Um... Not a boy (*doublechecks*), not a mother, but my sister and I played cops and robbers when I was little -- say, somewhere between 4 and 9, because of where we were living?
We made "guns" out of sticks or fingers, and the only rule was that we could only point the play-guns at people who were *also playing,* because -- the BIG RULE about guns -- *You never, ever, ever, *ever* point a gun at anything you're not prepared to kill.* If that's a fictional character in your game, fine; but if it's someone who's not playing, then it's not ok.
I still have that rule well enough embedded in my backbrain that if I'm holding a water pistol and someone I'm not planning to squirt passes through my range-of-fire (I mean, water), I point the water pistol at the ground.
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We made "guns" out of sticks or fingers, and the only rule was that we could only point the play-guns at people who were *also playing,* because -- the BIG RULE about guns -- *You never, ever, ever, *ever* point a gun at anything you're not prepared to kill.* If that's a fictional character in your game, fine; but if it's someone who's not playing, then it's not ok.
I still have that rule well enough embedded in my backbrain that if I'm holding a water pistol and someone I'm not planning to squirt passes through my range-of-fire (I mean, water), I point the water pistol at the ground.
FWIW, and all that.