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Give your child a toy gun?

Do you think toy weapons are good?



Would you buy your child a toy gun? Do you think such a toy would influence him/her to buy one for real when they grow older?

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Would you buy your child a toy gun? Do you think such a toy would influence him/her to buy one for real when they grow older?

I don't think it's good to but a toy gun for a kid. What are we teaching him/her? to shoot? to kill? nah, I don't agree with it. Let's give our children things to play that will allow them to have an appreciation for life not for death.
Let's give them something to use their brains (to the parents too please)

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How far would you go with that though? If you think about it would a Police set with cuffs, a badge, and a gun be wrong if the kid wants to be a police officer? Isn't that something good? Even further isn't violence thought a lot through cartoons? Look at the way bugs bunny hits the wolf over the head, isn't that teaching violence?

I am by no means supporting giving a toy gun to a child, but I think if there has to be a limit on what we give them then it should be for all aspects and not just because the toy is a 'gun'.

gun toy child Give

True, but come on, you cannot compare Bugs Bunny hitting the wolf with a toy gun that is even being used for criminals in the streets!
Why to give your child a weapon anyway????!!! how do you think he's going to use it? just look at it and that's it OR he will try to shoot someone? (even though he's playing)

gun toy child Give

I used to think it was bad for a child to have a toy gun.  I still sort of do if they are too young.  I live in Arkansas and everyone has a gun but it is for hunting which provides food and also to protect the family from danger.  :angel Guns are not bad when used by good people.  :devil Guns are only bad when in the wrong hands.  :brains: I think that if a child learns young that a gun is for good uses like for food and protection it is okay, but not to hurt others.  But only when they are old enough to understand.  

Give your child a toy gun?

Wow, this is a "loaded" topic (pun intended ) I refuse to let my boys play with toy guns. In the real world of weapons they're extremely impersonal, unlike, say a knife. Not that I would let them play with those either.

I understand JB's point about a toy police officer set, still, in real life most officers never draw their guns during the course of their careers.

I do agree with the need for firearms such as rifles and shotguns for hunting food and legitimate home protection. Handguns? No. Their sole purpose is to kill, or at least maim. I certainly don't want my boys to emulate such violent actions in what should be innocent play.

But then there's those fun squirt guns... I waver on these. They can be quite a source of enjoyment provided that they're used in the spirit of simply getting one's target wet, not mimicking violence. Whoever started making these toys look like uzis and such did a grave disservice to our children. I've heard stories of unwise folks foolishly pointing these realistic looking fakes at law enforcement and...

I even took serious issue with my 3 y/o when he picked up the behavior of pointing his little index finger at people, yelling, "Bang-bang! You're dead!" I find this highly unacceptable.

Give child toy gun

I am in agreement with LDS and Fugitive. We never had so much as a water gun in previous years (until my mother-in-law, knowing how I feel about them, bought my children super soakers anyway. She would constantly ask if they were using them and I didn't have the heart to tell her no or to take the guns away from my children. But that's another thread.) I feel that so much pain and destruction can come from the use of real guns, so why would I want my children emulating that? Even firearms such as rifles and shotguns for hunting food and legitimate home protection are not a good enough reason for me to have any gun, toy or real, around my home. These guns that are mentioned, while they serve a purpose, cause so many deaths each year from accidents, especially accidents involving children. If we were back in the days where we did need to hunt for our own food, if we had to use a gun, then we would have to find a way to live with it. But we don't live in those times and we just don't want a gun, toy or real, around.

Now, our 13 year old daughter has been to a range where they taught her all about gun safety and the best way to handle guns, which is by not handling them at all if possible. She was able to hold and handle a real gun and it helped her to overcome a small fear of them. We didn't want her learning about guns at someone else's house someday, so we took action to teach her ourselves. I definitely think that people need to be taught about guns and gun safety. You never know when you might be in a situation when you would need to know about them, but that does not mean that I need to have one in my home, including a toy one. To me, a toy gun is just like a real one except that it doesn't shoot bullets. So, one reason that I won't permit toy guns is because they are made in the same likeness and function of a real gun, and that's all I need to say, "No thanks. You don't belong in my house." I think boys and girls who play with toy guns are set up to become desensitized to all guns, and that is unacceptable for me. It teaches children that it is fun to point guns and shoot, trying to 'kill' the other person(s). I may sound like I am way too over-protective, but I am going by experience from my life and what I think I need to do to be the best parent I can be. I want to be responsible for the actions of my children and toy guns are just not a 'must have' around here.

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If I were a parent, I would have no problem giving my children water guns because the purpose of those is getting each other wet, which could be very fun (especially on a hot day). what I will not encourage my children is those fake guns, the whole point of which is to pretend you are killing each other. For one, I do not see any fun in that unless your imagination is really wild. And also, unless they play cop v. criminal, it decreases the value of life for the children, if they can that easily "kill" each other.