Toy Guns

Should Kids Have Toy Guns Michael Golden and Robert Shaffer both write articles on whether or not they want their kids to have toy guns. They both have different opinions on the issue and very good arguments to back up their reasons. Golden writes an article entitled “Why I Bought My Son a Toy Gun” and Shaffer writes on “Why I Won’t Buy My Sons Toy Guns.” They both respond to one important question: should young children have access to toy guns and other weapons. Toy guns are an issue that many parents feel different on. Some parents and guardians feel they should restrict access to toy guns because it introduces kids to violence. Robert Shaffer agrees with this concept. He writes that “any toy is a teacher….the lesson toy guns teach is that solving problems with violence is acceptable.” Shaffer has a fairly good argument that toy guns allow kids to act out violent acts and may lead to real acts of violence in the future. It should also be known that Shaffer lives in New York City, where more acts of violence occur than in most cities or towns. I believe that Shaffer has a great reason for not allowing his kids to play with guns but I do not necessarily agree with his approach (Shaffer 205). I believe that the more an item is kept away from a kid, the more he or she will want to obtain that toy or item. When my parents told me absolutely not to touch something in the house I always went ahead and did exactly what they ordered me not to do. I believe most all kids think that way too. Michael Golden supports that idea as well. In his article he explains why he bought his son a toy gun even though he did not support the idea of introducing kids to violence. Golden realized that by not buying the gun for his son would only make the kid want it more. Also, if a kid really wants to play with a

toy gun he will find a way whether its pretending with his hands or going to a friends house and playing with toy weapons. Golden also decided to purchase the gun because he