Gun Play-Looking for Answers

I am struggling with what to do about gun play in my classroom. I know the standard answers are, "We don't play with guns, in our school." or "Guns are not toys." I think the issue is a bit more complex. It could be that my vision is clouded by the fact that as a young girl, I pretended to be Annie Oakley, a sharp shooter in the Wild West Show. No one, who knows me now, would suspect I used to wear a holster with two guns and a cowboy hat. Times have changed, but children still have an interest in pretending with guns.




Right now the gun play in my class is not all "bad guy" play. It is related to family members being in the military and families in which adults hunt for food. When a child has a parent serving in the Army, he often wants to role model that parent. I allow other children to role model their parents, but am I to say to this child that he cannot? As a country, we recognize and praise those who are serving in the military, but children in the classroom are told it is not ok to play soldier. This sends a very conflicting message. I allow other negative topics such as house fires and doctors who have patients that die, but not gun play. Am I giving more power to the gun play because of my stance?




I feel that teaching the children that soldiers do much more than shoot guns is part of the solution, but that is not enough. I'm "thinking out loud" as I write this, but maybe it would be positive to have a class meeting on the topic of guns and soldiers. I sometimes avoid these topics, wishing not to worry children who have not been exposed to such topics. How silly of me, when several of the boys are spending as much time as possible figuring out how to get away with gun play. "It is just a bubble machine gun." "It's not a gun, just a water shooter." It could be that recognizing the child and his dad's job might be the best way to handle the situation. We could talk about our respect for those serving in the military, but at the same time point out that none of the children in the room are enemies. Some children might express their feelings and as a group we might be able to work through these things. The child who wants to emulate his dad would feel proud and and yet at the same time he could hear why others ( the teachers) did not want gun play in the room. We could talk about the end of goal of soldiers is to bring peace. It might not solve the problem, but it could give me insight into what he and the other children are feeling. It could be a starting place.




Please share your thoughts on this topic. I need all the wisdom you have to offer!