Do you let you children play with toy guns?

[THE BIG SITT]

Ever since the question popped into my mind, I imediately answered with a resounding "Yes!". But having thought about it for a while, I can see the drawbacks. The major drawback to letting you child play with toy guns would be the possibility that they develop an association between guns and toys. Obviously this would be detrimental if (and that is a big if) they were to ever find a real gun at your house OR someone else's. I see a lot of people saying "I teach my children to never touch a gun when they see one." Well wouldn't that include toy guns as well? How is a 4 year old supposed to know the difference, without a shadow of a doubt? Maybe I'm overthinking things, being a new father and all, but it has been a little debate I've had in my mind for a while. Straighten me out INGO.

 

[RegularGuy24]

I have a 5 year old with down syndrome with sensitivity issues and he throws everything he touches so no toy guns for him. I also have a 9 month old boy. So now I hear you I'm really torn also. I grew up with cap guns and rubber dart shooting tec 9's that looked exactly like my dads. I think toy guns are OK as long as they look and operate different than the real thing. And of coarse the real stuff is secured and not ever available to the little ones. And bring out the real stuff when they are ready and put them up when the fun is done for the day. The days of growing up with 12 gauges behind the door like I did are over in my house...lol

 

[edporch]

Being born in the mid 50's I had toy guns even as a little kid.
But if my dad ever saw me pointing them at anybody I was sternly told to NEVER point a gun at anybody.

So even though they were toys, I was taught to treat them as if they were real.

 

[Slawburger]

If they don't have toy guns they will just point sticks at each other instead.

 

[THE BIG SITT]

Being born in the mid 50's I had toy guns even as a little kid.
But if my dad ever saw me pointing them at anybody I was sternly told to NEVER point a gun at anybody.

So even though they were toys, I was taught to treat them as if they were real.

I had toy guns as a kid, and I definitely pointed them at my buddies while playing. I must ask, if you aren't gonna play like your a cop or a soldier, what is the point of a toy gun? It isn't like you can target shoot with them...

 

[wtfd661]

I had toy guns growing up, played "war" "cops and robbers" "cowboys and Indian's" without issue. Yes my kids had toy guns growing up, as a matter of fact one of my favorite pictures of my kids, when they were little stinkers, is one of my youngest daughter at Disney World (she was 4 years old at the time and we were staying in the cabins in at Fort Wilderness), we had bought her a princess dress up/mirrored beauty set and she was sitting in front of it all dressed up as a princess and was holding a toy snub nosed revolver (that we had bought her on the way down to Disney) smiling at the camera. I called her my pistol packing princess!!!

 

[Mark-DuCo]

We let our 3 (almost 4) year old play with toy guns, but he knows not to point them ant anybody or he gets in trouble for now until he understands the difference completely between a toy gun such as paintball can be pointed at a person during a game and a real one that can seriously injure or kill someone. I grew up playing with toy guns, I even had a paintball gun and shot people with it and I turned out just fine. Well, maybe not just fine, but I still respect guns like my father taught me too.

 

[NyleRN]

My 4yr old son sits behind me when I shoot and helps me reload my mags by handing me the rounds one by one. He loves to "help dad out". Even at 4, he knows the distinct difference between a toy gun and a real one. I let him hold my guns anytime he asks to see them so that his curiosity doesn't get the best of him. Or me for that matter. And yes I've talked to all my kids about guns and gun safety, but when it comes to playing "cops and robbers" or "cowboys and Indians" I'll let my kids be kids

 

[EvilElmo]

I had lots of toy guns as a kid and I turned out fine. You know why? Because my parents taught me the difference. I had BB guns too. I pointed the toy guns at my friends all the time as we played cops & robbers, but I never pointed a BB gun at anyone because my parents taught me the difference.

And I have to agree with Big Sitt - if you can't point your toy gun at your friends then what's the point of the toy gun? That's why it's a TOY.

 

[Mark 1911]

I grew up in the late 50s and early 60s. If you were a boy you played with toy guns, toy cars, bicycles, or played sports. Life was pretty simple then compared to now. We didn't have a lot of toys, and certainly didn't have the entire stock of Toys R Us in our bedrooms gathering dust. We didn't play computer games, there weren't any. If we sat in front of the TV too long, we got thrown outside. We played army, pointed toy guns at our friends, we were supposed to fall down and die if we got beat to the draw. We ran around the whole neighborhood with them, all of our neighbors knew who we were, and the cops never looked twice. Times have changed. Not sure I would want my 7 or 8 year old kid running down the street with a toy gun. Very sad.

 

[VERT]

Yes and toy light sabers as well.

 

[singlesix]

Did kids get dumber? I grew up playing with guns, favorite was a Thompson 45, and we pointed at and shot at other kids. Never did I mistake a real gun for a toy gun.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Yes, definitely.

True toy guns are now bright orange and silver instead of black and silver and they almost never fire anything the way ours did (discs, darts, etc). The kid can do whatever she wants with those.

The BB gun and Lil' Scout bow, however, are treated like weapons. She does not have access to them without me present, and we only shoot them at targets.

One thing I have decided not to allow, though, are Airsoft guns. They are neither clearly toys nor clearly weapons, so they don't fit either set of rules well. I think that encourages kids to treat them way too cavalierly (the way we used to do with BB's, frankly) and shoot each other with them.

 

[hd96heritage]

i think toy guns are just fine because they are in fact just toys. i let my son have many toy guns and i do let him point the at me or his friends when they are playing, as long as it's not right in my face - can't stand that. But i have been teaching him about gun safety for the last 2 years. i want him to know the difference between what is a toy and what is not. i would think that most of us on this forum are firearm enthusiasts who would like to pass that tradition onto our children and their children and toy guns are the first baby step in that culture.

hes a pretty sharp 7 year old and can tell you the 4 most important firearm safety rules, how to safety check a gun (most of them), major parts of the guns and different styles of guns. we call it firearm safety training and it's of CRITICAL importance in our house as i think everyone who has a firearm should teach their children about them. it takes away the curiosity of the unknown when he is allowed to be around them at anytime he requests. i will even let him hold them and wear them in a holster. it's also critical that no firearms are ever available to him at anytime on his own. except for my CCW on my person, all our firearms stay locked up where he has no access to them. obviously we have super super strict rules for letting him handle any real firearm; he must first tell me the safety rules, then tell me HOW to do a safety check (he tells me the steps and i physically do it), once the safety check is complete and firearm verified to be safe he can touch and hold the firearm as long as he is following said safety rules and only allowed to do this when he is in MY direct supervision. this is never considered playing with guns. this is safety training and firearm awareness. it is important he knows the difference between what is real and what is just a toy.

while we are having these safety "classes" i go over scenarios like if he's at a friends house and they find a gun, what to do. other important safety tips like parking lot awareness or any other places where we need to stay extra aware of our surroundings, we code this as "looking sharp". they have "lock down" drills at school now for active shooter situations and we talk about those situations and his drills they do. we aren't going into any graphic details as he is only 7, but it's important for him to know that there are evil people in the world who do evil things and it's not anyone's fault they are like that, it's just the way it is.

last fall grandpa got him a red ryder bb gun. we treat it as a completely real gun, in essence it is. we go through the safety rules before he can shoot it and if he ever breaks any of them, even if by accident, the shooting is over and we go over why.

it's important to let kids be kids so that's why i let him have toy guns and it really creates an entirely different attitude when the real things come out because you are clearly separating toy from tool.

everyone feels differently about this and i won't knock anyone's opinions for how they feel comfortable in their house, this is just how we do it in mine

 

[hd96heritage]

One thing I have decided not to allow, though, are Airsoft guns. They are neither clearly toys nor clearly weapons, so they don't fit either set of rules well. I think that encourages kids to treat them way too cavalierly (the way we used to do with BB's, frankly) and shoot each other with them.

+1 i have been feeling the same way about this. my son is just 7 and clearly not old enough to be using those imo, but i just have a hard time thinking that's ok. i'd rather him do paintball. and that is logic i can't explain

 

[THE BIG SITT]

i think toy guns are just fine because they are in fact just toys. i let my son have many toy guns and i do let him point the at me or his friends when they are playing, as long as it's not right in my face - can't stand that. But i have been teaching him about gun safety for the last 2 years. i want him to know the difference between what is a toy and what is not. i would think that most of us on this forum are firearm enthusiasts who would like to pass that tradition onto our children and their children and toy guns are the first baby step in that culture.

hes a pretty sharp 7 year old and can tell you the 4 most important firearm safety rules, how to safety check a gun (most of them), major parts of the guns and different styles of guns. we call it firearm safety training and it's of CRITICAL importance in our house as i think everyone who has a firearm should teach their children about them. it takes away the curiosity of the unknown when he is allowed to be around them at anytime he requests. i will even let him hold them and wear them in a holster. it's also critical that no firearms are ever available to him at anytime on his own. except for my CCW on my person, all our firearms stay locked up where he has no access to them. obviously we have super super strict rules for letting him handle any real firearm; he must first tell me the safety rules, then tell me HOW to do a safety check (he tells me the steps and i physically do it), once the safety check is complete and firearm verified to be safe he can touch and hold the firearm as long as he is following said safety rules and only allowed to do this when he is in MY direct supervision. this is never considered playing with guns. this is safety training and firearm awareness. it is important he knows the difference between what is real and what is just a toy.

while we are having these safety "classes" i go over scenarios like if he's at a friends house and they find a gun, what to do. other important safety tips like parking lot awareness or any other places where we need to stay extra aware of our surroundings, we code this as "looking sharp". they have "lock down" drills at school now for active shooter situations and we talk about those situations and his drills they do. we aren't going into any graphic details as he is only 7, but it's important for him to know that there are evil people in the world who do evil things and it's not anyone's fault they are like that, it's just the way it is.

last fall grandpa got him a red ryder bb gun. we treat it as a completely real gun, in essence it is. we go through the safety rules before he can shoot it and if he ever breaks any of them, even if by accident, the shooting is over and we go over why.

it's important to let kids be kids so that's why i let him have toy guns and it really creates an entirely different attitude when the real things come out because you are clearly separating toy from tool.

everyone feels differently about this and i won't knock anyone's opinions for how they feel comfortable in their house, this is just how we do it in mine

Very well said. Summarizes everything I have thought.

 

[1911ly]

Yes. All my kids play/played with toy guns. We also handle real guns. They know the difference between the two. There are rules.

 

[Fire Lord]

Of course I played with toy guns. My son has an "arsenal" of toy guns. but I spent (am spending) years teaching him the difference of toys and real guns. He can recite the four main rules, and even explain the meaning and reason for each. His actions at the range are nearly impeccable. Which is more than I can say for some adults. I understand if the child is special needs, you probably would just say no. Otherwise, be the parent. Teach the values needed for a successful life.

 

[A 7.62 Exodus]

I had a toy gun arsenal that would make any of my friends jealous. I used them, pointed them at all of my friends, I even did some modifications to many of them.

Now, to address your concerns about your four year old child. I do not remember ever having toy guns at that age. Heck, I don't think I remember ANYTHING about being four. We didn't have a real firearm in the house until I was eight years old. I was never taught the four rules. All I ever got was, don't play with this, this could really hurt you. It was never locked up. It always sat in my dad's closet, just hanging out.

Being into guns at such an early age, I think I just instinctively knew the differences between my toys, and my Dad's boomstick. I had watched enough history channel to know that firearms killed people, while my toys made noises and lite up. Once again, I was nearly twice you child's age at this time. It is certainly your discretion when it comes to toy guns. Do I think your child should be able to have them? Yes I do. However, I think WHEN they should have them depends on the child. Four may be a bit too young, but then again, you may have one smart cookie on your hands.

 

[Small's]

I grew up with toys guns not painted orange. We always had wars shooting each other and the invisible bad guys. Ive never pointed a real gun at anyone and I knew the difference as a kid. I dont see a issue unless the kids are on drugs but then again how many parents are on some type of drug or depression medication.