Toy guns and children

[PlayboyPenguin]

I noticed the other day that toy guns are rare at Target, K-mart, etc. When I was a kid the toy section was at least 50% toy guns and GI Joes with guns.

I also notice that I seldom see kids in our neighborhood playing with toy guns. I see skateboards, iPods, frisbees, footballs, and other toys...but no toy guns. Even the squirtguns do not look like guns now. They look like chemical sprayers.

When I was a kid you could not look outside without seeing young kids playing with cap guns, suckerdart guns, disk guns, squirtguns, rubberband guns, BB guns, etc.

I started to wonder when did this start changing? So I thought I would ask...

How old are you and did toy guns play a big role in your childhood? Do your kids play with toy guns?

I am 42 and they definitely did in mine. Most of my toys were soldier related or cowboy related. I had toy rifles, toy revolvers, cap guns, squirt guns, etc. When Star Wars came out and the scifi bug took over my guns changed to pulse rifles and blasters, but they still remained firearms.

As you can see in these pics, I was very into guns as a kid. I am very young in the third one and already doing the finger twirl.

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[greenLED]

We used to make guns out of paper or sticks
since nothing else was available.

 

[wichaka]

As a kid, we would use old broken Daisy type bb guns, that had the barrel guts taken out and use them to shot each other.

In high school, we were able to purchase barreled actions and make stocks for them in wood shop...I still have mine.

The problem arose when they started making toy guns to look 'more' like the real ones. Look at the air-soft guns these days. Stand back a few yards, one can't tell the difference. Then there's more gun violence these days as well.....oh the good ol days!

 

[Sun195]

My parents had a "no toy gun" policy for a while, but at some point I either wore them down or traded for a friend's toy gun. I still have it.

 

[finch6013]

when I was younger I had a toy M16. While sneaking around the front yard one day the mail man seen and when crazy. He freaked out at me and then my parents and threatened to call the cops. He never did or the cops thought he was crazy for calling them over a toy gun. I guess it scared him and he felt threatened.

 

[Jaybo]

Well, I will admit, I played with toy guns when I was kid too!! I'm 32 now, and have kids of my own, my oldest being 8.

I have a no toy gun policy in my house, because growing up; I was taught guns weren't toys. When I was 7, I was shooting a toy gun with some neighbor kids and a dog broke free of a chain, came over a fence and attacked me. It turned out the dog had been a retired police dog, that had been shot before, and the toy guns (pull the trigger and rev reve rev kind) really pissed the dog off... I ended up with a handful of stitches in my leg, and for a long time a healthy fear of big dogs!

I have a collection of firearms, and I have an open safe policy with my kids. The guns stay locked up, no ifs, ands or buts about it. However, if my kids want to go look, touch, hold or whatever, I have no issue with opening the safes up. A supervised encounter with a firearm, in a safe and controlled environment goes a long ways to teach about the responsibility of owning a firearm. Both my two older boys have their own bb guns... but they stay locked up with the rest of the guns.

I know I'm doing things right, as my son Jacob who was 6 at the time, was out back of the property playing. He found a neighbors practice tip arrow in the brush, and brought it to the house. He asked if he could keep his new "weapon" in the safe, because that's where weapons go! I will admit, I was a little surprised, but I'll tell you what... I was very proud him!

 

[JumpWing]

A kid can make a toy gun out of anything. ****, my friends and I could find broken Y-shaped branches that had the proper angle for a "gun" grip (we had sticks for pistols, submachine guns, rocket launchers, rifles, even the old fashioned Star Trek phasers). I don't have a problem with toy guns disappearing. I think kids get more from supervised instruction with the real thing.

 

[cackman]

I noticed the other day that toy guns are rare at Target, K-mart, etc. When I was a kid the toy section was at least 50% toy guns and GI Joes with guns.
.

How old are you and did toy guns play a big role in your childhood? Do your kids play with toy guns?

Started shooting @4yrs. (7MM)

My son started @ 3yrs.

I'm 29 now, be 30 in 4 mos.

 

[NWMoss]

I think I was 10 or so...

 

[finch6013]

was probably 4 0r 5. I was shooting at six

 

[emanon]

I teach my kids that guns are not toys and to not "play" at shooting anyone or anything.

At the same time, I explain to them that we own guns to defend ourselves against people who would harm us and I strongly encourage them taking an interest in firearms use for sport/recreation. They know that they are always welcome to look at, learn about, hold and shoot our guns in a safe, supervised and appropriate setting.

 

[ZeroRing]

As with a lot of things that I did when I was a kid... I must admit that I played with toy guns, though I tend to not allow them in my house now that I am a 42 y.o. parent.

In fact, some of the things that I did as a kid would probably land me in jail with the PC related culture we live in these days. When I was in Jr. High and early High School we would even play "army" with BB guns out in the woods where we lived. Two pumps max was the rule.

The thought of MY kids doing that now though has me wondering where my brains were back then! :nuts:

I don't even want to contemplate the destruction I would have rained down on my neighborhood had there been paintball guns back then!!

 

[The Dude]

That might be true about kids not playing with toy-store guns like I had back in the day, but there's a pretty big market for airsoft and a huge market for paintball and since both of those can do what old school toy guns couldn't/can't, I'd say thats probably where that market went. That and games like Call of Duty and such.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

Beside a Johnny Seven OMA I had a 3/4 size Thompson M1A1 that fired caps, and it was about the best toy ever.

We, as kids actually understood the difference between toys and real guns, and were taken out target shooting and hunting at an early age (9-10, 11, Boy Scouts). I had my own .22 rifle with a 15-round magazine when I was 12 and managed to never point it at a human because I knew the difference.

On the other hand we weren't exposed to 5 murders a day on TV as "entertainment", either.

 

[swoop]

My brother and I got cap guns at age 4 and some real cool cork guns that came with some knock down targets at age 6. I remember a shotgun looking pump that shot ping pong balls that my mom would hide because we didn't follow the rules. Then came the Red Rider BB, Crossman pellet guns and of course 22's and shotguns. Looking back, guess we were pretty lucky living out in the country where we could shoot all day and not bother anyone. Seems like alot of parents fear guns now, and don't want there kids around them.

 

[Trlsmn]

I have a real gun policy, I never bought my kids toy guns, I bought them real guns starting with BB guns, and then .22s etc., they know shooting a gun has a responsibility connected to it.

 

[eriknemily]

I never really grew up with toy guns. We still did PLENTY of cowboy and indian types of games. We were three boys close to age so that was a driving interest. You don't even need anything other than your hand to have a 'gun' (good sound effects help too).

Now that I have kids I don't have toy guns for them. I'm 26 and my oldest is 5 (I have 4 kids ). Lately they've taken to using colored pencils as their guns. They all over the place shooting up things. I just remind them that they only shoot bad guys and their siblings or parents are NOT the bad guys.

What I've wondered is if people have have a moral/ethical problem with people letting their kids use toy guns? Maybe I should start a new thread on that topic.

 

[laktrash]

I'm 57, only child, grew up on small farm, I had entertain myself. I had some toy guns (few) mostly cowboy gun and holster I remember I had paladin one boy was I hot sxxx. I used a lot of tree limbs for long guns and pistol substitutes. I also was taught at a very young age (7 to 9 ? can't really remember) to use 22 rifle and 28 gauge single shot break down shotgun. I went with father and grand father for squirrel and rabbit hunting on our land. I alway understood the difference between toy and real. But I guess that was in another time. No locked doors at home and I got my butt busted at school and even had no hard feelings toward the princple. I actually like guy

 

[smithmax]

I'm 24 and grew up with toy guns. I probably started playing with them when I was 3-4.

Wifey and I are expecting our first kid in November, and yesterday my wife said that she wanted to have a "no toy gun" policy. It kind of surprised me at first, but it also means that I'll take him out shooting at a younger age and teach him respect for weapons.

 

[timbernet]

I'm 24 and grew up with toy guns. I probably started playing with them when I was 3-4.

Wifey and I are expecting our first kid in November, and yesterday my wife said that she wanted to have a "no toy gun" policy. It kind of surprised me at first, but it also means that I'll take him out shooting at a younger age and teach him respect for weapons.

No "toy" gun policy --- but "real" guns are fine

"Honey!! Don't you think he is a bit smaller for the 300 Win Magnum?"