Pros And Cons Of Toy Guns For Children

The subject of giving toy guns to children is either met with shocked gasps or excited enthusiasm. As shootings and gun violence are making headlines every other day, some parents refrain from buying toy guns. A study carried out by the London Metropolitan University in 2003 found that children who were reprimanded for playing with guns thought they were doing something wrong. They still played, but did not tell anyone about it. The imagination of children thrives more when they are allowed to play freely.

Here’s the pros and cons of toy guns for children:

Pros:

1.Free play encourages creativity and expression. Toys give structure, form, and purpose to play. Toy guns are similar to other toys. Children can learn new things, expand their imagination and boost creative skills with toy guns.

2.Teaching gun safety is easier with the toy guns. That’s a huge positive to giving kids toy guns. This will work positively as your will know what to do if they ever come across a firearm.

3. Toy guns allows can be used to demonstrate and actively participate in safe gun handling exercises with your kids. Firearm safety rules are identical for both toy guns and real guns.

Cons:

1.A potential drawback to giving your child toy guns is that when they encounter the anti-gun people, these people might think that your child may be playing with a real weapon and contact the police.

2.Playing with toy guns increased when some kids already show more aggression or reciprocally actual attacks cued and increased when they played more with toy guns.

3.A child has no idea about what is negative or positive. For him, the using a gun is heroic, an attempt to save the needy. It is, therefore, vital to refrain playing with toy guns.

There is a saying that “the more you suppress something, the more it will flourish.” The ideal solution lies in giving guns that do not resemble real ones. A toy gun should look like a toy. Playing with these as a child may not be harmful. It is actually teenage violence that is dangerous.

Also read: How to promote brain development in children.