Summary: Photo by Craig Marren via Flickr <br> <br> Is Gun Play Really Okay?<br> <br> A generation ago, gun play was an acceptable part of childhood. Parents gave their kids toy guns as gifts -- yes, even Red Ryder BB guns! (and yes, that's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Story">A Christmas Story </a>reference) -- and boys regularly played Cops and Robbers and War both at school and in the neighborhood.<br> <br> Today, we're a little more leery of gun play. And no wonder. Mass shootings seem to happen with alarming regularity, and without exception, the shooters so far have been male.<br> <br> No one wants their son to grow up to be the next school shooter. No one wants their son to kill another human being in anger. So, yeah -- we're understandably nervous when our boys nibble their toast into a gun shape and say, "bang!"<br> <br> But what's the best way to respond to boys' fascination with guns and weapons?<br> <br> Note ~ Girls play with guns, too. This is my friend's daughter playing at the beach with some conveniently shaped sticks just recently:<br> <br> <br> In this episode, Jen & Janet discuss:<br> <br> * Why boys are so attracted to gun play<br> * The benefits of gun play (Yes -- there ARE benefits!)<br> * The risks of gun play, especially for African-American boys (12 year old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun when he was shot by police.)<br> * Common sense guidelines for gun play<br> * How teachers and childcare professionals can uphold school rules that ban pretend violence without shaming boys<br> <br> Links we mentioned (or should have!) in Episode 111:<br> <a href="http://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/1-2-article-gun-play.pdf">Gun Play</a> -- American Journal of Play article by professor emeritus Jay Mechling<br> <br> <a href="http://boysalive.com/voices-on-gun-play/">Voices on Gun Play</a> - round-up of parents' thoughts, feelings and concerns regarding gun play, by Janet<br> <br> <a href="https://communitytable.parade.com/169517/jenniferlwfink/is-gun-play-ok/">Is Gun Play OK?</a> -- article by Jen<br> <br> <a href="https://buildingboys.net/weapons-play-is-ok/">Weapons Play is OK</a> -- blog post by Jen (apparently answering the question she posed in the above article!)<br> <br> <a href="http://boysalive.com/comes-toy-guns-little-black-boys-dont-luxury-play/">When it Comes to Toy Guns, Little Black Boys Don't Have the Luxury of Play</a> -- BoysAlive! post by Karlie Johnson<br> <br> <a href="https://buildingboys.net/common-sense-guidelines-for-gun-play/">Common Sense Guidelines for Gun Play</a> -- blog post by Jen<br> <br> <a href="http://boysalive.com/guidelines-for-gun-play/">Guidelines for Gun Play</a> -- blog post by Janet<br> <br> <a href="http://boysalive.com/gun-play-at-school-whats-a-teacher-to-do/">Gun Play at School: What's a Teacher to Do?</a> - blog post by Janet<br> <br> ==============================<br> <br> <a href="https://youtu.be/vUNVJ31Nccw">Watch the UNCUT version on Youtube here.</a><br> <br> ==============================
