I wouldn't be offended if someone brought my son a nerf gun, and actually brought him a small one at target at his request after he got a good report card. I do feel that it is kind of a downer that so much of the stuff marketed to boys is based on sort of violent themes (toy guns, lightsabers, etc.). But maybe I feel that more acutely because my son is very passive by nature and so it seems kind of inconsistent with his personality. Anyway, I let him have some of it, in moderation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

Me too

you two must live a pretty charmed life then. i don't buy toy guns for my kids either, but I wouldn't be annoyed at all if they received them as gifts. not everyone has the same rules as we do, and I don't expect every parent in my kids' class to know exactly what I would or wouldn't buy for my kids. this is not a real problem. if you don't like it then have some backbone and tell your child that in our family we don't play with those kinds of toys and then trash it. or just let him/her play with it for a couple weeks and then they'll forget about it.

This. Please share some of your new backbone with the woman who found it so difficult to say no to her kid who wanted to eat all the goody bag candy at once.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

Oh please. Not everyone follows your rules. How would they know you ban such toys?

We give Nerf guns because kids love them.

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

I have 5yo and 7yo boys. Their favorite toys are light sabers and nerf guns. I have been gifting nerf guns. Stop being no fun.

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the amount of hand wringing by some of the uber-protective mommies around here. Toy guns are not a gateway drug to the real thing.

NP here. I think this point is worth a second look. If our goal is to raise children with a deep respect for human life and the damage guns can inflict, is avoiding toy guns a necessary prerequisite for that? If so, why? I'm sure we could have a conversation about highly realistic toy guns, but I'm talking about Nerf guns and colored plastic water pistols.

I can't believe the amount of hand wringing by some of the uber-protective mommies around here. Toy guns are not a gateway drug to the real thing.

Anonymous wrote: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.

You would return a gift he really likes?

Teach him to use it safely and let him play. It won't take long to lose the bullets.

I wouldn't be annoyed if someone got it for my kid as a gift, although I certainly would not pick it out for him myself. If people are against toy weapons as a whole, that's one thing, but the mom of one of my son's friends is always going off on how wrong nerf guns are, and then the kid is constantly wanting to play games where he pretends to cut my son's head off with a lightsaber.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

Me too

you two must live a pretty charmed life then. i don't buy toy guns for my kids either, but I wouldn't be annoyed at all if they received them as gifts. not everyone has the same rules as we do, and I don't expect every parent in my kids' class to know exactly what I would or wouldn't buy for my kids. this is not a real problem. if you don't like it then have some backbone and tell your child that in our family we don't play with those kinds of toys and then trash it. or just let him/her play with it for a couple weeks and then they'll forget about it.

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

I'm sure you would

Anonymous wrote:It is not acceptable. I'd tell my child that it is not an appropriate gift for a 7 year old and put it away. Or, let it disappear.

You're a total killjoy.

Don't worry, Hillary will save us the evil gunzzz!!

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

Me too

It is not acceptable. I'd tell my child that it is not an appropriate gift for a 7 year old and put it away. Or, let it disappear.

Get a few more and play with him. Enforce rules regarding proximity, no head shots. Much to your surprise, you might have fun!

Anonymous wrote:I would be furious at the parent who thought this was an acceptable gift.

You're either a troll or a moron.