Do you allow your children to play with toy guns?

Question

Why or why not?

Also did you play with toy guns as a child?

by the way im 22 male, no kids and just wondering about other peoples thoughts.

Answer 1

Yes because I explain to them everything they need to know about life. I tell them it is not normal to go around killing people whenever their life starts to suck. I think they will grow up just fine.

And yes I did play with toy guns when I was a kid and my parents explained life to me and I have never wanted to go out and shoot a bunch of people.

Answer 2

I was once a believer that kids who play with guns, swords etc. will become violent teens etc. After a few years someone bought my son a toy gun (nerf I think) and he absolutly loved it. Not for the violence part but for the fun of trying to aim and actually hit something. Since then both my boys have turned into star wars fans and they have had many light sabers- that they sword fight with. I think that if you teach them you never aim a gun at a person. Real guns are not toys, you don't try to hurt someone with the gun/sword they will get it. Of course you have to supervise the kids and make sure the toys are being used correctly but, that is the same as with any toy. So...yes my kids do play with toy guns.

Answer 3

Yes, I did as a child, we were taught though to never point them (even toy guns) at people or animals though. I will allow my child to have toy guns too. As long as you teach your children gun responsibility, you don't have anything to worry about. My dad taught my brother and I at a very young age (I was 5) on how to properly use a gun and that you NEVER point a gun at a person and never at an animal unless you are hunting during the appropriate hunting season for that animal and in the proper place and to never take a shot that you could miss and wound the animal. He taught us gun safety, how to clean, disassemble, assemble, load and fire a weapon and also taught us the responsibility of handling them. Making the subject taboo is what causes all of the problems. My daughter is only 2 and baby #2 isn't born yet (due in March), but when they are old enough, they will be able to play with toy guns (responsibly of course) and will be taught gun safety and responsibility. I own several guns as does my husband, and they are all kept safely locked in a safe with trigger locks on all of them and ammo is kept locked separately. I love the quote by Larry the Cable Guy (who is also from good ol' Nebraska) "If guns kill people then I can blame misspelled words on my pencil". It's all about teaching your kids to be responsible with weapons.

Answer 4

I believe that allowing children to play with toy guns is acceptible, but only if you teach the children to respect guns. Firearm awareness from an early age will do alot to help prevent accidents.

I did play with toy guns as a child, but my father (an american soldier) taught me to respect guns. Now, a soldier myself, the training I've had since a little kid is all the more important in making sure I don't accidentally shoot a buddy.

All in all, though, the important thing is to let kids know the difference between toys and the real thing.

Answer 5

Absolutely. I will.
Children need to be taught the differences between toy guns and real guns. There is no reason to keep them from playing with toy guns. It's not going to make them murders or get them 'killed by the police'.
Yes, I played with toy guns as a child...how else can you play Cowboys and Indians?

Answer 6

Kids know the difference between toy guns and real ones. They just don't understand how real ones work because they're never exposed to them.
I had toy guns when I was little, but didn't really play with them.

Answer 7

I was always allowed to play with toy guns. Did did point them at each other and animals, though my dad didn't like that. I've never even picked up a real gun, and have no desire to.

Answer 8

No. There is too much risk today for police to mistake a toy for a real gun. It would have to be something that obviously is not a gun like those things you hook up to a hose and spray water. Otherwise, I wouldn't have an issue with it. I had a cap gun as a kid.

Answer 9

no i dont because there are so many other toy out there that they dont need to play with something that is a WEAPON, i feel if i let them play with a toy then how will they distinguish the difference between the real deal and the toy!! Hopefully me being this way will help them stay safer if they are ever encountered with that situation, not even a water gun, they play with squirt ducks, water balloons!

Answer 10

Liberals usually don't allow their children to play with toy guns because they believe that it gives a child the wrong message that owning a gun and using it is permissible. They justify this by stating that if there were no guns, that there would be no gun crimes.

Conservatives frequently allow their children to have toy guns, as they believe that although the Liberals have good intentions, that the children should associate owning and using a gun with self protection. This is based on the facts as that whenever a community has a "gun buy-back" program that only the law abiding folks turn their guns in; that in our large cities which make gun ownership difficult to impossible, only the criminals have guns, and consequently the innocent good citizens end up on the short end of the stick; that the facts are that wherever the good citizens are allowed to protect themselves with gun ownership and the right to carry, that the incidents of crime are always less.

By denying children to play with guns, a parent is loosing their ability to direct how it should be done, as "never point a gun at anything that you don't intend to shoot". By allowing toy gun play, a parent can guide the child and explain such as "first try to resolve your problems by talking", but they can explain to their child that their life is valuable and worth protecting, even if they have to use deadly force.

I played with toy guns as a child. Family and friends taught me the above mentioned principles. There have been a couple of times in my lifetime that having a gun and simply allowing it to be seen, allowed me to continue on my way safely. On another occasion, I witnessed a poor dog getting his hips and both of his back legs ran over. Three of us drivers pulled over to try to help put the dog out of his misery, as he had pulled himself over 20 yards by his two front feet, trying to go into a wooded area to die in pain.

I love animals, and the best that could have been done for that poor animal was to be put down as soon as possible, which my military training helped me to do.