Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Of Guns and All Things Destructive

We just can't underestimate the influence that friends at schools have on kids once they attend school. 

Though my boys don't watch Ben 10 and Transformers or any of the other cartoons/programmes with fighting themes, they will still meet kids in school who do. 

A few months ago, my 5 y.o. started getting fascinated with the idea of pretend play with guns and shooting. Since there is no toy gun at home, he makes his own with tiny Lego pieces. 

So now, even little Chipsy will create his own Lego 'rifle' and run around the house playing fighting games with his bro'. They pretend to 'shoot' every moving thing and each other with a loud 'geng-geng-geng', which is frankly very noisy, but yet funny to watch.

As much as it annoys me, I *try* not to interfere, though I made it clear that mummy doesn't like it when they play like this. 'But we are only pretending, no one gets hurt here!' is the reply I always get.

Fingers crossed that it is a phase and they will soon grow out of it. 

4 comments:

ha said...

Hi, do you stil plan to home school your kids and my child is hving difficulties wif his fine motor skills..he cant write letters and numbers on his own...
anything which u suggest can help...really appreciate yr help and advice

DG said...

Hi Ha
how old is your child?

Given the choice of a pretty good local education system and options for international schools here, we will not homeschool unless there are compelling reasons. Though I do not rule out the possibility, especially at preschool levels if we feel it is better for our kids.

Unknown said...

Hi, I came across your blog when reading Young Parents magazine. I have a 2.5 yr old and a 1 yr old. Both boys. My hubby dislikes them playing with guns and we do not have toy guns at home. As you mentioned in your blog, they do get exposed to it when they socialise with other kids so now my boy can use anything that even faintly resembles a gun to go bang bang bang. I do believe it is a phase they go through. So instead of stopping them, I just tell them that gun using is dangerous and people do get hurt. And I do tell him I do not like gun or fighting. Fingers crossed, they will eventually move on to more constructive and educational toys....

DG said...

Hi Chris

Sounds like mine. Haha! I do the same.

I think it is healthier to let them express their thoughts and fantasies through play than to forbid them, as kids this age are so curious.

My boys play fighting and chasing games at home a lot, and I always keep a watchful eye to make sure no one gets hurt. I think it is unavoidable for some rough play when we have small boys, as long as they learn the boundaries and rules. My kids would imagine up all sorts of scenarios and pretend play for hours. :>

I think it is important to encourage a certain balance between rough and quiet play. So I make sure they also spend as much time with Lego, books, crafts and other outdoor activities.

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