Are toy wepons like guns or swords "bad"?

Cathy - posted on 12/09/2011

I dof not know how you feel about Focus on the Family but they have a wonderful book Bringing Up Boys that I love! It really gave me what I felt was God seeded advice.

Rebekah - posted on 12/01/2011

No, I don't believe it encourages kids to be violent. God has called us all to put on His Armor - why would we NOT let our children be exposed to a sword? It is used against the devil! It's sharp! Not to mention, battle, aren't we all called to God's Army?

Today, guns are in warfare - that didn't exist in the days of old or when David, the great warrior of the Bible walked the earth. I'm not against guns or swords - it's a part of battle. Something that we as parents, need to teach our kids. Battles take place. And God even went to battle!

Warriors - something God has called boys/men to be! It's a part of who they are.

I believe we teach our kids to be violent when we don't train them according to God's Word and what it says about battle... for our battle is not of this world, it's against the principalities of darkness... this can't teach your children to be violent!

Carla - posted on 11/30/2011

Excellent, Tina! We 'civilized' humans often forget this is in mens' DNA. We are the teachers--watch your children closely to guide them in their dragon conquests. There's absolutely no reason a child that plays with guns and swords should end up violent, unless we don't supervise their play properly. And this goes for wrestling as well as sword play.

God bless, all!

Tina - posted on 11/29/2011

As moms I think we have a hard time understanding our boys and realizing their need to be warriors! Just like girls dressing up to be princesses awaiting the heroic rescue (in fact I think I still am that little princesses wanting to be rescued!)! Boys want to be the hero... men want to be the hero!
Ive struggled with this also... I dont want them violent but to deny the warrior that God has put in them also seems wrong... I think Amy Walker said it right... Teaching them to use the tools set before them in a proper manner... I let my boys play but I try to enforce the "no shooting people" rule... and then that is generally followed by an excited "Look there is a dragon... go get em!!!!" =)

Teresa - posted on 11/05/2011

I won't have toy guns in my home cuz I flat out don't like guns, but no... toys don't encourage kids to be violent. It's the attitude behind the toy. Anything can be used as a 'weapon'.

My girls at 2 would 'sword fight' each other w/ sticks. We simply had the rule that they were only ever allowed to hit the other person's stick. ;)

Teresa - posted on 11/03/2011

NO. Just as real swords and guns are only as bad as the person holding them, then so is the toy sword or gun is to those holding them. Adult supervision all around is suggested.

Mary - posted on 10/23/2011

we were never allowed toy weapons of any kind...it only promotes violence. when i was little i didn't get it but now that i am a mom i totally understand...

Heather - posted on 10/23/2011

I agree with Linda. I won't let my children have them, but they have made them out of tinker toys. We talk about not 'killing' people, not even for pretend, and that they shouldn't even point pretend weapons at people.

Amy - posted on 09/25/2011

Heavens, no. It's an inanimate object. It's all about the attitude and respect for life. My boys got bb guns for Christmas a couple of years ago, and my oldest got a .22 for his 9th birthday. My husband takes them shooting. This is time they spend with their dad, time they spend learning about how to handle a weapon, and one day, they'll learn how to provide food for the family when they learn to hunt with their dad.

We don't allow the boys to pretend to shoot people. We encourage a respect of life and proper utilization of a tool.

Though not allowing it in your home is perfectly okay, too.

Carla - posted on 09/23/2011

Hi sweetheart, I think it is how you teach him that makes a difference. Our grandson has 'slayed' dragons and dinosaurs since he could walk. He hasn't shown much interest in guns, but he loves the dragon slaying thing. As kids, we played army, cops and robbers, etc. I don't consider myself a particularly violent person, nor are my brothers and sisters. My children certainly aren't violent. I was vigilant about not letting things go too far, and I think that's the difference. They don't point them at their eyes, they walk with the points down, just common sense type things.

Clay can be a big help to you--have him teach your little one the proper way to use them, even if they are just 'pretend'.

God bless, sweetheart, glad to see you back on COM!

Sarah - posted on 09/21/2011

Thanks ladies for your input. When I was younger my mother never allowed toy wepons in her home. My brother is now a police officer and has at least 6 so you can guess how she feels about that. My son is already playing "guns" with his cousin (my sons brother, who sees the "cops and robbers" game) and is now asking that Santa bring him a gun for Christmas. He obviously knows what it is and what he wants and I dont see that its a horrible thing but he's also only 2.5yrs old so I dont see that he will be able to reason what is right and wrong when it comes to his toy wepon.

Linda - posted on 09/20/2011

I don't think they necessarily do. When my kids were very young, I didn't want them to have toy guns, etc. However they made them out of tinker toys and sticks and legos all by themselves. (I have all boys) I finally realized that it's not the toy itself but how the child plays with it that is more important. An inanimate object does not necessarily promote violence. For that matter, real weapons don't promote violence. It is how they are used which is important.

Victoria - posted on 09/18/2011

My girls play knights with swords and shields & they play detectives and police and such with toy guns & radio, they even play David and his mighty men with swords and arrows. I didn't allow those kind of toys when they were younger, but now they are older they know it's just play & pretend. It's not like they hit each other, they play wrestling too, but it's just pretend and they know the difference.

I think if you are have a problems with your child being violent, then you need to sit down with them and make sure they understand the difference between pretend and really hurting someone, if they can't grasp it then they are probably too young to be playing with those toys.

Angela - posted on 09/18/2011

The nursery school my kids went to didn't have toy weapons and were quite clear that kids shouldn't bring them in to school with them.

However they had a food & grocery corner and one little boy used to pick up the long narrow French loaf (made of plastic), pop it under his arm, point it at people and make a machine gun noise!

I wouldn't buy them for my kids or give them as a gift to other kids. But children can use anything as a weapon - either in make-believe or for real.

Katherine - posted on 09/18/2011

Yes. My daughter was just introduced to these in school. She get's a hold of anything that looks like a sword and pretends to stab people. I am very against these things because they do promote violence.

There is no reason for them to have them anyways. What purpose do they serve?