Im a bit of a radical but hear me out. What if instead of having toy guns we had kids “play” at planting a community garden, mowing lawns for the elderly and handicapped, and picking up litter at the local park? Nah, teaching children guns are toys is the obvious way to go. Or ya know, fuck guns, real or fake.
Do you honestly think that kids need a molded plastic or stamped metal toy gun to “play with guns”? Have you never seen kids pick up a “Y” shaped stick off the ground and say “bang bang!” or “zap zap!” pretending its a gun (or laser gun)?
I.M.O. an important aspect of play is its self-directed. If they prefer that, absolutely, but I would rather let them choose and try to provide safe ways for them to explore. If they choose gardening that would be wonderful, if they choose to play with nerf guns or airsoft guns we should try and provide safety and caution to insulate them from being injured, but otherwise let them play
To be honest I’m not convinced this is an issue. I admit whole heartedly that my own personally experience is not data, but anecdotally I grew up playing with lots of guns and playing violent make believe, hell I even played GTA3 at a definitely not appropriate age, but I grew up to be a pacifist.
Im a bit of a radical but hear me out. What if instead of having toy guns we had kids “play” at planting a community garden, mowing lawns for the elderly and handicapped, and picking up litter at the local park? Nah, teaching children guns are toys is the obvious way to go. Or ya know, fuck guns, real or fake.
Do you honestly think that kids need a molded plastic or stamped metal toy gun to “play with guns”? Have you never seen kids pick up a “Y” shaped stick off the ground and say “bang bang!” or “zap zap!” pretending its a gun (or laser gun)?
I.M.O. an important aspect of play is its self-directed. If they prefer that, absolutely, but I would rather let them choose and try to provide safe ways for them to explore. If they choose gardening that would be wonderful, if they choose to play with nerf guns or airsoft guns we should try and provide safety and caution to insulate them from being injured, but otherwise let them play
To be honest I’m not convinced this is an issue. I admit whole heartedly that my own personally experience is not data, but anecdotally I grew up playing with lots of guns and playing violent make believe, hell I even played GTA3 at a definitely not appropriate age, but I grew up to be a pacifist.
That sounds like slavery with extra steps.
So work instead of play?