Toy Guns WAS video games / computer games
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**My children have few restrictions, but that is one they do have. They
havent
really ever expressed any interest in guns though. Thank goodness!**
I've been a parent for almost 23 years now. For over two decades of parenting
time I said and believed that I would NEVER allow a toy gun in my home, for
all of the usual philosophical reasons. Mostly though I was lucky to have
children who did not show persistent interest in toy weaponry.
However, as of May of last year there is now resident in my home a bright red
cap gun pistol.
My youngest son convinced me to allow him to spend some of his eighth
birthday gift money on the gun. At least part of that decision was based on
the fact that he has been more persistent than any of my other children in
his desire for guns and gun play. He is known as the boy who can make a gun
out of anything.
The most interesting side effect of the purchase has been that his gun play
decreased dramatically after the first month, to a point where I have noted
that weeks go by now without guns being made out of KNex and the cap gun has
needed to be dusted off before use.
His desire for a pocket knife was our newest challenge. :) Unfortunately, in
the last few decades pocket knives have changed from being a normal
possession of most middle childhood boys. We live in a moderately populated
area with a violent gang problem. We have to be careful where we allow our
son to carry his knife, especially as he approaches puberty and begins to be
more suspect just for being male and young. :(
His knife is not a toy though, it's a tool that he's putting a lot of time
into mastering.
Deborah in IL
havent
really ever expressed any interest in guns though. Thank goodness!**
I've been a parent for almost 23 years now. For over two decades of parenting
time I said and believed that I would NEVER allow a toy gun in my home, for
all of the usual philosophical reasons. Mostly though I was lucky to have
children who did not show persistent interest in toy weaponry.
However, as of May of last year there is now resident in my home a bright red
cap gun pistol.
My youngest son convinced me to allow him to spend some of his eighth
birthday gift money on the gun. At least part of that decision was based on
the fact that he has been more persistent than any of my other children in
his desire for guns and gun play. He is known as the boy who can make a gun
out of anything.
The most interesting side effect of the purchase has been that his gun play
decreased dramatically after the first month, to a point where I have noted
that weeks go by now without guns being made out of KNex and the cap gun has
needed to be dusted off before use.
His desire for a pocket knife was our newest challenge. :) Unfortunately, in
the last few decades pocket knives have changed from being a normal
possession of most middle childhood boys. We live in a moderately populated
area with a violent gang problem. We have to be careful where we allow our
son to carry his knife, especially as he approaches puberty and begins to be
more suspect just for being male and young. :(
His knife is not a toy though, it's a tool that he's putting a lot of time
into mastering.
Deborah in IL
Bobbie
isn't that sad? We have a bit of a gang problem here
too. (sandra laughs in the background at the term "a
bit") Where I live in town now isn't bad at all, but
when I was Las Cruces (where what i call "real gangs"
are, as a family tradition passed down from generation
to generation) and ds was little I had to be very
careful about dressing him in red or blue sports
teams, etc. I dread when he is old enough to be
suspected as you say just for being male and young. I
feel so bad for the boyz in this town (and elsewhere
of course) who grow up not having the respect shown to
them and therefore taught to them to show to others,
and who it really is just a coming of age thing to
become a troublemaker or to carry a knife AS a weapon.
:(
My son has a knife that my dad was saving to give to
him when he was older, and that he automatically
inherited when dad died. He's only allowed to use it
in front of a grown up right now, but thanks to dad,
is pretty good at carving (whiddling ?sp?) stuff for
a 5 yr old. Looks fun to me.
-Bobbie
--- DACunefare@... wrote:
We live in
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too. (sandra laughs in the background at the term "a
bit") Where I live in town now isn't bad at all, but
when I was Las Cruces (where what i call "real gangs"
are, as a family tradition passed down from generation
to generation) and ds was little I had to be very
careful about dressing him in red or blue sports
teams, etc. I dread when he is old enough to be
suspected as you say just for being male and young. I
feel so bad for the boyz in this town (and elsewhere
of course) who grow up not having the respect shown to
them and therefore taught to them to show to others,
and who it really is just a coming of age thing to
become a troublemaker or to carry a knife AS a weapon.
:(
My son has a knife that my dad was saving to give to
him when he was older, and that he automatically
inherited when dad died. He's only allowed to use it
in front of a grown up right now, but thanks to dad,
is pretty good at carving (whiddling ?sp?) stuff for
a 5 yr old. Looks fun to me.
-Bobbie
--- DACunefare@... wrote:
We live in
> a moderately populated__________________________________________________
> area with a violent gang problem. We have to be
> careful where we allow our
> son to carry his knife, especially as he approaches
> puberty and begins to be
> more suspect just for being male and young. :(
>
> His knife is not a toy though, it's a tool that he's
> putting a lot of time
> into mastering.
>
> Deborah in IL
>
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
http://auctions.yahoo.com/
[email protected]
In a message dated 2/6/01 2:03:57 PM, insomniaaks@... writes:
<< isn't that sad? We have a bit of a gang problem here
too. (sandra laughs in the background at the term "a
bit") Where I live in town now isn't bad at all, but
when I was Las Cruces (where what i call "real gangs"
are, as a family tradition passed down from generation
to generation) and ds was little I had to be very
careful about dressing him in red or blue sports
teams, etc. >>
I've never had contact with gang activity ever.
<< isn't that sad? We have a bit of a gang problem here
too. (sandra laughs in the background at the term "a
bit") Where I live in town now isn't bad at all, but
when I was Las Cruces (where what i call "real gangs"
are, as a family tradition passed down from generation
to generation) and ds was little I had to be very
careful about dressing him in red or blue sports
teams, etc. >>
I've never had contact with gang activity ever.
Dennis/Laurie Brown
WHERE do you live that you get away with
that?! Count yourself as one of the fewly blessed.
Eiraul
----- Original Message -----From: SandraDodd@...Sent: February 06, 2001 1:34 PMSubject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Toy Guns WAS video games / computer games
I've never had contact with gang activity ever.
Bobbie
As an adult I haven't really had any "contact" either,
(cuz I've learned that if you treat people
respectfully, even if they are what some people might
consider "dangerous" (and are in thier gang activity)
that they leave you alone.)....except in Cruces, like
I said. But when I was younger (as in
teenagerhood...last almost years of which were spent
as a mommy) it didn't matter where I went or what I
wore or how nice I was, I was sought out and picked on
cuz I was a "little white girl" hanging out in the
"wrong" place apparently. Fortunately for my safety,
my ex-husband made "friends" with everyone everywhere
and I was thereby spared. (Someone said he was the
only
white spanish-speaking black asian guy they knew).
I didn't mean to make it sound like Alb was this
horrible dangerous place. I feel safer here than I
ever did in Phx, and our statistics show our gang rate
is third in the nation or something like that. (I
think)
-Bobbie
--- SandraDodd@... wrote:
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(cuz I've learned that if you treat people
respectfully, even if they are what some people might
consider "dangerous" (and are in thier gang activity)
that they leave you alone.)....except in Cruces, like
I said. But when I was younger (as in
teenagerhood...last almost years of which were spent
as a mommy) it didn't matter where I went or what I
wore or how nice I was, I was sought out and picked on
cuz I was a "little white girl" hanging out in the
"wrong" place apparently. Fortunately for my safety,
my ex-husband made "friends" with everyone everywhere
and I was thereby spared. (Someone said he was the
only
white spanish-speaking black asian guy they knew).
I didn't mean to make it sound like Alb was this
horrible dangerous place. I feel safer here than I
ever did in Phx, and our statistics show our gang rate
is third in the nation or something like that. (I
think)
-Bobbie
--- SandraDodd@... wrote:
>__________________________________________________
> In a message dated 2/6/01 2:03:57 PM,
> insomniaaks@... writes:
>
> << isn't that sad? We have a bit of a gang problem
> here
> too. (sandra laughs in the background at the term "a
> bit") Where I live in town now isn't bad at all, but
> when I was Las Cruces (where what i call "real
> gangs"
> are, as a family tradition passed down from
> generation
> to generation) and ds was little I had to be very
> careful about dressing him in red or blue sports
> teams, etc. >>
>
> I've never had contact with gang activity ever.
>
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