Toy Guns

My son was only 2 when it happened: He spotted a couple of older boys chasing each other around with toy guns at the park. This quick glimpse of shiny silver toys that clicked and popped was all it took for him to be hooked. He didn't know what a gun was at this point, but he knew he wanted one.

I'll admit it. I was upset. I had always hoped that ours would be a home free from violent play. I'm one of those crazy moms who teaches her children not to smash bugs if they can help it, even when secretly I want that spider dead and floating in the toilet. And here my son was wanting a toy that would kill countless pretend people and animals. I wanted none of it.

But my husband was in the Army, an infantry man to be exact, so he "gets" the fascination with guns. He also grew up with a brother, and the two of them spent hours playing cops and robbers with toy guns. And I must confess that I racked up many hours of gun play myself as a kid, along with my four older brothers. None of us are violent adults. None of us grew up to be a criminal (one did actually grow up to be a cop, though.) So my husband thinks I should be okay with toy guns.

But I still had a hard time accepting that my son--my sweet blue-eyed boy, the one who used to twist my hair to fall asleep in my arms--wants to play with guns. At first, I put my foot down and just refused to consider it. I hear you all chuckling now. Of course, that didn't work. As anyone who has been around kids knows, a stick, piece toast bitten in all the right places, a Barbie with one leg up and the other down can all be makeshift guns for the determined child. It only took me a couple of weeks to see that I was fighting a losing battle. I started to look for other options. I was convinced there had to be a middle ground.

In my quest for a solution, I talked to other parents, and I started reading about the topic. Finally I stumbled upon a book that helped me put gun play into perspective: Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD.

I'll try my best to quickly sum up the points that I found the most relevant to this topic. Cohen points out that much play is about children coping with their feelings of powerlessness in an adult world. This made sense to me! Everything from playing doctor, to teacher, to gun-toting police officer is a way for children to put themselves in powerful, adult positions. Cohen touches on how this role reversal can help children work out stresses and fears. My attitudes about gun play started to shift as I began to consider the cathartic possibilities play can offer my children.

But Cohen understands how violent play can still make many parents uncomfortable. So he suggests parents get involved with the play and introduce new, fresh elements. For instance, instead of a gun just being used to kill something, what if you transform it into a love gun? We took this idea and ran with it in our home. Our guns shoot many things other than bullets: ice, fire, spider webs, sticky goo, hot lava, kisses. The list goes on and on. It's still gun play; but at least the focus isn't always on killing.

Am I completely comfortable with the toy guns in our home now? I'd by lying if I said I was. I still stress to my son that real guns are dangerous and can kill. I don't let him take his guns to the park or friend's houses out of respect for other parents' comfort levels. But all in all, I am more accepting of gun play. I don't cringe every time my little guy heads out in the backyard toting his cork gun. I know that he is trying out a role, pretending that this "weapon" can stop the scary noise in the bushes (usually the dog) with its freezing rays. And I remind myself that I also said I would never allow Barbies in my home...but that's a different post all together.

The Dreaded Moment: Leaving the Toy Store

I love seeing happy families stroll in to browse. Everyone is smiling, little bare toes peek out from car seats. I listen as Dad tries to convince Mom that a potato gun or a marshmallow blaster wouldn't be that messy. I watch the kids push Thomas around the track and marvel at how well they make chugging and whooshing noises along the way. Mom always happily pretends to lick the magnetic ice cream cone her little one has served her. Everyone is having a fun, playful time.

Then it happens. Mom or Dad glances at the clock. A worried crinkle on the forehead replaces the light, bright smile that was there just moments ago. I can tell, it's getting time for them to go...and they are worried. How am I going to pull Johnny from that train table? Susie is never going to leave that doll and stroller without a fit. They look at me nervously as they start the countdown.

As a parent myself, my heart always goes out to them at this moment. I've been there. I have been the parent wishing she could hide under moving traffic to avoid the scene my child is creating in a store. In fact, before I worked for My Little Red Wagon, my daughter refused to go without a fight, grabbing onto a sand table and screaming, "No, no, no!" while I tried to convince her how fun it would be to go back home. For some odd reason, she wanted to stay and play instead of returning home to watch me vacuum.

So when I see parents worried that their child might decide she isn't ready to go yet, I want to run over and tell them that it's okay. None of the workers are judging them or their child. We get it. We see it every day. We understand that your little ones probably find a toy store more fun than vacuuming, too. Let us help if we can. Let us know if offering a sticker or a coloring page to take home will help distract Johnny from the horror of leaving. Let us know if Susie would leave happily if only she got to "beep" a product or put the money on the counter. We'll wait. Really. We don't mind. We like feeling like heroes when we can help your little ones leave with a smile.

The flying Turtle in Action

Here is the flying turtle in action. This is one of our all time favorites! No batteries, kid powered, super sturdy ride on toy.

Just turn the handles right and left and it goes.

Frogs!

Frogs in a toy store? Hey why not.

We recently have been selling frog habitats(and they are selling like crazy). The frogs (African Dwarf Frogs) live in a little ecosystem and are water frogs. There is also a snail (to clean the tank) and a bamboo shoot (for oxygen). The really cool thing about these is the super easy care. The frogs only need fed twice a week (and we sell you a years supply of food with the tank) and the tank only needs cleaned a couple times a year.

Pretty simple! As a Mom of three kids I prefer this to a dog. Okay... sorry dog lovers.... I have had a number of dogs too. I do like dogs! BUT... my kids and husband are begging for a new dog and I know that I will be the one to feed, walk, and essentially care for the dog. Right now I am not looking for extra work. So when my kids are truly ready to completely care for a dog themselves... then maybe. In the meantime Kermit the Frog it is!

Stop by and see our new frogs!

Great Family Game - Bananagrams

This is a great, super fun game for the family. This banana unzips to reveal 144 letter tiles. There are many ways to play, but our favorite goes like this. Each player takes the designated amount of tiles (depending upon the number of players). The remaining tiles go in the middle upside down. Everyone flips all their tiles at the same time and then begins to create words. Once one player is out of tiles he yells "peel" and each player takes another tile to add to his/her "bunch" of tiles. If a player is stuck, he can "dump" a tile in exchange for three more. Once the tiles in the middle are gone, then the first player to use all his/ her tiles arranged into words calls out "banana" and is the winner.

A multiple award winning game.
2 to 7 players


Educational Games at My Little Red Wagon - purchase Bananagrams
http://www.mylittleredwagon.com

Review by: Michelle Sahr