Not Always Fun and Games - NYTimes article about toy guns.

  The New York Times had an article in the Sunday Style section this weekend about whether the wildly popular Nerf guns are encouraging violence among young childen, especially after the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Some people think that Nerf guns do play a part in promoting violence in children, with Nerf toys like "Firestrike' and 'Rampage," and that have 'Semi-automatic' capabilities. Those against the use of Nerf guns believe they make children comfortable with guns and shooting things.

I think that even though you are 'shooting' your friends when you play with Nerf guns, aiming at them and reloading, people are taking the 'violence' of that a little too seriously.

When I've played with Nerf guns, I don't see the Nerf weapon as a real gun. The bright colors and plastic materials keep it toy-like to me. I don't think of my friends being 'shot' or 'killed.' To me they are 'tagged' and I or one of them have won. I take it as more of a sport, instead of a blood bath.

Jess P. Shatkin, who works as a Vice-Chairman for Education at NYU Child Study Center, said that "I don't think withholding a gun from a child is necessarily the answer. It's one possible answer, but they are still going to want to make guns out of sticks and slices of cheese and anything else they can hold in their hands." Jess is right. 

Throughout history, kids have been picking up an L shaped stick and playing with it as a gun. Kids even use their fingers to shoot each other. The toys themselves aren't the problem, it's how people are taught about guns that plays a part in how they handle them. Where Nerf guns are primarily about playing a form of 'tag', it could be said that shooting video games are more of a concern. Your opponent is 'virtual' so they lack human emotion, and the visuals are more violent than your friend getting nailed with a sponge.  As with all games that children play, parents should be aware of what they're doing.  And make sure it is fun and peoples feelings are being respected.