Seriously.
Teach your kid gun safety, cause if you don't, it's Plain stupidity.
Quoting calimom1123:
What you told your boy wasnt even truth. Its not because someone played with a gun they ended up shooting someone. Guns are for protection and if a bad guy has one you better bet I want one to protect myself. The whole zimmerman thing he wasnt going out meaning to kill someone just because he had a gun. He ended up having to use it in self defence. It wasnt some little boy he shot either. Thats such an overexaggeration!
Quoting Anthonys_mommy1:I do the same with my boys. I've caught them making lego guns and have flipped out. I told my oldest (6) that guns are dangerous and that even pretending is not right. He also caught me watching the news recently with the whole zimmerman and martin thing and as I did not go into detail I told him the kid got shot and is now dead. I told him that some mommy and daddy out there have lost a son and he got upset. Hasn't played guns in a while. Thank goodness
I was super like that for many many years. I swear turning stuff into guns is in their DNA b/c my little boy would turn anything into a point and "shoot" thing and I would try to turn it into a "hose" or whatever. Then a few years ago a good friend who I respect a ton got him nerf gun for his b-day. When I lookee at her she said... dude he's a boy.
I also had to relax for water guns but I could see about truly realistic looking ones... then again I remember all those cap guns etc. we grew up with and we still respected the real thing.
Sorry, guess I'm not that much help either.
If you have strict rules it makes it difficult for your children to play at other people's homes. You have to choose friends that have the same rules or have people over to your home. I agree and I did a combination of both. When the kids were young we had friends with the same values. As they got older their friends came to our house. They had asthma and that was a good "reason" for them to not go to other people's houses. They could say they were allergic to smoke, pets, or something they knew the family had. It doesn't work to go to other people's homes and make a big deal about their rules in their homes.
First to each their own. That said, if you TEACH your children that ANY gun (toy or real) is not to be pointed at anyone, that they aren't really toys, that people could get hurt if they are treated like toys then this shouldn't matter. All 4 of my children have been around guns since they were born & from the time they could move, walk, & understand that guns aren't toys & that they shouldn't touch them unless mommy or daddy say they're safe & hand them to them then they shouldn't have anything to do with them. When my oldest DD was 15 months old her father left an unloaded gun on the bed where she could get it. She came out into the living room & proceded to tell her father that he did a bad thing by leaving it where she could get it. She did not pick it up, she just let us know that it was were she could get it. She was very upset that he had left it where it wasn't supposed to be. Your friend should not have made a big deal about it, she should have just put the toys where they couldn't be played with while your daughter was there.
My confession!
- jennsbowsnsuch
on Apr. 9, 2012 at 4:59 PM