Boys army role play, and guns ect :/

[kelzunique]

HELP! The children i care for are boys aged 6 and 4. Brothers. They turn EVERYTHING into gun / shooting / army role play, and its very hard to divert them. Its not someing the mum or i have encouraged, but the dad does, and to be quite honest i know i played it all with my brother when younger and it never hurt me... But what on earth with Ofsted make of it all??

[blue bear]

Well I live in a service area and have had many children from service families. The children often role play armies/soldiers etc. my argument is their daddies or mummies have guns they shoot etc and they are not bad people so how can I tell the children they cannot play soldiers? The children need to act out what they see/think in order to make sense of the world.
I sometimes put a cap on how wild they get and don't let them play guns if it's not safe to do so.

[AliceK]

I don't have toy guns in the playroom (my DS has some in his room) and I don't let him take them outside the house but if mindees want to play shooting with anything else they can use their imagination with then I don't interfere unless it starts to get out of hand. Kids have always played at pretend shooting etc and I don't think we can stop it.

xx

[freckleonear]

I would recommend reading the book "We don't play with guns here" by Sue Palmer. It explains why a zero tolerance approach may actually do more harm than good, and how weapon/war play can be an important entry into imaginative play for many boys. So personally I wouldn't try to divert them at all. It may be a good idea to discuss some ground rules with them though, such as only pointing guns at people who are involved in the game, or something similar.

[jackie 7]

As a nanny I was so obsessed with no guns etc then they picked up sticks and poked each other. I realised boys will be boys. It made no difference to ban them so if they have them I say ok in garden but not on street. I am just about to order that sue palmer book, thanks for that.

[Little Pickles]

Its like holding back the tide trying to stop boys being boys !
If OFSTED question why your children are doing that just tell them that you are letting the children lead the play and following with their interests - isn't that what we are supposed to do ?!
There are lots of jobs where guns are used - services, farmers etc

[hectors house]

Many years ago I read an article in a early years newsletter and put it as an entry in my Childminding Newsletter about guns - I did buy a "shooting arcade" type game but the kids weren't interested in it.
Newsletter exact from 2008 below

Toy Guns etc in Role Play

"Included in a recent Early Years, Play & Childcare Newsletter was an article which said that the Government has told day nurseries to let boys be boys and enjoy “boisterous” play while pretending to be superheroes, which may include allowing toy guns, plastic swords and pretend light-sabers. I don’t have any of these toys in my setting currently, can you please advise me on whether or not you would be happy for your child to play with them. The guidance emphasis that children should be supervised and taught that they must respect one another and harming another person in the real world is not acceptable."

[NI MINDER]

I have a no guns policy out of choice (Northern Ireland so nothing enforced on us). But they will use lego or their fingers or anything they get their hands on to play guns. Have tried discouraging them but its an uphill battle especially when mums quite happy for them to do it. My own DS has never owned guns or had any interest ....... arent they all so different!

[mushpea]

boys will be boys and they are just playing, if their like the boys Ive had in the past anything will become a gun and it will be hard to stop it, the only thing you could do is to tell them they shoot webs or paint balls not bullets, I have told mine that its not bang bang your dead but its bang bang your asleep although its unrealistic in our world when the younger children hear this its a softer choice for them.
the three year old told me today that all the badies live in the moon so we are all safe on earth, if only it were true:rolleyes::D
I now have a 2yrold trying to fight with everyone and proper punches too because his mum lets him watch spiderman for most of the day,, I can deal with the web shootiin but the play fighting is not happening!:mad:

[Paulab]

so I tried to ban the gun thing with my own, now 6 year old twin lads, then they would hunt down plastic coats hangers in the house and they would be guns !, every stick was a gun, even toilet roll holders!

now I let them have guns but they have to be sensible & only shoot people involved in the game. & the minute someone says "stop I don't like it" they stop.

boys will be boys lol

[lilac_dragon]

Well I live in a service area and have had many children from service families. The children often role play armies/soldiers etc. my argument is their daddies or mummies have guns they shoot etc and they are not bad people so how can I tell the children they cannot play soldiers? The children need to act out what they see/think in order to make sense of the world.
I sometimes put a cap on how wild they get and don't let them play guns if it's not safe to do so.

I had similar when I minded a boy and 2 years later, his sister.
Dad was a Policeman, and not always a Beat Bobby. He was Firearm trained and in several situations at the time he was involved with having to use his gun. It was Social Services rather than Ofsted, and when asked I had to say the same, their Daddy wasn't the baddie.

[Lynsey C]

When I was younger it wasn't an issue. My brother and his friends used to play cops and robbers all the time and no one ever told them to stop, they were just playing. Unfortunately the world has changed and we see so much on tv and in the papers, that when children pretend to play with guns etc, people instantly think they will grow up to do the same!!!

[vals]

I've always had a no gun policy here, except water pistols. I have looked after plenty of boys and it has never been a problem. I don't feel the need to let children play with things where the aim is to hurt someone.

[tamsin]

I would treat it exactly the same way you would them causing a pile up with toy cars or declaring another child sick so they can play doctor - just use it as a talking point where appropriate, don't make a big deal out of it. Everything else that you are teaching them is so much more important to how they will behave as adult than playing with a toy gun.

[zippy]

Things are always more interesting and intruiging when told no, maybe some of these people that do the bad things weren't allowed. I wouldn't ban it just teach respect when playing it, I don't have any toy guns around, own son not into it yet, but we have a pirates sword and stuff. Just be ready with your arguments (I mean reasons lol) when ofsted come aknocking