Why I won’t let my kids play with guns

Call me what you will—bleeding-heart liberal, narrow minded, ill-informed—but I’m not comfortable with my kids playing with toy guns.

The topic of guns is controversial and has been for decades. This isn’t about your 2^nd amendment rights. You are an adult with a developed moral compass. This is about teaching my kids that even pretend violence is distasteful and in their imaginary world of play, intentional pain has no place.

My kids are 3.5. Watching my son and daughter grow and develop has been one of my greatest joys. Now, as they’re evolving from toddlers to kids, guns and violence will become part of their lives just because that’s the world in which we live. I’m not blind to that, but it’s one of my greatest sorrows.

People of the older generation think I’m being foolish. They played “cowboys and Indians” and they turned out just fine. Their kids played “cops and robbers” and they turned out just fine. I don’t disagree. But that was a different time.

My kids are growing up in a time where school shootings happen, we’ve always been at war and all of us can live it minute-by-minute online and on TV. Why would I want to introduce that into their play, too?

I don’t and I won’t.

Maybe I’m being over-protective. Maybe I’m being naïve. Maybe it’s not realistic to say my kids can’t play with guns. But I don’t think it’s impractical to want to wait to expose them to firearms until they can fully understand the capabilities and consequences.

Yes, I know we’re just talking about toys. But they don’t understand that there are real guns that, in the wrong hands, can do horrific damage. They can’t comprehend the permanence of death or disfigurement. I’m fine with that. No preschooler should carry that weight.

So, no. There won’t be any guns in my house. I’ll continue to pursue my idyllic life. And I’ll keep drawing the line with people who say, “What’s it going to hurt? It’s just play.” Because it’s only “just play” until it’s not.