Little Boys and Toy Guns
The rest of the family is having an afternoon nap and I'm on baby duty. 11 month old Tyden's nap didn't sync with the others today. I'm lying on the couch with toys strewn on the lounge floor hoping to catch a few Z's, but Tyden isn't interested in the toys and instead is pulling my hair out and trying to poke my eyes open. His whining is incessant and I'm about to give up and play with him when he spots something interesting across the room and goes off at a sprint crawl to get it. He has found one of the bigger boy's toy rifles.What is it with boys and guns? You can try refusing to buy them any, but they'll make them out of plastic golf clubs, Lego, empty toilet rolls, or just about anything.Boys simply must fight. We can't stop them. But we can teach them what to fight for. In our home boys are encouraged to use their strength, and their homemade weapons, to protect rather than to hurt. 'Baddies' are dangerous people who must first be subdued and then taught to be 'goodies'. Every man in the game is allowed the offer of a second chance to make good choices.
And so, yes, our boys play with guns. Trees are the encouraged target for practicing on, animals only when they're an (imagined) imminent threat, and people only when the aim is to subdue and rehabilitate.For the moment, though, Tyden is using the gun as a teething toy, and I am grateful to get a few moments of rest before the other little munchkins start coming through from their nap one by one.
