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**After careful consideration, I came to the same conclusion, but I just
can't seem to get over my distaste for toy guns. Mary-the-pacifist, do you
have any thoiughts on this? Anyone else?**

I had a no guns rule for - hmm, had to stop and think, here - for something
close to 22 years of parenting. It held up until I finally had a kid who
persisted and persisted and PERSISTED in being fascinated with guns in spite
of prohibitions, rules, discussions, pleas, more discussions... He was the
kid who could make a gun out out of anything, and did! Peanut butter and
jelly sandwich gun. K'Nex gun (many different versions). Lego gun. Maple twig
gun. Lilac blossoms gun! Mud pie gun. Origami gun. Plastic dinosaur gun.
There was gun play nearly every day despite my not allowing guns in the
house.

He wanted a cap gun desparately. Finally, after YEARS of being worn down,
when he again begged to be allowed to buy one with his own money I relented,
subject to a short list of rules. (Most important being No pointing the gun
at anyone who hasn't explicitly agreed to be part of the game. Second being,
no caps fired in the house.)

That was (I think?) two years ago. The first week the gun was outside every
day. Twice a day. The second week he probably missed a day or two. Soon it
was every other day, then once a week. Now, I saw him take it out the other
day for the first time in months. And he hasn't made a gun in ages, though he
still makes many other fascinating things.

I should have let him buy it the first time he asked, we'd have been over the
trauma years earlier! (Maybe. <g>)

Deborah in IL