A Moral/PC Question! Cowboy Gun!
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Just a quick question,
My son is going to be five next week, and amongst other things (lego etc) I have bought him a Toy Cowboy Gun, so he can do what five year olds do ie monster hunting, playing cops and robbers etc!
The lady in the Toy Shop told me that not many parents buy these anymore as they are not PC.
I admit it is a while since I was five (am now 38!) but I seem to remember always running around with my Toy Colt 45, having battles with my mates etc etc!
Has the world moved away from these toys, is a tea set more appropriate these days,should I buy him a book on world peace?
Your thoughts please
ps, I got myself one as well, so I to can chase the baddies!
Just a quick question,
My son is going to be five next week, and amongst other things (lego etc) I have bought him a Toy Cowboy Gun, so he can do what five year olds do ie monster hunting, playing cops and robbers etc!
The lady in the Toy Shop told me that not many parents buy these anymore as they are not PC.
I admit it is a while since I was five (am now 38!) but I seem to remember always running around with my Toy Colt 45, having battles with my mates etc etc!
Has the world moved away from these toys, is a tea set more appropriate these days,should I buy him a book on world peace?
Your thoughts please
ps, I got myself one as well, so I to can chase the baddies!
my sister wouldn't buy her son anything like a gun, or even a bow and arrow with rubber suckers.
He made his own out of lego, meccano, two sticks tied together, hands with two fingers sticking out, and as soon as he could wield a hammer and a nail, bits of wood from the garage (those "paint stirrers" his dad had saved).
So my take on it would be ... buy him a gun, and he has a gun to play with. Don't buy him a gun, that makes EVERYTHING into some sort of gun.
He made his own out of lego, meccano, two sticks tied together, hands with two fingers sticking out, and as soon as he could wield a hammer and a nail, bits of wood from the garage (those "paint stirrers" his dad had saved).
So my take on it would be ... buy him a gun, and he has a gun to play with. Don't buy him a gun, that makes EVERYTHING into some sort of gun.
I had toy guns when I was a kid.
But then I didn't have Metal gear Solid on the PS3, so I had to go outdoors and pretend to shoot at stuff, rather than stay indoors on my arse perpetrating virtual carnage in full 3D Hi-Def ultra-realistic graphics...
Oddly enough, I am quite sane. I think.
But then I didn't have Metal gear Solid on the PS3, so I had to go outdoors and pretend to shoot at stuff, rather than stay indoors on my arse perpetrating virtual carnage in full 3D Hi-Def ultra-realistic graphics...
Oddly enough, I am quite sane. I think.
My son (6) and his friends seem to prefer swords to guns - I guess it's more fun to whack hell out of each other than just pointing a gun and going BANG. I certainly haven't noticed any particular tendency amongst parents to avoid instruments of war - in fact, apart from the odd eco-warrior range of toys (thanks ELC, but no thanks) most TV programmes and toys these days seem to be markedly more violent than when I was a kiddie. Can't say it bothers me, or any of my parently acquaintances, at all.
Just make sure it looks like a toy! I had the armed response unit at my house a few years back (with quite a few extra bib cars). A neighbour had seen me handing a plastic gun to a friend (he was going to a fancy dress party, it was an uzi 9mm) and they thought I was a terrorist.
Take care out there!
Take care out there!
aclivity said:
my sister wouldn't buy her son anything like a gun, or even a bow and arrow with rubber suckers.
He made his own out of lego....
My parents wouldn't let me or my brother have toy guns, so we used to do just that! It's amazing how much power you can extract from rubber bands and Lego He made his own out of lego....
My son also six has (roughly)
seven lightsabres
couple of wooden swords
three or four "fan" guns that fire foam discs - great fun
A star wars laser blaster
Han Solos gun that fires foam darts
A bow and arrows - (foam)
A spiderman webshooter
A james bond spy gun
I seem to recall owning about fifty pellet guns and cap guns with my brothers as well as a blowpipe and various other guns.
Also most of the kids round our way have fathers that own shotguns, so guns are kind of a given, most of the school play "army" and no one has ever suggested that this is unusual.
My sister tried to do this with her son. No guns, swords or anything destructive like that. All seemed OK until she caught him fashioning his own out of Lego. Not quite the same thing, but sufficiently like a gun to serve its purpose - i.e. you cannot stop them, its a 'boy' thing.
However, statistically and from recent research, there has been no proven evidence between violence and playing with 'violent' toys while growing up. Its a lifestyle choice, rather than anything that actually has any benefit for current or later life.
Personally, my son has a collection of swords, guns and the like. Current thing he likes is Pokemon and Gormitti.... he's only young once and he might as well enjoy it.
However, statistically and from recent research, there has been no proven evidence between violence and playing with 'violent' toys while growing up. Its a lifestyle choice, rather than anything that actually has any benefit for current or later life.
Personally, my son has a collection of swords, guns and the like. Current thing he likes is Pokemon and Gormitti.... he's only young once and he might as well enjoy it.
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