Grandma wants to give 3 yr old a water gun

[Anonymous]

OP,
Let your kid use it all he wants, but only at MIL's house. She may regret it when her living room is soaked
Make sure you purposefully forget it when you leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,
Let your kid use it all he wants, but only at MIL's house. She may regret it when her living room is soaked
Make sure you purposefully forget it when you leave.

Perfect!

[Anonymous]

toy guns? Nah. But a water gun? Sure. Get one shaped like a fish. Like the one my DD's preschool gave out to all the kids after a fund raiser.

[Anonymous]

I am also anti gun. But I would allow super soakers etc. They are a blast!

[Anonymous]

I am antigun and was raised in a no gun house. We all had water guns though. They never look like a real gun and it isn't violent play. I bought super soakers for my 4 yo. He is not getting a star wars gun though. I am also close to not allwoing him to play at a friend's house because they have them. Not sure yet....

[Anonymous]

I'm pro gun control and would never buy the kids a toy hand gun, BB gun or encourage "shoot em dead" type play.

I don't put water guns in the same category. We have big soakers that we use in our pool all the time. We also have a marshmallow shooter which is a big hit. I don't equate water balloons with bombs either. I do have a rule that for now no one shoots each other (though it is fine for them to aim at me or DH). They get upset if one gets water in their face and vice versa. They use them to shoot at things in the pool or at me. My kids also love, love the Buzz Lightyear ride at disney and rides at other parks like this. I don't really find target type games as violent.

[Anonymous]

ha. my son is too little for this but at a conference I went to, someone gave him one of those foam gun type things that shoot missiles when you squeeze them. My son went ape for it. We called it a popper. He likes it. He doesn't do anything violent, he just likes the cause and reaction. But I hear you, guns are gross. I am sensitive to the symbolism even if there is no real harm.

[Anonymous]

I found the "no gun play" futile. I have no ida on where my DS learned to shoot things because his friends parents are like me - we didn't expose him to it. Anyway, gun play is normal. We still discourage it. No water gun yet, but will get one soon. Like others had written, it really does not look like a real gun. We bought a squiggley squirty hose this weekend (with like a dozen little squiters) and it instantly turned into pointing them at each other. So I told my DS that he needed to ask if it was ok to soak the his friends. One friend said no, and my son stopped. So, as long as there is guidance and supervision, I have no problems with water guns.

[Anonymous]

I have a different view of this, as a young child repeatedly squirted me and my special needs daughter with her squirt gun at the pool this weekend. It's not a "gun play" issue. Whether you have your child play with guns is a private issue between you and your child. But when you give a child a squirt gun, you involve other people because a squirt gun -- ready for it? -- squirts other people. You need to know the child has the ability and discretion to use or not use the thing in the right situation. I don't think a three year old has that. Sorry.

This is the risk you take when you come to a public pool. People get splashed, get over it or stay home!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Slightly OT, but pretend violent play is perfectly natural for small kids, and is actually beneficial in that it helps kids act out good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, and even helps develop feelings of empathy. It's much different than exposure to media violence or (sadly) person-to-person violence at home. I used to be anti-toy gun, too, but it just seems to be an inherent part of my son. He's allowed water guns only, and we have tons of fun each summer (me included).

Agreed! Try listening in on your kids' creative play. Lots of drama

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the "no gun play" argument. What are you afraid of here? You think your kid is going to decide that violence is ok because he had a super soaker? you think he's going to grow up wanting to own a glock AND use it against other people because he had toy guns? think this all the way through before taking an unnecessary stand against something for the sake of being "anti gun"

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe the anti-gun sentiment, let alone the anti-water gun sentiment in this thread. Heaven forbid your dear children get some water on you or another person. The MIL sounds like a wonderfully fun grandma, most kids should be so lucky!

How about putting this much effort into teaching your children gun safety! There is a thought. You can't keep your precious little poopsies in a bubble forever.

[Anonymous]

I am very anti-gun.

But water guns? That is just being anti-fun, not anti-gun.

I know anti-fun is a big thing in the DC area (see DCUM throughout), but really?

[Anonymous]

I have a different view of this, as a young child repeatedly squirted me and my special needs daughter with her squirt gun at the pool this weekend. It's not a "gun play" issue. Whether you have your child play with guns is a private issue between you and your child. But when you give a child a squirt gun, you involve other people because a squirt gun -- ready for it? -- squirts other people. You need to know the child has the ability and discretion to use or not use the thing in the right situation. I don't think a three year old has that. Sorry.

A 3 year old is perfectly capable of that. I let my 3 year old have a squirter at the pool last weekend. I told him he could only squirt the water, the side of the pool, the ground - anything but another person. He listened, because he knew if he squirted someone it would be taken away.

Not going to get into a gun control debate with PPs, but there are about a bazillion peer reviewed studies that show exposing children to guns and gun play (especially gun play in video games, like Grand Theft Auto, etc) desensitizes them to violence.

Also . .. isn't the first rule of gun safety "Guns are not toys?"

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe the anti-gun sentiment, let alone the anti-water gun sentiment in this thread. Heaven forbid your dear children get some water on you or another person. The MIL sounds like a wonderfully fun grandma, most kids should be so lucky!

How about putting this much effort into teaching your children gun safety! There is a thought. You can't keep your precious little poopsies in a bubble forever.

Ummmmm - what are you trying to say? Eventually my 3 year old will be faced with a real gun? And if he is exposed at age 3, thinking that guns are toys would some how be helpful in that scenario??