Gun play

Lately, there have been some concerns about gun play at my kindy. We have a big group of boys starting kindy, and they have been dominating the playground, running with guns. In the beginning, they used their fingers as guns to shoot, and then some started to create guns using construction materials, like lego, mobile and even wood from the carpentry table. It seemed all the boys are attracted by the play, as they joined in almost instantly when 'threatened' / 'invited' at gun point. However, some got upset when the play became rough with physical contact. It did not go down well with the girls as well. From time to time, the teacher needed to intervene to clarify who wanted to be in the game and who did not.

At my kindy, the teachers agree that gun play is part of superhero play and should not be banned. It's good that we see eye to eye. We are aware that boys enjoy running in big space, outside, so they are naturally attracted to gun play. We also acknowledge that guns and weapons are a feature of some children's home experiences, such as a couple of Dads are policemen and a few families live on the farm or are frequently involved in hunting trips. Combined with information learnt from the media, our children are also acting out the good and bad theme with gun shooting.

While we acknowledge the importance of gun play in children's play repertoire, we need to make sure no one feels threatened. It's about communicating, listening and talking to each other. We encouraged the children to stand up for themselves and say 'no' to the gun player, and we remind the gun players to stop when being asked to. The learning involves social skills and will bring about the development of empathy.

Meanwhile, we are thinking about issuing gun licenses to children, which will be revoked when the child does not listen or show too much aggression. We probably will allotted an area for gun play, so who does not want to get involved could avoid the area and whoever feels too overwhelmed might exit...

I'm researching on gun play, and I have come across an interesting article by Diane Rich. You may also want to have a read...Bang, bang! Gun play and why children need it. Also, about gun license, see file:///Users/teacher/Documents/Kindy%20kids%20get%20gun%20licences%20%7C%20Stuff.co.nz.webarchive