Tools. Not Toys.
I don’t think I ever shared these pictures.
The Cowboy. January 2011. (He's such a stickler for realism!)
The Cowboy, in true John Wayne movie fashion, got a shotgun for Christmas (although it took until January to get it here). It’s not, quite, a real one–which would be too heavy for him to even lift. But it’s a serious one, with a serious purpose.
It's got all the important parts, even if it doesn't have the size of a real one.
It’s a “training” gun with all the same parts as a real one, but the plastic shells don’t actually shoot out. (We don’t do projectiles here. It’s just a matter of my own little need for sanity.) Mr. Fix-It looked long and hard to find one that had caps though, so if you do pull the trigger, you know it.
He already looks like he knows what he's doing.
It’s actually made for kids 4 and up, but it’s a tad bit too long for him to hold correctly yet. And it’s not plastic so it’s not light. It’s a little bit lighter and shorter than a real one would be–just enough that they can actually handle it to learn with. Mr. Fix-It’s teaching the Cowboy and the Ladybug how to handle it safely, load and unload it, and clean it. (I said Speedracer had to be 4 before he could join in and he’s still not speaking to me because of it.) We keep it locked it in the gun cabinet with the other guns.
Only his first lesson was in the house. He just couldn't wait.
We don’t have play guns here. We have lincoln logs, chip clips, a flashlight, and parts of an Erector-set crane that shoot at bad guys, but we don’t have actual toy guns. Rule #1 around here is that guns are tools, not toys.
He's got a little growing to do.
Rule #2 is “ask your father.” This is one of those parts of motherhood for me where Mr. Fix-It gets to be the father and I get to grin and bear it and go bake some muffins with the little guy so I don’t have to watch. I have no desire for our kids to grow up either fearful or curious about guns, but rather knowledgeable and conscientious. Guns are tools. Important ones around here. Just not ones I happen to like dealing with if I don’t have too.
Those are great pics! I’m with you – growing up guns were for hunting or protection, never a toy….and I must admit that I am a little relieved that my husband has never handled a gun so there’s no need to have one anywhere near my girls. At least, not now. We’ll see what he says once they reach 14!
Isn’t that the truth! Have you heard that Rodney Atkins song, Cleaning My Gun? It’s about meeting his daughter’s boyfriend for the first time. 🙂
I have a family history of being ok with guns, but I wasn’t really around them or handling them much growing up. That was my Dad’s “job” as the man of the house. And as a girl, I was pretty much ok with that. But being in the country and having boys (and being married to “the last boyscout”!) I think giving them knowledge is my best defense. I’m just glad I can trust Mr. Fix-It for it. I don’t think my nerves could take it! 🙂
The pictures are so adorable! I like your theory of not having “toy” guns because guns are not toys and shooting someone in pretend is not funny.
We’ve got back and forth about it and it’s something that just takes constant monitoring. We don’t want to teach them that the “good guys” like police and soldiers are bad guys for shooting people. But we don’t want them to take it lightly either. I’ve always got my momma-ears pricked to hear certain phrase that might need correction or redirection, but I’m very blessed that my husband and I can balance each other out in this area and that I can trust him about this if my mother-heart gets a little haywire over the whole thing.
The pictures are so sweet! I think I would be like you and not want to deal with the guns. I would also leave that to men! Does your ladybug enjoy learning how to use the gun?
She seems to be excited about it right now, but I think that’s a combination of it being new and being “grown up.” I think once they get to real guns she’ll be more like me. I know what I need to know to be safe, but that’s as far as my interest goes. I don’t see her as the type to enjoy the noise, the recoil, or the idea of actually killing something. I’ll give her room if she wants to surprise me on this one, but I think it will wear off for her pretty quickly. Especially if she can get one-on-one time with Daddy doing something she considers more fun. I think they love that as much as anything else right now.