Toy guns and children

[JumpWing]

We made "guns" out of anything that was remotely shaped like one (usually sticks or pipes). Ditto for "swords" during my ( ) Dungeons & Dragons era.

 

[theLEMband]

Generation Xer. I had lots of toy guns as a kid and when they were broken we would manufacture our own out of sticks, broomhandles, bananas...whatever. I was also out shooting at an early age and knew the difference between a real gun and a toy. It is somewhat harder to tell with some of the toys produced these days, so I can understand not wanting kids to have authentic looking "toys" until they are older.
I had all girls and they never wanted toy guns, but I've seen a lot of parents of boys give up the "no toy gun" policy when their kids would make one out of anything remotely shaped like a gun. I think some of the "no gun" comes from not understanding that boys are inherently different than girls. Well-meaning people try to make up rules to make boys act like girls.

 

[The B]

i'm 28 or 29, and playing with toy guns was essential to my youth. i had toy guns and didn't play with or at anything else. we were always soldiers or cops or sometimes even bank robbers or assissins.... so long as it involved guns.

i have big conflicting feelings with my kids. i have 3 boys and another one on the way. we've maintained a pretty solid "no toy guns" policy, but we've made exceptions for Nerf dart guns. My wife likes to go all-out with stuff, so we had at least a pistol and a rifle and bandoleres for each boy, and there's still hundreds of suckerdarts all over the house. The toys are bright red and orange and don't look anything like real guns, but they still have pistol grips and triggers. I'll never forget seeing my less-than-1-year-old, at the time, pick up a lower-case D magnet, point the pointy end at me and say "psshhh! psshhh! psshhh!" and simulate recoil.

As much as I loved playing with guns when i was a kid, i'd just rather my kids develope a real respect for firearms. So we're back to no toy guns.

 

[rsmccsman]

We didn't have real guns in my home growing up. My parents weren't against them just didn't own them. (My dad was a preacher.) However I had all kinds of toy guns growing up, cap guns, dart duns etc. I even used my imagination and used things like bent sticks or tennis rackets to be my gun for playing war or cowboys or cops and robbers. We even did this at school without fear of being suspended. Later after I grew up I took my dad shooting when I first got into guns, it was a lot of fun and I wish that I had been able to have that experience as a kid. He shared about being in the navy on shore leave in pre-communist Shanghai China and having to keep his hand on the 1911 .45 the whole time or it might get stolen by pickpockets. They got his watch. Now days there is so much social stigma with guns and fear that the police will shoot your kid because of his toy gun, I have even heard about kids getting in trouble at school for using their finger to play shoot em up. It is sad. There are a lot of cool options though, from squirt guns to belt fed fully auto nerf dart guns to paintball and airsoft a lot more choices now than when I was a kid and the Red Ryder was the be all end all. We haven't banned toy guns in our house but haven't gone out of our way to promote them either. Mostly I don't want my kids learning bad gun habits. I want my own kids to learn responsible and safe gun handling skills.

 

[darkminstrel]

I was taught to hunt by my uncle at around age 6. The only time I had exposure to real guns was at his place. I had more toy guns than you could shake the sticks they were made of at. I pointed those things at everyone and every thing. On the other side of it was the knowledge that a toy was just that. My hunting rifle was always couched safely no matter what. At 13 my father did get me a couple air rifles. We had owls that were stealing our chickens and cats so it was my duty to hunt them. I got pretty good at intuitively guessing 'bullet' drop because of that.

My stepson though...10 years old, I've been instructing him on safety and how to use his .22 for nearly two years now. Boy has almost shot me twice, and it took my rifle and a watermelon for him to realise just what kind of damage a gun can do. I think it was the disconnect of TV and video games not making guns 'real' on or off the screen.

Two weeks ago my 3 year old pointed a pistol made of Legos at me and made gun noises. I was paralysed and didn't know how to react. He saw that though. He apologised and took the gun apart with me. I am going to institute a no pointing toy guns at people rule in the house.

Think on this though;

Years ago school-yard/bar/street fights were solved with fists or at the worst; knives. I think it's only been since the 80s or so that gun violence has grown in abundance. These days I'm actually wary of any 10 year old on up because of how many are bringing guns to school to feel safe or wag their johnsons.

 

[laktrash]

Yes unfortunately a Bob Dylan quote "the times are a changin' "

 

[dario541]

From as long as I can remember, I played with "guns." Sometimes it was just pointing 2 fingers and saying "Bang!" I also had a Red Ryder BB gun (it had a wooden stock, not the chintzy plastic of today). I once pointed it at a sparrow sitting on a power line and fired and hit it. The poor bird fell to the ground and soon died. I felt horrible! I NEVER did any such thing again (shooting an innocent target for no reason).
I also had a few cap guns and enjoyed them. All of the kids I knew did the same thing. I remember going to the movies. Friday and Saturday was kid's day. They showed mostly Westerns with Gene, Roy, Tex, Hoppy, etc. When there was a shooting scene a lot of kids who had brought cap guns to the theater would shoot right along with the movie. It was a madhouse! I really loved it! We couldn't go very often. After all, it costed a whopping ten cents admission!
I have 5 sons and one daughter. They all grew up with guns in the house. When they were young, I bought toy guns for them. As they became mature enough I would take them out and let them fire real weapons. Early on I demonstrated how dangerous guns can be. They are all alive and well today and they all possess firearms.
I do not believe that having toy guns turns children into crazed killers!

 

[laktrash]

I agree 100% It is a shame everthing has got so out of whack. It was harmless fun and we knew "because we were taught" the difference between real and play !

 

[deadeye]

The current technology is a major factor in why you don't see kids with toy guns anymore. Nowadays there is no imagination like we all had as kids. If a kid wants to play cops and robbers or cowboys/indians al they have to do is fire up the computer or the xbox,sony,etc.

we used to have bb gun wars in the woods and the guys with the crossmans (pump masters) were limited to a few pumps,especially afetr getting a pellet through my shoe. I know I know dangerous by todays standards but no one got hurt and we had fun. Now kids have paintball and soft air guns to choose from for ...FULL contact wars....

 

[Artilleryman]

I'm 40 and grew up with toy guns. Several types, ranging from nothing more than an index finger and shouted "bang, bang" & sticks, cowboy style sixguns firing paper caps, water pistols, etc, etc, etc....we played cowboys & indians, cops & robbers, Army, and all that good stuff that seems to be falling by the wayside. And guess what? Neither I nor any of my friends grew up to be serial killers, psycopaths, or liberals. I remember watching tv shows like the Lone Ranger,Gunsmoke, The Cisco Kid & watching John Wayne movies with my dad. I was taught the difference between play & real, right & wrong. As I sit here reading some of this stuff- and also thinking of other comments I've heard on the subject I am very much disappointed to see how many children are prevented from experiencing such basic good ol' American heritage & fun times. Maybe it's because I grew up in the midwest as opposed places like multnomah county, san fancisco, boston, or because I'm fortunate enough to have been raised by a family with traditional American values & Patriotism. It appears the vile 'political correctness' plague is more deeply entrenched than I thought. When I see grown men wringing their hankies & nearly fainting at the mere thought of their children playing with cap guns I tend to get very politically incorrect myself. Somewhere along the way John Wayne, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger & all those guys have been replaced in the American concsiousness by oprah winfrey & rosie o'donnel. People seem to be of the sentiment these days that stuff like 'Bonanza' or 'Gunsmoke' is bad, but 'brokeback mountiain' is good. same ##&$ people who raise their kids to believe burning the American flag is an acceptable form of self expression. I guess I'm just rambling on now- it just amazes me to see such such warping of traditional values...

 

[laktrash]

+ 1 artilleryman coming from "hillbilly with values" from the mountains of east Tennessee

 

[STNOSU]

I grewup playing with neighbor's toy guns since my mom didn't allow toy guns. She grew up on a ranch and and told us growing up that they were a tool not a toy. So like others have mentioned made up my own out of random things or sticks. Then we used to go to fleamarkets when I was younger so I would sneak off and buy one of those tiny lil cap gun rifles. Was bolt action and you could only put one cap into it at a time. Was probably the length of a butter knife. I am 28 now by the way.

Now being a parent with a 3 yr old he has toy guns, all are bright colors and he loves nerf guns. He had one machine gun cammo style but he broke the barrel pretty quick. When we were cleaning the 30.06 up we thought he would run up to and try to play with it but he didnt want to go near it. He told us that it was a real gun and that it can hurt people. That was kind of nice to see, I tried to test him a bit and left it propped up on a wall next to our closet in our room. He loves running into our room and playing on our bed or watching tv in there. He ran in and skidded to a stop and inched his way around it. Then went to the far corner of the room and played quietly. He didnt see me so I know he has a concept. We dont let him point his toy guns at people and so far so good. After looking on here at the classifieds he will run up and tell me that hes going to buy me a gun when he gets older and we are going hunting.

We did take him to the wifes grandfather, her grandfather was a spokesman for the NRA back in the day and has national field champion weirmraners or how ever you spell it. The guy has guns all over and his house if beyond hunting themed. Our son walked in and didnt touch one thing. Even after he got comfortable and raced around he made sure not to touch anything, then he made sure to tell us to be careful and dont point the rifle we were looking at with the grandfather.

 

[Weathermaker]

I had a lot of toy guns when I was a kid. Mostly cap guns. That was late 40's. I kind of grew out of playing with toy guns around 7 years old. When I was in early teens, I graduated to BB Guns. No stigma in those days about playing with toy guns. Everyone had them. Even some girls.

We used to take rubber band guns to school. Only rule was that they were to stay in your desk during classroom time. Recess was another thing.

Oh well. That was then and this is now.

 

[ZeroRing]

The current technology is a major factor in why you don't see kids with toy guns anymore. Nowadays there is no imagination like we all had as kids. If a kid wants to play cops and robbers or cowboys/indians al they have to do is fire up the computer or the xbox,sony,etc.

we used to have bb gun wars in the woods and the guys with the crossmans (pump masters) were limited to a few pumps,especially afetr getting a pellet through my shoe. I know I know dangerous by todays standards but no one got hurt and we had fun. Now kids have paintball and soft air guns to choose from for ...FULL contact wars....

We must be about the same age!

We had BB gun wars in the woods behind our house when I was a kid too. Two pumps was the rule and I still remember unleashing a barrage from my "backup" CO2 pistol on a friend of mine when a BB went zipping thru the brush right next to me that I KNOW was more than two pumps!!

I can only imagine the kind of trouble we'd have gotten into if there had been paintball back then (late 70's - early 80's)!

 

[dario541]

Artillerman, you are RIGHT on! My childhood was similar. However, I was 14 before TV ever came to our area (Denver, CO) so most of the westerns that I remember are from "Old Time Radio (The Lone Ranger, Red Ryder, Gunsmoke, Tom Mix, etc.)."

 

[twjski]

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

I started playing with toy guns when I was around 4. I was taught how to handle guns around 7 or 8. Got my 1st BB Gun (Red Ryder lever action rifle) around 9 - 10. Received my 1st single shot 22 bolt action rifle when I was 10-11. Had a 22 bullet trap in my basement at 12-13. Started reloading 30-30's & 7mm magnum rifle ammunition around 14-25. I'm now 63, but I was always taught safety and to respect firearms. When I was in my 30's I was a victim of an armed home invasion. I will never let myself be that vulnerable (twitch of their finger & I was dead) again...now CCW (CPL). Kid's must be tought what guns can do and how to handle them, especially now-a-days.

 

[VWguy69]

I'm 32 now, and had ALLOT of toy guns as a kid. everything you could name from cap guns to Co2 powered.... and I also had several .22's when I got old enough. some of us kids would go up in the woods and have BB gun wars and shoot each other all day long. Also using dirt clods as grenades and wood that we used as knives or bayo's.... NO WAY would I let my kids do this now... We cant afford insurance. I do allow squirt gun wars though. But those guns don't look anything like guns.
I also subscribe to the "real gun" policy. My boys have thier own BB guns, but they are locked up with my guns. They know that they can use them pretty much whenever they ask in the shooting area in the back yard. They also know that there is a responsibility that goes with them. They have both had a small amount of "training" from me and even passed a reasonable test before they could shoot or handle anything with a projectile. They will soon be taking a real safety course.
They also know that there are 3 loaded guns at all times in my house and that they are not to be touched. One is always on me, The Shotgun is in the "lock-box" that is unlocked only when I'm at home, and the 1911 is in the pistol safe... also only unlocked when I'm at home.... They are very careful not to go anywhere near the guns... Except when they give Daddy a hug.

 

[gallogiro]

I grew up playing with toy guns and bb guns, I remember I was 3 when I got two chrome revolvers (caps) w/ belt, holsters and sherifs badge. I was probably 7 when I bought a Marksman bb repeater with the money I saved, that was so much fun.

After that I bought various pellet rifles and such. Still, I always played with toy guns/ rifles, water guns, etc. Actually, I still do. My son just turned 3 and he has many toy rifles that he likes to keep in daddy's gun cabinet. He likes to sit next to me and watch hunting shows and "shoot" at the deer on tv.

 

[chris61182]

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

I'm 27, had and played with toy guns as a kid, like everyone else made guns out of everything imaginable some even completely imaginary.

My two kids have toy guns, and when those are lost under/behind the coach or else where they promptly pick up the next nearest toy, stick, pointer finger, etc... and start "bang, banging!" with that in place of the toy gun.

We've got an open safe policy in our house, so all the kids have to do is ask and I'll pull out what ever they happen to want to see and we'll go through making sure it's unloaded, go over it naming all the parts, working the actions, describing the safety features, going over the safety rules, and as such it's not much of a shock that when I intentionally leave one of my rifles out on purpose to gauge interest it gets absolutely no attention what so ever.

The interesting thing is that they had a very realistic looking handgun added to their toy collection yesterday and my daughter came home from school today and found it sitting unattended on the coach. Apparently she had doubts of whether it was real or their new toy, so she gathered up her little brother and the two of them went to find mom. :yes:

Despite having the most awesome out come I could imagine, I think I'll be adding some additional fluorescent orange paint to that gun. I'd like to maintain that healthy doubt and clear distinction between real and fake.

 

[jordanvraptor]

Ah memories...

We played army with toy guns and later had the BB gun wars in the woods as well. Some of my toy guns were very realistic. I remember a derringer that I had that was probably just as well made as those Davis D-22's. Also had a bright silver Colt .45 1911 type that looked a lot like my shiny Colt Mustang I just bought. Was it a factor in me getting the Colt Mustang? You betcha.

As for the scarcity of toy guns let alone real ones for today's generation...
I remember my classmates bringing shotguns for show and tell with rounds cycled through the action to show how it worked. Many of the farm kids' pickup trucks had gun racks with rifles in them in my high school parking lot. We had guns and knives yet all of us seemed to survive without mass shootings or stabbings. Amazing huh? As far as I know the group of kids I used to play army with never got into trouble with drugs or driving drunk etc. In fact my friend grew up to be a Sergeant Major in the Rangers. Come to think of it, he showed promise back then when he and another guy flanked me and hit me with converging fields of fire from their BB guns. Stings just thinking about it...