On Boys Podcast

Photo by Craig Marren via Flickr  Is Gun Play Really Okay? 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 Christmas Story reference) -- and boys regularly played Cops and Robbers and War both at school and in the neighborhood. 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. 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!" But what's the best way to respond to boys' fascination with guns and weapons? Note ~ Girls play with guns, too.  This is my friend's daughter playing at the beach with some conveniently shaped sticks just recently: In this episode, Jen