should parents be allowed to puchase guns and swords for their children?
Cassie asked:
im doing a debate for my english class at shool and it would mean alot if some one could supply some information on their opinion.
personally i feel as if i am against buying swords for children but water guns should be okay...if we take the time to sit down and talk to our children they might be ble to understand...if not then we could pospond buying thoese type of toys from them untill an appropriate age.
Tags: swords weapons, , survival knife, camillus knives, utility knives
December 10th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Of course not… children are not able to exercise proper judgement in the use of weapons!
If the parent is providing weapons for self-defense purposes, then the parent needs to re-evaluate their priorities and move to a safer place.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I disagree completely.
If you are afraid that kids playing with toy guns and swords are going to turn them into murderers, then you’d better ban baby dolls also, because it might make little girls turn into teenage moms.
Kids have been playing with toy guns and swords since toys were invented. It’s a silly assumption that this leads to things like Columbine or Virginia Tech. You give a preschooler a few blocks, or one of those cardboard rolls that Christmas wrapping paper comes in, and the first thing they do is make believe it’s a gun or a sword. It’s completely harmless and it’s human nature. Let kids be kids!
That said, I do believe that toy guns should look like toys, be brightly colored plastic, etc. This makes no confusion between what a toy gun looks like and what a real gun looks like, should a child come upon one.
December 13th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Toys are toys. It’s not the toys that promote the violence.
Come on people, think back to your own childhood. I grew up playing with toy guns, toy swords and stuff like that with my cousins – I’m not a mass murderer or anything. I’ve never been to jail, no anger issues, nothing.
I think there’s other things to blame the violence on – like not communicating with your children, these crazy video games and crazy tv shows that children watch every day. And good ol’ plain discipline.
But that’s just my opinion.
December 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I think the bureau for zero population growth heartily approves this idea. So does the Darwin society, if you know what I mean.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:48 am
A sword is a little out of line for anywhere you live… But it all depends on the location! Where i live it is typical for parents to buy their children guns and hand them down from their own collections… The use for guns here is hunting/target practice. If someone lives where guns are abused i would say its not a smart idea for parents to buy their children guns! We shoot animals for a sport and i would say every child in my area does have a gun and access to plenty of them. Its all in how you teach your child. I knew growing up that my fathers guns were his and if i was to touch them there would be some serious trouble to pay. Good luck with the debate!!!
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:18 pm
they r toys, if the kid comes from a good home & doesnt c to much on tc, it should be right
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:46 am
Parents nowadays, are too concerned about these toys. When I was a child, (I’m only 39) I always played with my brother’s “swords and toy guns” “Cowboy and Indians. There was NOTHING WRONG ! We aren’t violent, went to College and graduated with honors and are loving children to our parents. If Society would stop “NAGGING AND WHINING” about our children’s “PSYCHOLOGY”, children would feel more “at ease with themselves” expressing their feelings ! I am sick and tired of “today’s ways of raising kids” who are “repressed” by parents who are too afraid to “spank them from time to time” because some Idiot on tv said “IT’S WRONG” ! I am a parent myself. I speak to my kids, love them, nurture them but they are NOT ALLOWED to treat me as “their friend”. I am their parent and “respect works both ways”!!
December 25th, 2008 at 6:31 am
I have no problem with it at all. They must be at least 16 to handle a real weapon in our home and they will go through a weapons’ training course before they can use one at the range. My husband is an Army Veteran and he was well trained on weapons and fire arms.
Even toy guns or swords are just for fun. And even if you don’t buy them a toy gun/sword, they can just as easily pick up a stick and use it for a toy sword. But I do find it a bit redundant that you will buy you child a water gun but not a plastic play sword. My two year old daughter was a pirate for Halloween and yes she carried a little plastic sword and said “Arrrr!” It was cute! She didn’t go running it into people trying to “stab” them or anything. What we did was TEACH her that you don’t do that. If you teach your children the proper way to play with even the toys then there’s not an issues. As you can see even a two year old can be taught to act appropriately with a toy gun or sword…so I guess two could be an appropriate age. It’s all about teaching and leading by example.
December 28th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
its all in creative play in my opinion. my son has fake guns and swords. he play fights with his sister. the fact of the matter is kids dont grow up to be killers simply cause they had fake weapons to play with when they were younger.
December 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Personally I think these kind of toys promote violence, when children play with them the first thing they do is pretend to kill someone-I wouldn’t want my children to learn that.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Anyone who has spent time with kids will tell you that boys particularly have an attraction to toy weapons and conflict, when seems to be innate nomatter what their upbringing. The real problem with toy guns is when kids are not taught to differentiate between the reality of what guns, swords, knives and bombs can do and the fantasy images from TV and the web. I think water pistols are great, as long as they do not look like real guns and kids, even at an early age clearly understand that shooting someone means that they bleed, cry and sometimes die…. and that when they see the real thing, they must run away from it and tell an adult.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
This seems to be a battleground question, and each parent’s answer seems wrapped in their own background and culture. I have tried not to make an issue out of it, but I don’t have play weapons for my kids. If it is imaginative play, they can come up with a gun on their own (their finger ususally works).
This is also aggressive play, and I am not going to waste my money on that, especially when a finger would do. Swords are actually worse than guns, because to be effective, those weapons have to actually touch the ‘victim’, so someone will surely be crying soon enough.
I know they are just playing at these real life situations, but I don’t buy them pretend syringes so they can imagine they are drug addicts. They can keep the pretend, but I won’t be accessorizing any negative, imaginative episodes! And yes, some days I do go overboard and when they play guns I let them know people are dying every day with real guns and it isn’t a game.
I will apologize to them in therapy when they are grown ups. I just tell myself it is always something, and the weapon thing isn’t something I am going to be comfortable with.
January 4th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
If the child learns safety and respect for a weapon then by all means it can be a great thing.
I was shooting coffee cans off of cement walls out in the country with my dad and Grandpa from the time I could hold a gun 5-6 years old. They taught me safety and my dad was really clear that I was not to touch any gun without him right there. But any time I wanted to hold it or shoot it (if we could get somewhere like a shooting range) he would allow it.
He showed me how he kept the guns and ammo separate in the house. (Which to me made it nonsensical that he then had his .38 in his nightstand drawer in case of an intruder except I suppose he thought the intruder would not know it wasn`t loaded?)
I never had temptation to touch or get out or play with a gun ever because I was exposed to them at an early age and had confidence I knew how to use one in the right circumstances.
I was a pretty good shot too and that gave me confidence as well.
Swords — maybe a little harder to control but with the proper protective equipment I think a child could learn fencing from the age of seven or so.
And yes I am talking about real weapons. Toy ones?
I think there is way too much hysteria about them. If kids actually get off the computer and video game and DVD screen and go out to play knights or cops and robbers they will find a stick or a cardboard wrapping paper tube or really anything to fashion into a gun or sword for their purposes.
If people worried half as much about video and computer games and violence in movies and TV as they did about toy swords and guns — that would decrease the amount of violence in our world.
Like I said I watched my dad and grandpa shoot guns at targets from the age of — too young to remember and started shooting myself at the age of six. I am one of the least violent people I know.
I knew kids who started fencing classes at the age of seven. They are also not violent people and would never stab anyone.
I think allowing a child — with the best possible adult supervision — to experience real weapons goes a long way to teach respect for them. Teaching a child to fence or taking them out to the shooting range is also a more worthwhile use of their time than sitting them in front of an Xbox all day.
In which case toy versions are actually no big deal and only used in the imaginary storylines of their imaginative play.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I would not refrain from buying toy weapons for my child. And in actuality my children already own BB guns and go shooting with me and my father. Instead of making everything a bad thing its far better to allow a child some creativity and teach that child responsibility. Gun safety leads to children aware of what to when they encounter a gun. It saves lives and stops accidents. Proper discilpine and supervision teach a child how to outlet their stress and anger without hurting others. Sadly a few too many parents want to just erase issues instead of teaching their children or even dealing with the issue. Did you know a child is much more likely to be killed in a bike accident than with a gun? And that school shooting had been present in the US since 1966 and we have had atleast 1 shooting every 3 years since that time? This was before you even had to be 18 to purchase a gun much less a sit a waiting period before ownership. And the frequency has continued to increase with harsher gun laws and anti gun movements. Anti gun adults seem to forget that.
Deaths Due to Unintentional Injuries, 2000 (Estimates) (Chart compiled by GunCite. Source of data, except as noted, National Safety Council, Injury Facts, 2001 Edition, pp. 8-9, 84)
Accident Type Age
0-4 5-14 15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75+ Total
All Automobile 900 1,500 10,500 13,300 9,200 2,700 4,900 43,000
Falls 70 70 210 950 1,900 1,700 11,300 16,200
Poisoning by solids, liquids 60 40 800 6,800 3,200 300 500 11,700
Pedestrian1 250 300 750 1,300 1,400 450 850 5,300
Drowning 450 350 700 1,250 650 230 270 3,900
Fires, burns 400 260 240 700 800 500 700 3,600
Suffocation by ingested object 100 20 30 250 400 500 2,100 3,400
Firearms 20 60 150 190 110 30 40 600
Poisoning by gases, vapors 10 10 70 120 80 40 70 400
All other causes 700 400 1,100 3,000 3,200 1,600 4,500 14,500
TOTAL 2,700 2,700 13,800 26,600 19,500 7,600 24,400 97,300
Fatal gun accidents often receive national attention. Subsequently politicians demand mandatory firearms safety classes for all gun owners, yet many more lives could be saved by randomly selecting and educating a group of drivers rather than gun owners, not to mention the populace at large regarding, administering first-aid, how to eat, and basic common sense safety habits. (It is not being suggested that such training be offered or mandated.)
Notable shootings
Further information: List of school related attacks
North America
USA
Name Location Date Year Victims
University of Texas at Austin massacre Austin, Texas, United States August 1 1966 18
Orangeburg massacre Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States February 8 1968 3
Kent State shootings Kent, Ohio, United States May 4 1970 4
Jackson State killings Jackson, Mississippi, United States May 14-15 1970 2
California State University, Fullerton library massacre Fullerton, California, United States July 12 1976 7
Cleveland Elementary School shooting San Diego, California, United States January 29 1979 2
Parkway South Junior High School shooting Saint Louis, Missouri, United States January 20 1983 2
Oakland Elementary School shooting Greenwood, South Carolina, United States September 26 1988
Cleveland Elementary School shooting Stockton, California, United States January 17 1989 6
University of Iowa shooting Iowa City, Iowa, United States November 1 1991 6
Lindhurst High School shooting Marysville, California, United States May 1 1992 4
Simon’s Rock College of Bard shooting Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States December 14 1992 2
East Carter High School shooting Grayson, Kentucky, United States January 18 1993 2
Richland High School shooting Lynnville, Tennessee, United States November 15 1995 2
Frontier Junior High shooting Moses Lake, Washington, United States February 2 1996 3
Hetzel Union Building shooting State College, Pennsylvania, United States September 17 1996 1
Bethel High School shooting Bethel, Alaska, United States February 19 1997 2
Pearl High School shooting Pearl, Mississippi, United States October 1 1997 3
Heath High School shooting West Paducah, Kentucky United States December 1 1997 3
Westside Middle School shooting Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States March 24 1998 5
Parker Middle School shooting Edinboro, Pennsylvania, United States April 24 1998 1
Thurston High School shooting Springfield, Oregon, United States May 21 1998 4
Columbine High School massacre Littleton, Colorado, United States April 20 1999 15
Heritage High School shooting Conyers, Georgia, United States May 20 1999 0
Buell Elementary School shooting Mount Morris Township, Michigan, United States February 29 2000 1
Santana High School shooting Santee, California, United States March 5 2001 2
Granite Hills High School shooting El Cajon, California, United States March 22 2001 0
Appalachian School of Law shooting Grundy, Virginia, United States January 16 2002 3
University of Arizona School of Nursing shooting Tucson, Arizona, United States October 28 2002 4
John McDonough High School shooting New Orleans, Louisiana, United States April 14 2003 1
Red Lion Area Junior High School shootings Red Lion, Pennsylvania, United States April 24 2003 2
Case Western Reserve University shooting Cleveland, Ohio, United States May 9 2003 1
Rocori High School shootings Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States September 24 2003 2
Red Lake High School massacre Red Lake, Minnesota, United States March 21 2005 10
Campbell County High School shooting Jacksboro, Tennessee, United States November 8 2005 1
Pine Middle School shooting Reno, Nevada, United States March 14 2006 0
Platte Canyon High School shooting Bailey, Colorado, United States September 27 2006 2
Weston High School shooting Cazenovia, Wisconsin, United States September 29 2006 1
Amish school shooting Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States October 2 2006 6
Virginia Tech massacre Blacksburg, Virginia, United States April 16 2007 33
Delaware State University shooting Dover, Delaware, United States September 21 2007 1
SuccessTech Academy shooting Cleveland, Ohio, United States October 10 2007 1
Notre Dame Elementary shooting Portsmouth, Ohio, United States February 7 2008 1
Louisiana Technical College shooting Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States February 8 2008 3
Mitchell High School shooting Memphis, Tennessee, United States February 11 2008 0
E.O. Green School shooting Oxnard, California, United States February 12 2008 1
Northern Illinois University shooting DeKalb, Illinois, United States February 14 2008 6
January 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
It is utterly ridiculous to say that kids playing with toy guns/swords will turn into violent individuals. So every kid that plays with a kitchen set will become chefs? Every kid that plays with Barbie going to run out and get ****** implants? And why are water guns so much better than a big foam sword?
Besides, anyone with boys knows – it doesn’t matter if they have toy guns or swords. If they don’t have them, they will use sticks, other toys, even their hands to have pretend gun/sword play. Its part of being a boy and its harmless.
As long as children are raised in a loving, healthy household – that is what is important. Not what toys they play with.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:09 am
When I was in a high school a friend was playin with his dads gun and accidentally shot and killed his best friend. Bottom line kids should never be exposed to guns.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
no way!!!!!!!!
January 13th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Well now, I think that it all depends on the situation, the reason, the child’s maturity level and the purpose. For example, if a parent wantso to buy their 7 year old a BB gun and that child is responsible and knows gun safety and you teach them how to properly use it, to shoot at targets only and never even point a gun at a person not even in play, then yeah, I think that that is just fine. That’s what my parents did for my brother and I, and we learned gun safety the right way and it was never an issue. When we turned 12, we were allowed to take a hunter safety course so that we could start hunting and my dad taught us how to clean, disassemble, assemble, load and safely discharge a fire arm. He taught us responsibility when using a firearm and when handling one. When the guns are not in use, they are cleaned, unloaded, trigger locked and locked in a gun safe for wich only my dad had the combination.
So as long as the child is responsible with the weapon and is under direct parental supervision at all times (and by that I mean the parent is at their shoulder while they are learning and up until like age 13 to 15, depending on the maturity and responsiblity levels of the kid), the guns are locked up and unloaded when not in use, then yes, I think that it is fine. After all, this is America and we do have the right to bear arms! Good luck on your debate!
EDIT: As one person said that a kid was messing around with his dad’s gun and shot and killed a friend accidentally – that could have been prevented had the kid been taught how to responsibly handle a gun and been taught to never point a gun at a person, even in play. Not exposing your kids to guns will make it a big mystery to them and when and if they ever do try to handle them, they won’t know how to handle a gun responsibly and safely and what you should and should not do. Around kids, they should also have kept the guns locked in a gun safe as well, the only way that a gun should be left out in a house with kids is if the gun is unloaded and the ammo is kept in a place the kid doesn’t know about or locked up.
As Larry The Cable Guy once put it (and he’s a man from my home state, Nebraska, as well): “If guns kill people, then I can blame misspelled words on my pencil”.
A gun is only going to kill a person if it is intentionally pointed at someone to shoot them or in play or if the weapon is handled improperly or irresponsibly. Education can prevent all of the above. If you know how to handle a weapon and are responsible with it, then there won’t be a problem. Education is everything.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
our daughter is 3 and has a bb gun. we live in a small hick town where hunting is a big thing. my hubby is teaching her how to properly use the gun. of course we dont call them toys and you can never have it in the house and absolutely never point it at people. but we hunt for food so she has to learn about guns.
guns as toys i do not agree with.
January 17th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Yes, why not? What is the alternative? Blocking the sale of these items? Wont happen in a free society. Kids have always played with these things even if not bought, they made swords out of sticks and used their fingers to simulate guns. You wont stop kids from being kids.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Yes of course. Pardon me, but what kind of silly question is this? You can not prevent parents from buying play swords and guns for their kids. That is totally insane to stop anyone from doing what they want with TOYS!
January 19th, 2009 at 4:46 am
You must be crazy if you think you can stop other parents from buying what they want for their kids. Totally off your rocker.
Yes parents should be allowed to buy toys for their kids.
January 21st, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I am a martial arts instructor who focuses on medieval sword and knife work. I do a lot of demonstrations for renaissance faires, but I travel to schools and cub scout groups to not only teach a bit of history, but dispel a lot of the rumors TV and movies have led us to believe about swords. Yes they are easily seen as weapons, but anything can be used as a weapon in the right hands. Should we ban kids from having baseball bats and hockey sticks because in the right hands they can brutally injure someone?
The majority of swords out there that a parent MIGHT buy for their children are hardly considered a “real” sword. most in the under $200 range are made of stainless steel and should only be hung on the wall because they were not meant for any actual use. The problem is, kids will get that thought that they just have to swing it around, and there is the main problem. The parents will have to make a choice if their sons or daughters are responsible enough to own one.
It’s not a matter of yes or no if all parents should be able to purchase a gun or sword for all children. It is all about responsibility. Not just for the children either. The parents need to be responsible to properly mentor their children in it’s use and safe handling. What a shock! Parents have to get involved, huh?
My Son is only a year and a half, but when I can trust him, I fully intend to put a sword in his hand and teach him not only the safe handling of one, but the historical use of it.
The same should apply to guns. I might not be one of them, but how many parents out there have taken their sons or daughters out hunting at a young age and shown them the proper use of a rifle? It can be a bonding thing and in some families, it’s a deep tradition.
So to make my answer even longer, I say yes. Parents SHOULD be able to buy them for their children, but it all depends on the mentoring and supervision the parents will provide.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Cassie- To be effective in debating make sure you are familiar with both sides of the issue. I would read the opinions that are hidden if you haven’t already. They are obviously not of the majority but nonetheless useful for your information.
To answer your question (in my opinion):
Should parents be allowed to purchase TOY guns and swords for their children??? Yes, since the sale of toy weapons are still legal (for now). Otherwise, we would have to pay additional taxes to support the effective task forces necessary to combat illegal toy gun (and sword) trade!
Is it irresponsible for parents allow their children to play with toy guns and does that promote violence or the misuse of real guns? It depends on the responsibility of the parents and the maturity level of the child as well as the environment.
I was taught about guns at an early age. I was responsible and educated on proper gun use. But I was NOT allowed to take my rifle or gun out and practice target shooting or go hunting without adult supervision or without purpose. Not even when I was 15 because my parents still considered me a child. The guns were not left lying around the house (safely unloaded) for us to have access to. Just as the Jack and Coke was not left beside my car keys when I was ready to go out on a Friday night. I was also not allowed to watch inappropriate tv shows that contained lots of violence like many kids are today.
My 8yr old niece lives with me. I have had custody of her for the last 3 years. She told me earlier this afternoon that her mom’s boyfriend lets her older sister and younger brother (5yrs old!!) play with his guns but they have to ask permission first so he can remove the bullets. The guns (real guns, not toys) are not locked up and are left in an unlocked room. The kids are only allowed to aim and pretend shoot each other when they are filming their home movies though. I have taught my niece about guns and gun safety but it doesn’t benefit her when the guns are in the hands of idiots and they’re trying to remake a Scarface movie! So, when her 5yr old brother wants to have some creative play with the toy gun or maybe the real gun (because he doesn’t know the difference)… what then?
So, in this case… I do NOT believe these parents should be allowed to purchase guns, swords, sharp objects or even dull objects for that matter. They are irresponsible! And this is why gun owners have to argue their rights. And this is also why I can understand why some parents choose not to allow these types of toys in their homes.
Having said that, I agree that guns don’t kill… people do….and ignrance do,,