Do you let your kids play with toy guns?

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smhbbag1

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I'm sure this has been done, but I didn't see it in a search.

I absolutely hate toy guns, especially in the hands of children. They have a difficult enough time telling reality from fantasy.

I know a lot of gun-owners, and the divide is pretty clean. I know it's not a statistically-significant sample, but......

1) Those who let their kids play with toy guns have kids with TERRIBLE trigger discipline, muzzle control, and general safety with REAL guns. They play cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and other shoot-em-up kids games. And then when the parents try to teach them about real guns, the kids don't take it seriously enough, because the habits with toy guns are so ingrained. It's very hard to expect a 6 year old to point a realistic toy gun at his friend, and then respect that it is absolutely unacceptable to do it with a gun that looks exactly like it.

2) Those who don't (which is a smaller group) all have kids who are respectful of the power of the gun. I know of two different two year olds who can say the gun safety rules, and put it into practice. I was showing one father a handgun of mine, and he turned to his kid and said "Now what do we do with guns?" And the 2 year old says, "Finger OFF the trigger. No pointing. It's loaded."

Is this just coincidence? We're not yet parents, but we've agreed - no toy guns in our house. But the kids will get all the real guns they want.

What do you think?
 
I don't have kids and am not sure how I'd handle things if I did, but I seem to recall reading in Elmer Keith's autobiography that he didn't let his kids play with toy guns. They learned to use the real thing properly, but no toy guns. I found that interesting.
 
I have no children, but if I did I would allow them to play with toy guns. Especially boys, for whom it is natural. :D I did it myself when I was a kid but still knew that Dad's and my brother's real guns were not toys. I think that is the key here. An analogy can be found in animated cartoons (e.g., Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes), Three Stooges shorts or superhero comic books - it is understood that the violence is fantasy and not real.
 
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I grew up with toy guns and real guns. I have never shot a real kid person with a real kid gun when I was a kid.

I shot expert in the military first time I qualified probably due to my kid guns. Toy guns can teach handling and I get on my boy when he acts like he wants to shoot his sister with any toy gun. They both know the difference between real and toy.

Played cowboys and Indians but unfortunately my Indian friend/city raised/opponent had a real hard plastic tomahawk and after I shot him with my six shot Gene Autry cap pistol he still came forward (meth?) and popped me with the tomahawk. 6 stitches in my left eyebrow later I decided that wasn't a good game. I was maybe 5 and he was 6. When next we played I wanted to be the Indian but never got the chance.
 
We did not for reasons you mentioned and some others. Started both my Son at five, Daughter at seven with a Single action Revolver. They have both grown a little older now and still shoot their 22lr, but prefer to shoot their 9mm.

Why get them a toy when they can have the real thing.:D
 
I would probably let them play with the brightly colored nerf guns as far as shooting at each other is concerned.
 
Mine play indoors run all over the house on a rainy day playing earth kids against all kinds of dinosaurs and bad guys. Hard to do with a real gun.

This is my second batch of kids. Currently they are 5 and 6.

My other bunch are all close to 40 with kids of there own but do not shoot anymore (to busy making a living and raising kids) but could pick up a real gun and make it go boom in a heart beat.

No I am not one of those lucky divorce kinda guys first wife died on me which has nothing to do with this thread. I think your kids are your responsibility. Have told the first grade boy if he speaks of guns at school or acts out or gets in trouble he does not get to go hunting or to the gun range with me. He has really straightened out.

First report card he had all A's B's and one C in penmanship. Not bad for a high energy almost 7 year old. Plenty of room for improvement but better than I expected.
 
Mine ( 3 girls, middle one not old enough for one, has a Pool Noodle) get Nerf pistols, good education on real vs toy, and a LOT of attention to keeping my CCW out of reach, or locked up.

My wife and I each have belt-fed Nerf machineguns with 2 50 round belts stitched together each.

You can't very well give them the upper hand! Old age and treachery!

PS, they get to gather the spent Darts, but I don't make them reload my belts. ^^
 
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My daughters, (I know, That's different right?), had no play guns. Period. And they were uncomfortable around other kids when they played with toy guns. They both got their first rifle at 4 and first pistol at 6. I don't have any complaints about their behavior with weapons of any sort, and never have. They both listened and learned well as little shooters, They both killed early and associated THAT lesson with the requirements for safe handling, and they have grown up into quite accomplished medium sized shooters at 18 and 19 yrs old.

My vote, obviously, is no play guns. The option for bad habits and incorrect associations is too great.
 
Not yet. My little girl is two and she is already obsessed with my safe. Every time I go in my office (where my safe is), she stands behind me suggesting that I should let her mess with it's contents.

I say "No, your not old enough for bang-bangs, yet." To which she replies "Mane-mane! Dada, mane-mane!" Which translates to "I want one, no fair!".

My wife and I just had the toy gun conversation recently. We had some company over and my buddy wanted to see my new rifle so we went in my office to take a look. Of course my little one felt very left out, and sat at the door screaming "MANE-MANE". My wife asked why I don't just get her a toy gun. I thought over, and decided I didn't want to go that route for many of the reasons listed above.

It's more of a psychological thing for me. I don't want her to associate guns as toys from the start. I always want her to know the seriousness of guns.

Do I think that if she had toy guns, she'd never be responsible with real ones later? No. I had plenty of toy guns as a boy, and I was never even told not to point them at people etc. From the point in time when I came of age and got to shoot real guns, I've always been extremely cautious and respectful of their power. However, I just don't think she needs a toy gun yet. Maybe later when she has a little more ability to discern the differences between the real and fake.

I don't think it's bad parenting to give your kid a toy gun by any means, I just don't choose to do it at this point.
 
Have a (almost) 4yo son that's been shooting a silenced rimfire rifle and pistol for 2 years now. He has toy guns. Watching him he will keep his finger off the trigger until he "shoots" something with his toy gun. Same as with a real gun.

I think your blanket assessment is unwarranted and lacks sufficient evidence, but it's your opinion.
 
I let my 4 year old grand daughter play with "toy" guns. Actually real stocks with pvc barrels attached. I also let her handle(under my CLOSE supervision) my real rifles and shotguns. I was given toy guns by my parents from a very early age which helped foster my love for firearms. The earlier they learn safe gun handling and respect for what guns can do,the better.
 
Grew up in a time when imagination and creativity were done by the child, not a micro-chip in battery operated toy. Kids need to have the freedom to exercise creative role playing. The only residual effects of this might be a sudden urge to buy a firearm or attend a gun show as an adult.....but that's not all bad.

sixshooters.gif
 
My six year old has a 30 gallon bucket filled with Nerf guns, Star War guns and even a few old style cap guns. He loves them and I encourage it. He has been taught the difference between toy guns and real ones. He is a boy, and loves playing "clone wars" (Think Star Wars version of cops/robber). Even though he knows the difference between real and toy, he came running through the living room last weekend with his double barrel Nerf gun. He saw me eyeing him and he stopped. Smiled at me and said, "Barrel pointed in a safe direction and finger is off the Trigger", then took off to his room. I was so proud of him and told him so!
 
Every kid is born with two non-firing guns and will use them regardless of what mom and dad say. My kids all had toy guns as children. Each was trained starting at age six. They were and are safer than many of the adults I encounter at various ranges. Don't know if these people played with toy guns or not.

Children know what they are taught. If you don't teach them, someone else will.
 
Do you let your kids play with toy guns?
I'm sure this has been done, but I didn't see it in a search.

I absolutely hate toy guns, especially in the hands of children. They have a difficult enough time telling reality from fantasy.

I know a lot of gun-owners, and the divide is pretty clean. I know it's not a statistically-significant sample, but......
Click to expand...

I let my kids play with toy guns, but I use them to *teach* them how to properly handle a real firearm, without putting a real firearm in the hands of my kids. Children must be TAUGHT the difference between reality and fantasy.

1) Those who let their kids play with toy guns have kids with TERRIBLE trigger discipline, muzzle control, and general safety with REAL guns. They play cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and other shoot-em-up kids games. And then when the parents try to teach them about real guns, the kids don't take it seriously enough, because the habits with toy guns are so ingrained. It's very hard to expect a 6 year old to point a realistic toy gun at his friend, and then respect that it is absolutely unacceptable to do it with a gun that looks exactly like it.
Click to expand...

Those who let their kids play with toy guns and don't teach their kids how to properly handle a firearm, and the difference between reality and fantasy have kids with poor trigger discipline, muzzle control, and general safety with REAL guns. Also, I buy my children toy guns that look nothing like real guns (bright orange and yellow plastic toys, OBVIOUS toys, transparent airsoft guns, etc) and (again) I teach them safe gun handling skills using the toys so that when they graduate to real firearms, they already have strong safety skills.

2) Those who don't (which is a smaller group) all have kids who are respectful of the power of the gun. I know of two different two year olds who can say the gun safety rules, and put it into practice. I was showing one father a handgun of mine, and he turned to his kid and said "Now what do we do with guns?" And the 2 year old says, "Finger OFF the trigger. No pointing. It's loaded."

Is this just coincidence? We're not yet parents, but we've agreed - no toy guns in our house. But the kids will get all the real guns they want.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

My children absolutely respect the power of a firearm, but they respect the power of the mind behind it more. Those of my children that are old enough, understand fully what the safety rules are for, and follow them explicitly when I do allow them to have supervised access to firearms. They've all played with toy guns. As an aside, it's irresponsible to put a firearm in the hands of a 2 year old child, whether they can recite the rules or not... A 2 year old child hasn't developed physically or mentally enough to comprehend what "dead" means. That specific knowledge is absolutely imperative before guns should be introduced, because that is the worst consequence of handling guns improperly.
 
I grew up making guns out of legos and in my earlier teen years we pretend shot each other and yelled "I GOT YOU!" when ever we "shot" another. Now in my later teen years
(17) I have a few of my own guns and I am completely safe with them. Video games actually are alot worse considering how they can't get hands on lessons with them. I saw two kids that were above 21 I know that much and were complete idiots with them at a large gun store. Playing with the shotguns pretend shooting them and posing and taking pictures with them like it was the best thing ever. Toy guns aren't a problem, Its teaching them properly between what is real and what isn't.
 
They have a difficult enough time telling reality from fantasy.
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I wholeheartedly disagree. Only a mentally challenged child does not know a toy gun is different than a real gun unless their parents do not allow them to participate in the real world. Only if the parents keep children ignorant will they not understand the difference. Since you intend to educate your children about real guns, I see no reason to not let them play with toy guns.
 
I grew up making guns out of legos...
Click to expand...

At the last IDPA match one of the shooters brought his ten-year-old son. He had a Lego gun he made that shot rubber bands. The youngster shot a couple of stages with his Walther .22. We had a DQ that day (shooter swept the SO). The kid was as safe as anyone else on the range.
 
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