7 year old received nerf gun for birthday!
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Anonymous
| My son had a birthday party this weekend where he received a nurf gun. My hope was that my son wouldn't know what it was(we don't have any toy guns) and we could exchange it for something else. He however knew exactly what it was and loved it, much to my surprise and would be very upset if we made him return it. Do I let him play with it and hope he forgets about it or do I need to stand my ground and tell him this is not a safe toy and have him return it for something else. |
Anonymous
| You let him play with it and supervise and don't buy him any more of the guns. You don't replace the "bullets" when he loses them, which'll be soon. You realize this is pretty much unavoidable. |
Anonymous
| All children enjoy playing with pretend weapons. It's both unavoidable and meaningless (a phase). |
Anonymous
| I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift. |
Anonymous
This is a battle you won't win with boys as anything that shoots is a fascination. I say this as an anti-gun person with two boys. The best you can do is call it a blaster to make yourself feel better. If you truly can't deal with this toy, just explain to him that it's a toy that can hurt people and just return it. Your house, your rule. Your son will deal. However, understand that if he has a play date and the family hosting has nerf "blasters", then you can't ban it from him forever. If you want more safety, get proper goggles for him to wear and have him use it when everyone is properly protected. |
Anonymous
Oh please. Not everyone follows your rules. How would they know you ban such toys? |
Anonymous
| You thought your kid was not going to know what a nerf gun is? |
Anonymous
| Oh, come ON. Has he never seen a water gun? |
Anonymous
| I loved Nerf weapons as kid! Let him have some fun, OP. |
Anonymous
|
Get a life, OP.
And WTF diff. does it make if you call it a "blaster"? |
Anonymous
|
Yeah, they're so much fun!
I'll pass on one poster's message a few weeks ago on DCUM whose husband is an ER doc. He treated a boy who lost his eye after being shot at point-blank range with a nerf bullet. Depending on the model your child received, some of these guns have stupendous air pressure. So enjoy *safely*. |
Anonymous
+1 I had no idea this was an unacceptable gift. A BB gun or something real looking sure. Next time have a no gift party. Problem solved. |
Anonymous
|
OFFS
My 3 year old uses sticks as guns at the park. It's ingrained male behavior. |
Anonymous
Excuse me while I laugh forever. Re-read that a few times and think about it during your daily meditation. I don't love guns, but Nerf weapons are ubiquitous, and also really fun. This is an opportunity to take a deep breath and unclench. |
Anonymous
| You guys are exactly like the Fundies you're so eager to sneer at. "OMG a gun!!!" "OMG, someone gave my DD a pair of pants!" |