Kids and toy guns - What's your philosophy?

[Ashcons]

what good timing...

From personal experience, my dad taught me to shoot at 12 years old and bought me a 20-ga and a .270 that year. I ended up not enjoying hunting or shooting much and had no interest in the guns that our family owned. It took about 16 additional years for me to start enjoying.

On the other hand, I LOVED shooting our old Sheridan pump air rifle and used it the same way I would use a "real," gun, because it was. My friends and I loved playing with toy guns. That air gun was never used on another human and we may or may not have learned not to use our toy guns on non-participants after shooting our younger siblings; my memory is not completely clear on how we came about that bit of knowledge.

My wife's mom is anti-gun ("Nothing good comes from guns") and hates the idea of little boys pretending to shoot each other with guns. My wife has and I see eye-to-eye on firearm ownership. She knows that guns are just tools and toys are just toys. We just had our first baby (son) this October.

Our boy will have toy guns and start to learn gun safety at an early age, with the exception that he can play and shoot willing participants with his toys. When he is ready, he will learn about "real" firearms and the morality behind their ownership. I firmly believe from my own experience that education trumps prohibition.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I always had nerf guns and water guns. I also had a real gun, a .410 single shot, when I was 5 years old. I never had any trouble distinguishing between the two, because I was taught well.

I don't have that problem though. My only child is an 8 year old girl, and she has no use for toy guns. However, she loves shooting her .22 and wants a bigger gun so she can shoot a deer next season.

 

[ball3006]

I played with toy guns until my Dad decided I was old enough for real guns and taught me the difference. I was smart enough to learn the difference. Parents, for the most part, are not smart enough to do that today so they become liberals......chris3

 

[mljdeckard]

I am in a situation where I am dealing with step-children and a child with a disability. The last thing I need is for any other involved parents to start making waves because of my 'gun lifestyle', even thought they are largely enthusiastic about it. People looking for custody dispute ammo have no shame.

My policy is, if a toy gun is designed that in no way can it be mistaken for a real gun, the kids are allowed to use them any way they want. Supersoakers, Nerf guns, etc, they are allowed to chase and shoot each other with them. If a toy gun looks like a REAL gun, first of all, for the formative years, it isn't allowed to be in the house at all, because guns aren't toys. As they get older, and as I can't control what toys they might be given in other houses, the rule is, "If it looks like a real gun, you will treat it like a real gun and observe all safety rules."

 

[jcwit]

I grew up with an arsenal of cap guns and played cowboys and indians, and WW2 with all the neighborhood kids. The hills in our pasture are knee deep with dead enemy.

Got my first .22 at the old age of 8, brought home squirrels for dinner that same fall.

Have I ever wished to comment murder, in a word NO!

I grew up knowing the difference between toys and tools, not a difficult concept to understand.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

In my other post I did not mention anything about my childhood around guns....

I grew up with my Grandparents (Dad was a truck driver, Mom never was around)....Grandad had several guns and was a true hunter, meaning he hunted for food not sport.

Back then I would NEVER have guessed that anybody wouldn't have guns...or wouldn't like them. Guns were never, ever made out to be DANGEROUS...not to me. A gun isn't dangerous, only the idiot handling it...the same can be said of power tools.

I got my first 22 at age 10...but I already had been shooting Grandads for 2 years prior to that...when I got my own (a single shot Winchester, given to me by my uncle) I was allowed to take it out and go shoot squirrels, rabbits, grouse, groundhogs, etc. anytime I wanted to...and by myself.

By the time I was 10 Grandad had taught me how to properly handle, clean, sight in, load, aim, fire, and hit what I was aiming at. One time I was dragging a deer back home (dragging it by the side of the road)....I was 2 miles from home, the local cops saw me and instead of putting my whole family in jail for letting a 12 year old loose with a 30-30....they put my deer in the trunk and gave me a ride home. I gave him the back straps in return for the ride, even though it was not expected of me.

I walked all over the area carrying a rifle back then....and NOBODY gave it a 2nd thought.

Hunting and shooting was a family affair during my childhood....and I have done my best to keep it that way with my own family.

Let them have their toys, you only get one chance to be a kid...and they're by far the best years of your life.





Start em young...and teach them to respect, not fear.


My oldest sons first deer...


And the man that raised me and made me what I am...my Grandad (pic taken in 1972, most folks had tractors by then...but not him)

 

[Ridgerunner665]

One more thing...something I've noticed with my sons.

They'll learn quicker by example than by preaching...when all is said and done, they'll handle their guns just like you handle yours.

I tested this theory a little while back, I left my young sons 22 out (unloaded) where he would find it upon getting home from his Grandmothers house. When he came in the door the first thing he said was "Whats my gun doing out?" I acted like I didn't hear him and kept watching TV...he walked over, picked it up, broke it down, checked to see if it was loaded, closed it up, put it in the gun safe, closed the door, and turned the crank to make sure it was locked.

Then came the part that was most amusing (you had to be there)...he came in there and climbed right up on me to where not hearing him was not an option...and said "quit leaving my gun out....they belong in the safe!"

He's 4 (almost 5)....they can be taught if ya take the time.

 

[psyshack]

It's a very fine line. In the old days a a toy gun went bang or shot a light load. For many of us, me included. When you got your first air / spring rifle the game changed. You could kill a bird. When dad gave you your first .22 bolt action rifle things got real. Be it a .22 short, LR or mag. You had a the real deal. This happened around 8 years old or so ,,, give or take a year,

I use to kind of blow off the the first wife about toy and real guns and butted head with the second wife. While neither shot a a lot both did know the basics of shooting. And it concerned them. No such thing as a toy gun. You want to shoot a gun? Dad Pawpa and nana will teach you to shoot. This aint a game.

Maybe I and close family go over board. But all of my grandkids work the reloading bench with me and i love every sec. we load. From the oldist boy thats a bone collector at 16 and loves to hunt to the youngest girl at 3 years old that just wants to work the press's with pawpa and know nana has this really cool small revolver. Can't wait to get the newest grandson on the bench. He will be born on or around April 6th 2012.

We think it's very important to teach and show the differance. A water pistol, cap gun or Nerf gun wont hurt folks. But draw a clear line between toys and the real deal. The real deal kills a cute bunny rabbit. Drops a sparrow out of a tree.

When taught. Children know the diff. between a toy and a real gun. Education and exposure in the loving arms of a elder is VERY IMPORTANT! I still have my first .22 bolt gun my dad gave me at 6 years old. I will pass it on. And do my level best to expose and pass on to all my grandchildren and there parents.

 

[two gun charlie]

A child can sense in his parent's mood , the difference between a real fire-arm and a toy.
hell even my dog can , I can play around with my paintball gun and the dog wont be bothered , but the moment the rifles come out the mood changes and the dog knows that it's serious and so do kids. unless you happen to have no respect for a fire-arm in which case your kids probably won't either.

 

[fixrspazz]

We never had toy guns in our house, but my brother and I went "BANGing" around the house at each other with all manner of improvised weapons. My folks didn't mind, they just weren't gonna spring for anything more expensive than a drugstore squirt gun. I wasn't introduced to live weapons until Boy Scout summer camp in my early teens.

My son is a Nerf gun fanatic, and we have expanded his arsenal every Christmas. He is interested in coming to the range with me, and we have had a lot of discussion about firearm safety, and he seems to absorb it. I also began several years ago to discuss the true effect of bullets on people rather than the "hollywood" version. He's thirteen now, and can discuss this topic quite intelligently. Soon I will begin taking him to the range with me.

Having said all that, I have told him not to point his Nerf guns at me. I KNOW it's a toy, but it makes me feel weird, anyway. Nor do I join him in Nerf battles. Something about it (irrationally) unsettles me.

 

[Wanderling]

I have a big problem with toy guns that look like real thing. I wouldn't want my kids to play with these as I afraid it would de-sensitise them to the dangers & responsibilities associated with real guns.

I have no issues with obviously toy guns. Kids should be kids.

 

[CONNEX 3300]

I think that most of the kids that are dangerous with real guns did not learn it from toys. I think it probably reflects a lack of parental training in many other areas of their lives.
Think of all of those 5 year old kids running loose in the stores, the ones that still throw a fit when their parents try to stop them, those kids that will only eat what they want regardless of what their parents say. Do you think those kids will be safe with a firearm? Heck, I wouldn't even give them a nerf gun. It isn't the toy guns or cartoons that cause the problems, its stupid parents that can't or won't teach their kids how to behave.
On the other hand, there are still some parents that teach kids respect and responsibility. Those kids are probably safe around guns. And yes, kids can distinguish between toy and real guns. I know when I was a kid I had lots of toy guns. My friends and I would have cap gun wars all of the time. But when I went to shoot the .22 with dad, I knew that the games were over. It was serious business then.

 

[DC Plumber]

I agree with the OP and most people here. Lets kids be kids, but you must also be a good parent. Lock up the real guns, teach your kids the difference when the time is right.

I don't buy the liberal crap that playing with guns will make you a killer. Quite possibly the opposite. I've seen what a gun can do to a deer, aiming at a person that isn't about to harm me or my family is just not an option.

I remember having to ride grey hound as a kid once. I heard this lady complaining about her kids watching the cartoon, "The Roadrunner" with Wily Coyote. She said it was too violent and she was afraid that her kids would grow up and become violent and smash other kids in the head with an anvil. It was at that immediate moment that I decided I couldn't stand people who aren't smart enough to teach their kids right from wrong and refuse to take responsibility for their own actions, usually liberals.

 

[LSGUNSS]

My dad taught me not to point a gun (toy or real) at anything that youdont want to kill. I was hunting wth dad at 5 with a. 410, and never really had toy guns. The only toy guns i played with were my friends nerf guns and i always felt weird pointing them at him and still feel weird when i see kids do it. Dads way of teaching me was one of a kind. I grew up on a farm so i was always tought things at an early age. It also helped that my dad is 50 years older than me too. Older people seem to teach better than younger people in my experince. I will teach my kids young. They will understand guns are not to play with and they are not allowed to handle them without me.

 

[Gizards'n'Gravy]

When I was very small (less than 5) I ran around with my friends blasting away at each other playing army with nerf guns and such. But when I started getting older(5 or 6 maybe) my father began talking to me about real guns and how dangerous they can be and why you can't point them at people etc...I then began learning true marksmanship and gun safety on,of course, a single-shot bolt action .22lr. After mastering plinking cans with the .22 ( under supervision of course), and having decided I was safe enough with one, I was given Daisy BB gun to plink with to my hearts desire.

One day, I was out in the yard harrassing squirels when my Dad walked outside to check on me. Until this point I had not violated any of my fathers safety rules and this was the big day, I was gonna get to shoot the .22 pistol! When I seen him I still do not know what possessed me to point my BB gun at him( Maybe he was a bad guy? I think I was playing Army at that moment). He promtly snapped the gun in half over his knee and tossed it in the trash. I guess that was when it truly hit that safety was the more important than anything wgen dealing with guns. Needless to say, I didn't get to shoot the pistol that day. But over the next year I regained his trust and over the past 10 years I am considered disciplined enough to have my own guns. Thats how it worked for me, I slowly got out of playing shoot em' up with my buddies altogether and by 10 the only thing I wanted to shoot at was a deer.

 

[Serenity]

The Boy had unrealistic toy guns but we didn't have any real guns (that was many years in the future). I didn't let him come up and shoot at people who weren't engaged in his game because it's RUDE. I drew the line at realistic looking guns because we didn't have access to any real ones for me to show him the difference. Now if I had a little one, I would have him or her right there when I'm cleaning and handling the gun, and teach them safety. Our guns are locked up; he's 16 and responsible and his friends are good kids and in this rural area almost all of them hunt (we don't) but there's always that "what if".

 

[One-Time]

My kids, even my daughter, plays w/ toy guns. I have ZERO issue w/ it. The only concern I have are over trigger happy LEOs being stupid, but we seldom see LE here anyway and they know to stop playing when they come around.

All my kids also shoot, never had an issue

 

[red-demon652]

Yip i played with toy swords when i was a kid battled my buddies and all but i dont go around sticking ppl with my pocket knife

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Sorry to revive this...but I just had to share this one....we got our son a 22 of his own for Christmas (the other one technically belongs to his big brother)

This is not a pose...it was the first thing he did right after he check to see if it was loaded.

 

[War Squirrel]

My friends and I were very handy when we were kids, and we spent weeks making silly things during the summer. We would occasionally whittle "swords" out of thick branches of magnolia with kitchen knives, much to the disdain of our mothers.

We eventually started using random scrap and duct tape to fashion guns, sometimes with foam tubes for suppressors. I made a surprisingly nice Dragunov out of PVC pipe once, with a side-mount scope and everything. Such is life in the South.

Kids have to be kids, and telling them not to just doesn't work. Teaching them about something instead of forbidding them is just one more way to bond with 'em and keep them safe. You can't stay out of a sticky situation if you have no idea what you're getting into, child or adult.

 

[eldiabloe1]

I was lucky enough to be born into a family of gun smiths and hunters. Some of my earliest memories are of toy broomhandle mausers and Star Wars blasters. We had hand made rubber band guns, slingshots and all other manner of projectile launching tools. Every available moment was spent outdoors running the pastures and woods. I was the two legged retriever when I was too young to hunt. I was taught how to shoot on an old Stevens single shot .22 and killed my first turkey at 4. By 8 I was dove and quail hunting with a .410 Stevens 311 double. All of this was under the carefull stern instruction of my grandfather. My whole life was spent in houses with loaded weapons in simple gun cabinets without locks. This was the same in all of our houses with many cousins, brothers and sisters. Every one of us knew what a real gun was at an early age and never had a single problem. I think the lack of curiosity through knowledge and the sheer fear of fatherly/grandfatherly wrath kept us in line. Never a more true warning than "Curiosity killed the cat". Teach, show and encourage them as soon as you see fit.

 

[USAF_Vet]

So My buddy brought his Arsenal Saiga by a couple weekends ago, and my stepson fell in love with it, trying to look like a BA.



He got an Amazon gift card, so he is getting an AK of his own

 

[TITAN308]

My daughter yesterday:

Pink lever action bb rifle

Co2 bb 1911 (going to Duracoat it purple per her request lol)

 

[CoRoMo]

Since this thread began, I took the jigsaw to a piece of plywood, glued a clothespin to the tang area and voila, instant rubber band gun. It actually took a little sanding on the lower jaw of the clothespin to get her running right, but now she shoots like a house on fire.

My little boy loved the idea of shooting a cup from a few feet away. Target practice.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

For God's sake, let kids be kids. Our toy guns ran the gamut of pretend "Monkey" equipment that didn't even have triggers (just point and say pow) to more the realistic Johnny Eagle weapons that actually fired plastic bullets to the rat-a-tat Tommy guns to the Cobra and Zebra pea-bean firing pistols (pre-cursor to Air-Soft?) to all kinds of cap-firing guns to my all-time best Christmas present, the Agent Zero-one Sonic Blaster, which just naturally became our bazooka. Some of these were more dangerous than others, but we turned out OK. Even with rubber-band guns. Eventually, we graduated to BB and pellet guns, with Wrist Rockets thrown in-between. Funny, but we always seemed to know the ones to be more careful with. Were kids then smarter than kids now? Were parents far better at parenting then than those today? Likely no for both questions, but people are far better today at telling you what's good for your kids and legislating away what they think is bad.

Today, those Nerf guns would be a total blast.