Watch out for the Gun Grinch.
An NBC reporter in December asked, “In an era of school and police shootings, how should parents be thinking about kids and toy guns?”
Research on toy guns varies, the reporter admitted. Some psychologists say playing with toy guns leads to violence later on. Others reject any such correlation.
As a mother of boys (and girls), I’m an advocate of toy guns, particularly in lieu of any hard evidence showing correlation and causation between play on the one hand and real violence later. Real guns are a serious matter, but toy guns cannot be regarded as a mere substitutes for the real thing.
In coming after our boys’ toys, gun-control scolds are trying to destroy an excellent opportunity for imaginative play. This is obvious to any parent who has participated in a Nerf gun battle.
Shooting Nerf bullets at siblings, neighbors, parents, and friends is an effective way for boys to act out their natural aggression in a healthy way. If boys do not have such a harmless outlet, parents and teachers are more likely to see recalcitrance, volatility, and a tendency toward uncontrolled assertiveness and perhaps violence in other circumstances.
Rather than force boys to be alone, left out, or sit still for lengthy periods because they’re wiggly or acting out, allowing opportunities for aggression within boundaries is a great way to teach boys to use that energy for good.
