Opinions on toy guns

[kiver]

I did a search and couldn't find anything recent on this topic, but I am sure it has been discussed before. I was reading an article not that long ago about children and toy guns. The article was pro 2A but also discouraged toy guns in the home.

What are people's opinions of toy guns in the home. I have a 4year old and a 2 year old and currently there are no toy guns in the home, however I remember growing up with them.

 

[abundigas]

I am a big fan of toy guns. I had them as a Kid and there were no long term negative damage done because of it.

 

[Tim94gt]

I grew up with toy guns and I turned out OK. I think if you are going to give your kids toy guns then you should use them as a tool to teach firearms safety.

I forget who it was but someone on NES made a deal with their kid(s) that if they wanted to use a real gun they would have to trade all the toy guns in, good bargaining chips.

 

[Danrk6]

As long as the child understands the difference between the toy and the real deal I don't see a problem with toy guns. I had toy guns when I was little. Everyone loves a cap gun! Since then my toy guns simply moved onto paintball and airsoft toys for when I can't make it to the range to shoot the real deal.

 

[icyclefar]

I grew up with toy guns and I turned out OK. I think if you are going to give your kids toy guns then you should use them as a tool to teach firearms safety.

I forget who it was but someone on NES made a deal with their kid(s) that if they wanted to use a real gun they would have to trade all the toy guns in, good bargaining chips.

That would be me.

Guns are not toys ............. toys should not be guns.

I'm not crazy over the issue, but in my home, where REAL GUNS are present, I don't want toy ones laying around. It just makes me uncomfortable.

 

[Monty]

My son has an arsenal of nerf guns. He's 9.

 

[DustinK]

Kids will always want things they can't have. In my mind, denying them toy guns while their friends have them will make them want the guns even more. Without parents teaching children the difference between toy guns and real guns there will exist a safety concern.

Let the kids have their toy guns - just be sure to teach them, as their parent, that there is a big difference between the toy and the real thing and that the real thing needs to be treated very differently. My (much) younger cousins - three boys - all have fun playing with their toy guns. When they are over grandpa's, however, they still know that even his pellet gun is not a toy and understand the difference because they were taught about it young.

 

[Admin]

My boys have LOTS of toy guns.

 

[masduct]

I grew up with toy guns and around real guns. I was taught the difference early on. I knew I could play with the toy riffles but if I went near the gun case I would get taught a lesson. I had a blast and when we didn't have toy guns, we used sticks as pretend guns. We were taught to respct the real guns, go no where near them unless an adult was present and supervising.

 

[goofycj7]

I will have no problem with my kids playing with toy guns when they are old enough/reponsible enough. 18 months is obviously too young right now.

I grew up with toy guns, but was not allowed any BB guns, even the plastic BB's.
SO Guess what I got as soon as I could? Paintball!

Better to have them play with them and teach then have them learn about them on their own.

 

[RI_John]

My kids have nerf guns, water guns, lazer tag guns, etc. They're 7 and 5. They know the difference between "daddy's guns" and toy ones.

My 7 year old boy has plastic tools. He pretends to cut off his sister's arm with the plastic saw, yet he knows very well never to touch the real saws in the basement.

I grew up with cap guns, water guns, bb guns, pellet guns, 22s and shotguns. I knew the difference at a very early age. My kids are smarter than I was (am? ) so I'm confident they know the difference too.

 

[rep308]

I have a problem with the ultra realistic airsoft guns as they can get a kid in trouble. Most toy guns are fine by me.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Alan always had toy guns lots of them. You can also use them for teaching aids.
We did that. When he was small he'd want to be with Dad cleaning guns, so we had him learn how to clean a gun by him cleaning his toy guns. You can also teach gun safety, etc.
He turned out alright.

 

[efowke]

I have a couple of small boys and I was considering going the "no toy gun" route. The problem I've found is that every other kid has a toy gun, and he can just create a gun out of a toy drill, or anything he feels like. When you add in the squirt gun / supersoaker's that are out there, I don't know how someone keeps toys guns out of their child's life.

The interesting thing is that the kids with the most toy guns come from the homes with parents that would never join me at the range.

 

[lowbuckbob]

I grew up with toy guns and I turned out OK (I think). I never discouraged my son from playing with them and he turned out OK (so far). A loving environment with parents that teach kids right from wrong is far more important than what toys they play with.

 

[Masterguns]

i didn't really have toy guns... i remember mom taking away my water guns (but thats usually because i shot my sisters with them)

of course i did have my ruger 10/22 and a ruger .22 single six from a young age on


of course i would like to think if they had all these cool gatling gun, assault rifle with magazine, revolver nerf guns when i WAS a kid i WOULD of had them lol

 

[drumenigma]

I think the opinion differs between toy guns that look like real guns and ones like Nerf guns that look nothing like real guns. (Then again there are some funky looking real guns out there, anywho.....) I think most people are fine with the Nerf type ones but a lot of people freak out about their kids having ones that closely resemble the real thing. I live with my girlfriends daughter so I don't imagine I'll have many around the house unless Barbie comes out with a gunslinger series or something. Personally I am not against them but I don't currently have any around the house. My gf would probably freak out and think I left one of my real ones around if she saw one somewhere.

 

[Lauria]

I didn't have toy guys growing up... so when we played cowboys and indians, or "Secret Agent and Canadians" (I was a weird kid...) we used our fingers in lieu of toy guns. So it doesn't matter if they have the objects or not, I'm pretty sure kids will still play.

 

[FPrice]

If they are obviously toys, I have no problem with them. It's when they look so much like real guns that could be mistaken for such that I am leary of letting kids have them.

However, good parental supevision and education can calm many fears in that area.

 

[william_munny]

My girlfriend's 8 year old has nerf guns and what not, but nothing even close to realistic. There's a perceptible change in his demeanor when he goes from handling a nerf gun to my gas-powered airsoft pistol (which is what I've been teaching him gun safety with), and by that, I mean he gets serious and actually starts following the rules of gun safety when something close to the real deal is in his hands. I've had someone tell me that if I'm going to teach him gun safety, I should take his toy guns away, but after seeing him prove to me that he knows the difference, I have no desire to deprive him of any nerf guns. After all, I sure enjoyed nerf wars when I was his age.

ETA: He does not have access to my airsoft guns, he only uses them when we do target shooting together.

 

[GaryO]

Alot of us grew up watching shows like the Rifleman or Bonanza and other shows that showed both good and bad guys with guns. My brother and I would always play cowboys and indians(native americans) and we turned out fine. These days the shows glorify gangbangers and other trash with guns and when you have rappers and sports stars carrying them around in the waistband of jogging suits kids want to emulate them.
My son turns six in a couple of weeks and he has the usual assortment of nerf guns but I always take the time to explain proper safety when he is using them, it may sound dumb but at his age it will hopefully be second nature when he is old enough to go to the range with me.

 

[kiver]

Secret Agent and Canadians

What???

 

[Masterguns]

I didn't have toy guys growing up... so when we played cowboys and indians, or "Secret Agent and Canadians"

i wonder if when i have kids they'll play "survivors vs zombies" instead of "secret agents and canadians" lol

 

[clinotus]

My kids dont have any toy guns...but daddy has a ton of airsoft and bb guns.

 

[Tara]

Ky has a toy shotgun, complete with shells and sounds. The real deals are always on lockdown, so I'm not terribly worried about her playing with those. I want her to learn how to shoot as soon as we deem she's old enough.

 

[jobowker]

My four year old has a toy pop gun from Cabela's. Other than the annoying sound it makes, it hasn't been a problem. She know s that it's a toy, and that it will be taken away if she sweeps someone or points it at anyone.

 

[JRyan]

My kids have a ton of nerf guns. As a parent, it's fun to grab one of the bigger ones and hunt them down with it.

My kids are also easily able to distinguish between a nerf gun and a real gun.

 

[jenlynn724]

My boys have everything from water guns to airsoft pistols, and everything in between. My 9 year old has handled the real stuff, but the 3 year old has not, and won't for a long time, because he is a different kind of kid..
I have no problem with the toys..

 

[Blitz1]

I had all kinds of toy guns when I was a kid and I turned out normal.

 

[MetalgodZ]

I had all kinds of toy guns when I was a kid and I turned out normal.

A normal answer from Blitz? I was expecting another link, possibly along the lines of this.

My dad didn't care about toy guns, but my mom didn't like them, and my dad deferred to her. Of course, we just made guns out of other things (Construx, Legos, etc.) and once we were old enough to buy our own toys, there were Nerf guns and water pistols, etc.