Gun Play

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

OK so in this day and age what to do. When my son (16) was little I let the boys "shoot monsters" I didn't have out any "guns" but they built them with any building toy we had out. My cousin said it best once.. You might as well buy him toy guns, he is a boy, boys will use a stick! So when he was little I had a group of boys. I just channeled it to you may shoot the monsters but not each other. (My son is now a competitive shooter. He owns some very expensive paper punches)
Now, my kidlets are building guns out of the duplos. Considering in two years when they go off to school they could potentially get suspended (although around here they get off the first day of hunting season! LOL) So seriously, what do you do? And do you find that kids naturally build guns? Also, the kids know ds shoots, my little 4 yr old girl as he is packing up the car tells him to shoot 10s. They have never, obviously, seen his guns. It has crossed my mind to put up targets on the wall and let them "shoot" at those with their made "guns". Not running around shooting "the bad guys" which is what my little girl wants to do.. she watches a lot of tv at home.
What do you do?

[pandamom]

I work in a center which does not allow gun play- even though the majority of our families are military and a lot of security forces. The rule was made because the gun play quickly escalated into physical violence between the children.

We just let them know, "DCK, we don't play guns here. BUT you can make that into a motorcycle or a helicopter. Why don't you fly over to the BX, what are you going to get there? Are you going to get cookies from the commissary next?" The redirection works most of the time. If I have to remind my 2 year olds again, they don't get to play with the legos, blocks, musical intruments, etc and must find another toy to play with.

At home, I allow my 3 year old twins to do gun play- DH and I are card carrying NRA members But we let them know they ONLY do that at home and not at daycare or preschool.

[MotherNature]

nope, no gun play here. It quickly escalates. Right now, it's not an issue here. I have a baby, a 16 month old, and my own 2.5 yr old. He doesn't watch stuff with guns in it. He watches Curious George usually. He'll sometimes play 'en garde' with sticks or a lightsaber toy of his 17 yr old older brother's, but yeah, we don't do guns here. I had a 3 yr old I termed that would act out EVERYTHING he saw on tv, which was a lot. Eventually he started talking about, shooting, killing, choking, and he was pretty violent, but I suspected some serious delays. With my oldest kids, I didn't really limit gun play..this was 20 yrs ago practically, but I'm a completely different parent now.

[littleblossoms]

nope no gun play here don't allow it and i even mention it in my policy

[LK5kids]

No, none here either. Gets crazy!

[Maria2013]

OK so in this day and age what to do. When my son (16) was little I let the boys "shoot monsters" I didn't have out any "guns" but they built them with any building toy we had out. My cousin said it best once.. You might as well buy him toy guns, he is a boy, boys will use a stick! So when he was little I had a group of boys. I just channeled it to you may shoot the monsters but not each other. (My son is now a competitive shooter. He owns some very expensive paper punches)
Now, my kidlets are building guns out of the duplos. Considering in two years when they go off to school they could potentially get suspended (although around here they get off the first day of hunting season! LOL) So seriously, what do you do? And do you find that kids naturally build guns? Also, the kids know ds shoots, my little 4 yr old girl as he is packing up the car tells him to shoot 10s. They have never, obviously, seen his guns. It has crossed my mind to put up targets on the wall and let them "shoot" at those with their made "guns". Not running around shooting "the bad guys" which is what my little girl wants to do.. she watches a lot of tv at home.
What do you do?

I used to allow my Daycare kids to play with guns, I saw nothing wrong since I did it too as a child and turned out fine....but after watching the news and seeing many 5yr old being humiliated, suspended etc. I decided I will no longer allow ANY shooting games.
It is sad but this is our society now and I want to prepare the kids before they go to kindergarten and suffer that kind of humiliation

[MyAngels]

I don't allow it here, either. I have no personal problem with guns, and I allowed my kids to play that way when they were young, but since I don't really know my daycare families' stance on it I'll just play it safe. Besides, as PPs have said it tends to escalate.

[Meeko]

I have a no gun policy.

Actually a no weapon of any kind policy. No guns, swords, bombs, knives etc etc. This includes building them with lego etc.

Killing isn't fun and I don't let them pretend it is.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

Thanks... kinda.. I am so torn I know they could be suspended but man.. I also see the other side. I do live in a rural area, these kids go to deer camp! I am not a hunter, nor is anyone in my family. But, a lot of these kids rely on that deer meat etc.
<sigh> I feel like my no, you can't build guns here lets make________ just makes them want to all the more. Then they get sneaky..
keep your responses coming

[Blackcat31]

I DO allow gun play. I have some limitations but I allow it.

Like you said, some kids will naturally make guns out of pretty much anything and like food battles, it is simply not an argument/battle I am willing to get into.

I also live in an area where hunting and owning a gun is a part of life. I HIGHLY doubt that I have a single family that doesn't own a gun. Our community also has youth gun safety courses that pretty much ALL middle school kids take (both boys and girls).

I have also had in care a set of parents who are Olympic Rifle Shooters whom have BOTH won gold medals competing. I am not willing to teach kids that guns are bad as a overall blanket lesson.

Like everything I life, there is a correct way and a wrong way to do something.

Psychologist and author Glen David Skoler has argued that games involving toy guns and swords most often occur as boys are transitioning from the “amoral, self-centered, and unsocialized” world of toddlers. He calls this an “intermediary level of moral functioning,” where boys experiment with “games of good guys vs. bad guys and epic struggles between good and evil.”

Child psychologist Penny Holland reached the same conclusion in her book We Don’t Play with Guns Here, saying that toy gun play is often “part of … timeless themes of the struggle between good and evil.”

http://jonathanturley.org/2011/03/08/the-nature-argument-boys-and-toy-guns/

IMHO, gun play is no more the cause of violence than toy kitchen sets are the cause of obesity.

~just my 2 cents

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

I DO allow gun play. I have some limitations but I allow it.

Like you said, some kids will naturally make guns out of pretty much anything and like food battles, it is simply not an argument/battle I am willing to get into.

I also live in an area where hunting and owning a gun is a part of life. I HIGHLY doubt that I have a single family that doesn't own a gun. Our community also has youth gun safety courses that pretty much ALL middle school kids take (both boys and girls).

I have also had in care a set of parents who are Olympic Rifle Shooters whom have BOTH won gold medals competing. I am not willing to teach kids that guns are bad as a overall blanket lesson.

Like everything I life, there is a correct way and a wrong way to do something.

Psychologist and author Glen David Skoler has argued that games involving toy guns and swords most often occur as boys are transitioning from the “amoral, self-centered, and unsocialized” world of toddlers. He calls this an “intermediary level of moral functioning,” where boys experiment with “games of good guys vs. bad guys and epic struggles between good and evil.”

Child psychologist Penny Holland reached the same conclusion in her book We Don’t Play with Guns Here, saying that toy gun play is often “part of … timeless themes of the struggle between good and evil.”

http://jonathanturley.org/2011/03/08/the-nature-argument-boys-and-toy-guns/

IMHO, gun play is no more the cause of violence than toy kitchen sets are the cause of obesity.

~just my 2 cents

Thanks... I had said no and now am seriously rethinking it. It is just a natural state that they go through.
My son wants to make the Olympics Shot in the jr olympics this past spring.

[Blackcat31]

Thanks... kinda.. I am so torn I know they could be suspended but man.. I also see the other side. I do live in a rural area, these kids go to deer camp! I am not a hunter, nor is anyone in my family. But, a lot of these kids rely on that deer meat etc.
<sigh> I feel like my no, you can't build guns here lets make________ just makes them want to all the more. Then they get sneaky..
keep your responses coming

Thanks... I had said no and now am seriously rethinking it. It is just a natural state that they go through.
My son wants to make the Olympics Shot in the jr olympics this past spring.

I really do think that is part of it. I think that it CAN and often DOES get out of hand, but with some guidance and education, gun play CAN be beneficial and acceptable as well as a great learning experience.

Like you stated above they get sneaky about it when they can't play....I think that is on par with the line of thinking the psychiatrist mentioned about the timeless struggle between good and evil.

[sharlan]

I allow gun play.

We have lots of squirt guns during the summer. We only squirt the block wall or the patio cover. We don't shoot anything living.

The boys make guns out of any building material they can. They shoot the tv, the walls, etc.

[KSDC]

My stand on this has fluctuated over the years. I don't buy toy guns and they don't get to bring them.

Some years I have had the "you can shoot monsters" type play.

But, the last couple of years I had two very LOUD and rambunctious kiddos. Any time I allowed them to play this game, it got out of control and aggressive. So, they had the rule of no shooting at all.

They have both left for SA, the current group I will probably allow it, if they choose to start it on their own. So far, they haven't.

[Blackcat31]

Some other threads about guns and gun play.

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=guns