Wednesday 22 July 2009

Gunning and shunning

Now that we've exhausted the next door neighbour's fruit trees, the boys and I trundled off down the market to pick up some more fruit. The markets here are amazing, full of fresh produce farmed from just down the road. I like to head there whenever I can, but it is more difficult when accompanied by children. Luke has taken to helping himself to handfuls of blueberries (the wild ones, picked from the mountains, much smaller than the ones we get in the UK and sooooo good) as we pass by stalls. Adam likes to examine the peaches, prodding and poking them into peach oblivion.

But, the biggest drama of going to the market is at the entrance. For there, beckoning like a siren to lovesick sailors, is a toy stall. They don't sell just any toys. Oh no, they sell toy guns. Can there be anything more enticing to boys aged 2 and 4? To pass this stall requires strength, dragging, screaming, pleading and general maternal trauma and perseverance. Last time we went Luke got hold of one stand, full of guns, and pulled it over. There were tears all round.

Like all good middle class families today, the boys don't have any toy guns. That is not to say that guns do not feature in the Brits household (and have posted before about this here). Everything that can possibly be made into a gun is. Sticks (ones with little nodules that can be used as triggers are especially prized). The broom. Lego. Meccano. Kifla (a sort of crescent shaped Bosnian bread roll). In fact anything that can be pointed is also capable of being fired, usually accompanied by some form of rat-a-tat-tat noise. Luke hasn't quite got the hang of rat-a-tat-tat yet, he sounds more like some form of farting bear with a stomach problem but I get his intent.

So having braved the gun stall and all its associated dramas yesterday afternoon we were wandering back through the car park when Adam spotted a toy gun on the ground. It was broken into quite a few pieces which he carefully picked up and secreted away in his pockets. When we got home he tucked in under a chair and spent most of the afternoon working out how he could put it back together. I was actually very impressed, he really had worked it out and pretty much fixed it, so I put some tape over it to keep it together for him and he is now the proud owner of his first gun.

I'm not looking forward to going back to England and being the one responsible for introducing all the other kids to guns. We're going to be ostracized for life.

In other news the latest Best of British Blogging Carnival is up over at Rebel Mothers, so head on over for more tales from the parenting frontline.

12 comments:

Kat said...

Boys will be boys! Even my girls want toys guns sometimes!

Iota said...

Come to the Midwest, where most kids your ages will have been taught to shoot a handgun already.

It's a post I keep meaning to write...

Rebel Mother said...

My Hubby made a wooden sword for Olly and wrapped it in silver foil. Olly swings it round his head and we all have to duck.

We all have very good reflexes now!

RMxx

Mum Gone Mad said...

like you say tho, kids will make guns out of anything! I find the ones that look like space laser ray guns are more socially acceptable :)

Unknown said...

Its such a little boy thing isnt it! Toddler boy has an inflatable sword, its hours of fun trying to chop his sisters head off... Not that I condone it of course!

san said...

On the one hand I don't want my boys to play with guns, but on the other hand it didn't do me any harm. Hmm, I see your dilemma!

Mummy said...

I think that he has shown such ingenuity, dexterity (not to mention a healthy degree of deceit in secreting the parts away from you to begin with) that he should be allowed to keep it!

Dorset Dispatches said...

Kat - my boys love them. It is all they want to do at the moment.

iota - there's a post I'd like to read. Adam wants to move to America so he can have a real gun.

RM - should have used cardboard, ours disintegrated in half an afternoon.

MGM - will look those out!

ZA - no we wouldn't condone such behaviour, but if it keeps them happy for half an hour and I can have a cup of tea - well I know my principles are not THAT strong.

SC - I don't want them to, but I can't stop them. At least if I don't give them the guns they will have to use their imagination and ingenuity to make them, and that is a good development. I think!

Mummy - couldn't agree more. So he now has it. Never knew anyone could be as proud of a bit of plastic with insulating tape around it, but it is his, he made it and he can do what he wants with it.

Maternal Tales said...

Having two girls, the whole gun thing has totally passed me by. (phew). Even though tiaras and fairy wands drive me a bit crazy, at least they're relatively safe!

Unknown said...

Oooh I'm going to be a bit different and say I hate weapons as toys, to me it's not right...but S also finds things and uses them as weapons...can't win! Have tagged you at mine xx

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the lovely post.
I have one year old daughter who is very bright for her age. Please can you tell me a good place to buy toddler educational toys?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your nice experience to share with us. Really awesome article with plenty of informative things to be known for us.


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