was a kid I had a couple toy guns and quite a few squirt guns. I was never a violent person!

I think violent behavior is more of a result of poor parenting than which types of toys a child uses.

Answer 6

why because parent cant explain the difference to there kids about real and toy ? my boys played with guns all the time and never shot anyone they are now 16,15,11 and understand what a toy gun is and why you should not touch a real gun

Answer 7

I also think that toys which are replicas of violent items should not be for sale for children. What is the need for it? Aren't there enough things for kids to play with without offering them inherently violent playthings as well?
I am sure that kids will make guns and swords out of sticks if they want to, but I would not consider encouraging them by purchasing such 'toys'. To buy a toy gun would be to imply to your child, 'Yes, I think it's ok that you pretend to shoot and kill creatures in your playtime, and guns are not serious enough to be banned from your playroom'.

Answer 8

I totally agree......my son is three and I don't like for him to play with toy guns because I feel that when he gets old enough he might say it is fine to play with a real gun since mom let me play with a toy gun when I was little. I try to keep him away from negative things even if they are toys.

Answer 9

I dont like them. I have two daughters and have never allowed them to play with toy guns. They really wanted them but I sat down and explained that guns are dangerous and can kill people. And I dont want them "pretending" to kill people. I also told them that it is the person that wields the gun that is responsible for death or injury, not the gun. "Guns dont kill people, people kill people".
And yes they are kids so have pretended their fingers are guns etc, but I always stop them and we talk about it.
Now they arent' interested in guns, because they know the damage they can cause.
I am aware they are only toys but I dont want my kids to get comfortable with guns. Or the violent behaviour that is exhibited when watching kids play with guns. I'd prefer they stay scared of them and be aware of the dangers.

It makes me sick to see little kids running around waving their toy guns in peoples faces (even srangers on the street)and "shooting" them. Or even pretending their hands are guns and "shooting" people. And my daughters are just as disgusted when they see it. And the fact that parents dont stop their kids doing it.

My friend has two boys. Both of which are allowed to play with toy guns. She thinks that boys will be boys. Which is true but as parents we can sit down and explain about real guns and the effects they have. I dont agree with her and she doesnt agree with me. So we have agreed to disagree.

Answer 10

I used to play with them My daughter used to play with them. I don't own a gun now, neither does my daughter. I think they should remain on the market, no one has the right to tell me what my child can play with or not except myself.