I wondered where he got so into guns and then I remembered that he must have these images ingrained in his memory from Canada:
HIS DADDY--
HIS MOMMY--
HIS IDOL, UNCLE NIN (he mentions Nin at least once a day)
The little beast was always in the truck with us having the time of his life. Then we found him one day like this:
Aw, he's so little.
Anyway, in the world today this is becoming sensitive. I catch myself wondering if I should teach him not to have pretend guns, but all boys play that way, right? Does anyone have certain rules they have enforced with their kids about play guns?
18 comments:
Please tell me that those are FAKE guns and that you are not SO wt to think it is cute that your little guy is playing with real guns?! :) He is stinkin cute though (notice I had to omit the "g" to go along with the huntin and shootin things theme).
Somehow boys know what guns are from the day they are born!! Everything is a gun to them. My sister always says her kids will never be allowed to play with guns, but as boys grow up, everything is a gun!!! I LOVE that picture of you!!! It is so great!! I miss you!!!
I haven't had to think about it too much, since we don't have boys and everything is cookies and babies around here! But, I think if we do have boys there will be strict rules about toy gun use. Like no pointing it at anyone, ever. It makes me really uncomfortable and defensive when my nephews do that! Benson is sure cute though!
OH, by the way as far as rules...we are not allowed to point guns at people and can not say "kill" or "die" if those things happen, guns are put in a time out and kid is put in a time out.
I remember Elise telling me that she did not want her boys to have guns (this was when the twins were first born)...so they just turned everything into a gun...in particular I remember these plastic tube things that connected together to make a soccer goal...anyway, they ran around the house like crazy using these yellow tubes as gun and then I remember Elise saying something to the effect of boys will be boys. Amen to that! My husband is still a little boy that wants to be a cowboy...he's never even shot anything and I think we now have 4 guns! Whatever...boys will be boys!
I've grown up with guns--my dad was a deputy sherrif and he took us shooting often. I think the key is to teach them the proper safety rules where guns are concerned. I haven't had to worry too much until #4--now everything is a gun--his sandwich is a gun, his GI Joe is a gun, his legos are guns . . . And he likes to shoot everyone with them. I try to stress that we don't shoot people, we shoot bears or deer or monsters. I'm not making much progress, but we do try.
That is so funny that he turns everything into a gun. We haven't gotten there yet. You are adorable as a preggo!
I am with everyone on the same rules -- don't shoot at people. ANYTHING will become a gun.. it's true. I don't buy toy guns for this reason. I guess I don't want to PROMOTE it, but it's okay to play pretend guns and shoot like scarpbox said, monsters or dragons....
My dad never had a gun and we had no family or friends who hunted, so I don't have any kind of connection that way.
Those pictures are great. And I keep thinking your moving to the deep south is just one step closer to ben buying a gun rack.
I still can't believe Chris has guns...
I don't know about gun rules, but I am sure I will have to make some at my house shortly! (I think he looks adorable in the last picture!)
Since when are guns bad? Little Benson has a consitutional right. It's the person holding the gun thats the problem. In some situations he may need to learn how to point it at a person. But, Hello, he's like 3 years old. As long as he's playing with toys guns who really cares?
I think Benson just wants to be like Mom and Dad:) He has grown up so much too!! And little Claire is changing from a beautiful little baby girl to a beautiful little toddler girl! They change so fast. Your kids are seriously so adorable. We'll need to set up something for the summer where we meet halfway or something and hang out at a cabin for a weekend! That'd be so much fun!
Boys play with guns - big deal. I agree that there need to be rules like not "killing" people or even animals but boys play guns the way girls play house - it's like genetic or something. I am sure they teach about it in medical school :)
Yes, using weapons seems to be in boys' DNA, probably for good reason. For me real guns have been viewed as a threat most of my life, ever since a 4-yr-old boy from my church class accidentally shot and killed his beautiful 2-yr-old sister. He was used to playing with toy guns at home, but the gun he found in his grandpa's nightstand was real and loaded. But somehow lego guns and squirt guns have never bothered me.
Hey Sarah, I love your post. And I love the picture of you pregnant, taking aim.
Charlie is also OBSESSED with gun-play. Actually, any kind of weapon....guns, swords, lightsabers....you name it. It's a tough one. I have friends that are totally against it and Charlie ends up being the bad influence. But I have notices that boys will turn anything into a weapon. It's just what they do (even the one's that are prohibited). We do have a couple rules. a)he's not suppose to directly point it at anybody. b) he's not allowed to use any kind of "killing" talk. (kind of a big one for us). When they get older, they start talking like that and it's a little disturbing. Charlie understands the rules and know's what's appropriate. When we go to the cabin, he and his cousins' strap on their guns and go on adventures. I love to see their imaginations run wild. And for the most part it's just innocent fun. That's just my two cents on the subject. I was really glad to see your post and wanted to comment.
LUV LUV LUV the picture of you preggers shooting the gun. I love shooting to. We used to have a shooting range on our property when I lived in Washington.
I should clarify that those are in fact BB guns that he is holding. They are never stored loaded and so it wasn't a big deal when he got his hands on them. The real guns are kept in a place that he can't reach; they too are never loaded.
As for the toy guns thing...boys play guns. Cops and robbers, war games, whatever. I think we would be depriving him of an important aspect of his childhood if we said "no guns" or even "no pointing guns at people."
I did not grow up in a house with guns (the ones pictured are recent purchases) but I was way into making them from wood or anything I could get my hands on (ask Sarah about that one). As for the future, I plan on responsibly owning guns and teaching Benson the difference between a toy and the real thing when he comes of age.
Post a Comment