Mary Hickman

Hello,

I�m sending in my experience of 5 years with a little boy who is fascinated
with guns. He does not listen well to no pointing or stop shooting people.
It is a constant battle. I thought when he was little I would be able to
steer him from gunplay. I have since learned I can not. I am intolerant to
people hurting people, animals, wildlife, and I have a son who is fascinated
with pointing and shooting. I continually remind him people will not like to
be pointed at. He holds his hand up and shoots at cars on drives sometimes.
Talk about worry. I have talked with him about hunting and using the animal
he has hunted. We now let him experience his shooting power with friends or
family members who are willing to play his game.

I also have started showing him the history of guns and weapons. We look at
previous wars and civilizations to see what guns looked like, who they hurt.
When he is older, I will show him photos of gun wounds. A picture speaks way
more than my nagging. I can say I have learned to tune down my reaction to
his play. I have also found acceptable shooting actions. When he is fixated
with shooting, I usually join in and try to suggest ideas like shooting
water to put out a raging fire, or shooting beautiful pictures with a
camera. We have a little digital hand camera which has been used a lot on
these shooting frenzies of his. A real tool, which makes a great noise and
produces cool movies.

We have relaxed our attitude, tried to find acceptable substitutes and
continually remind him of the power of real live guns and the damage they
inflict when used.

Without any true answers to this complex issue,

Mary




_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx