![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
This is a post for all those born male and for mothers of males.
If you are a male, did you play with guns? Did you turn non-gun items into imaginary guns? Do you think this is something innate in males? If not, where did you learn this behaviour from? As an adult male now do you have any parenting perspectives on this, or advice for the new mama of a male?
For mothers of males, do your sons play with guns or have gun play? If so, at what age did this start? Does this bother you? If so, how do you discourage this? Any thoughts for a new mama?
If you are a male, did you play with guns? Did you turn non-gun items into imaginary guns? Do you think this is something innate in males? If not, where did you learn this behaviour from? As an adult male now do you have any parenting perspectives on this, or advice for the new mama of a male?
For mothers of males, do your sons play with guns or have gun play? If so, at what age did this start? Does this bother you? If so, how do you discourage this? Any thoughts for a new mama?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 05:38 am (UTC)I was a firm believer in not having my son play with toy guns...So funny, I moved from LA (a no gun time) to Santa Cruz (a gun time) where I encountered more play dates/friends with toy guns. It blew my mind.
Anyways, not only did my non-media exposed son still turn any old stick or long pointy object into a gun anyways, it became such a taboo in SC, when everyone else could, I realized I was headed for a great disaster. I changed my tactic and allowed toy guns.
Every child is different. And as a girl, my favorite play time was parking all my toy cars in painstakingly organized and reorganized "parking lots". Not only is that not typical girl play, I don't think that's typical kid play! But, I do think many many boys will naturally gravitate towards gun play.
After allowing gun play, I still deterred it somewhat by engaging him in sword play instead. (yeah, maybe I'm hypocritical) And now that he's older I explain it usually takes skill to kill with a sword, it can take plain stupidity or ignorance to kill with a gun.
I know the studies that say kids cannot tell the difference between real and toy guns and so accidents happen unless there is a policy of abstinence. But, I think its more important to consider:
**Do you have a gun in the home? How is it kept?
**Every home/environment your child enters needs to be asked the same question. Whatever your personal policy is.
**If you allow gun play, when you are sure its a safe toy gun to play with there are still rules - never point it at any human or animal.
Oh - just wait till the age of nerf! At my son's last birthday party he got neon green and yellow machine guns and I don't even know what huge barreled rapid fire craziness!