Airsoft guns are replica firearms that fire plastic pellets by compressed gas, electric, or a spring-driven piston. They are legal in most countries, including Australia and the United States, and are popular in military-style games and recreational activities.
It is not a secret that boys love to play with guns, and if you try to keep them away from them, they will just use something else. I never kept my boys from using their imaginations and playing in this way. They were doing nothing more or less than I did as a kid. Daily, we had neighborhood wars that nearly every boy took part in. We didn’t think of it as anything else than it was fun and we thought being soldiers was cool. I was from a military family and so were most of my friends, so it was nothing new and nothing out of the ordinary. We would even play the politically incorrect games such as cowboys and Indians. We grew up watching The Lone Ranger and other types of shows and didn’t think much of it.
My kids are much more sensitive, much more tolerant, which is of course a good thing. They didn’t have to hear the old prejudices that we were all exposed to, and would never dream of playing cowboys and Indians unless they were working together. But, they still like to use their toy guns, graduating from noise makers to Nerf guns that shot foam darts, to toy guns that shoot soft pellets and now to Airsoft guns which are technically toys, but are more than that really.
I had people telling me that they were fine for kids with supervision and I had people telling me that they were a bad idea. I had a friend who is a competition shooter tell me that he didn’t like the idea of these “toy” guns because it gave the kids the idea that shooting guns at each other was okay, that there were no real consequences. Unlike a BB gun that could injure and hurt a person, these Airsoft guns are designed to be used in such a way that you will actually shoot at another person. The games played with the Airsoft guns are a lot like the ones played with paintball guns; meaning that you are shooting at other people in order to win the game. This was the part that I was having trouble with.
In the end, I decided that the boys were responsible enough for the Airsoft guns, but with some rules in place. These guns were not to be treated as toys. They were to be treated exactly as you would use a real BB gun or a real gun for that matter. I grew up shooting and handling guns and I feel comfortable around them. This would be an opportunity to show them how dangerous, lethal and scary guns really could be. They have their purpose, and I am not going to argue that point here, but they are a part of life for certain parts of the country and something that you know nothing about is much scarier than something you understand.
When the Airsoft guns arrived, the boys were very excited. I would have loved these things when I was a kid as well, so I could understand why they were so excited. The first thing that struck me was how real these toy guns looked. They were made of wood and metal and felt about the same as a real BB gun would feel. They didn’t feel like toys, and except for the bright orange muzzle tip, you might not even be able to tell the difference from a distance. I showed them how the guns worked; how to load them, how the safety worked and then proceeded to give them a lesson in gun safety. I think that the lecture took some of the excitement away from the moment, but in the end they both understood how important safety and responsibility was when handling these weapons.
I explained the rules, how the guns were only to be used for target practice and how you never aimed the gun at another person or an animal. They both looked at me as if they couldn’t understand why I would even say something like never aim or fire it at an animal. Shooting at a defenseless animal never even crossed their minds. They couldn’t even believe that I would have to make a rule for it in the first place. It’s amazing how smart kids are if you give them the chance. It is also amazing how they really do know right from wrong, at least for the big stuff. Ask a kid if they brushed their teeth before bed and they have a hard time telling the truth, they will lie through those un-brushed teeth all night. But ask them about something big such as hurting an animal or bullying, and they know what’s right.
the neighbors across the street had a son about the same age as mine that played with Airsoft. He and his cousin would come over and play with my boys all the time. When they first moved in it was one of the first things that they all did together as they got to know each other. Talking to the parents, they had some of the same concerns as we did, but after learning more about the Airsoft products and putting ground rules in place, they allowed them to play with the guns. They were from out of state and it was interesting to see that the rules that they imposed on themselves were the same rules that my kids used. I think that the kids think of the Airsoft guns as toys, but they know that they are more than just toys. My oldest told me that they won’t even reference them by their gun names at school, such as AK-47 or M-16’s, that you have to just call them Airsoft’s when talking about them, for concern of anybody becoming alarmed at their conversations.
Right now they just use the guns for target practice, under strict supervision. So far they have been very responsible with the Airsoft guns, but they do know that if there is any unsafe behavior, even as a joke, that there is zero tolerance and the guns will be taken away. They police themselves and will point out any mistakes or unsafe practices to each other; usually faster than I can chime in. I know eventually they will want to play the Airsoft games where they break up into teams, running through the woods and shooting at each other, and I will have to cross that bridge when I get to it. In the meantime, they are learning a valuable lesson about responsibility and safety, both personal and for one another.
—photo by karlfrankowski/Flickr
The bad gun formula starts with a perfunctory, “I respect the Second Amendment but ….” It proceeds from there to describe some subcategory of “bad guns” guns to which fantastic characteristics are attributed (this need not be accurate as long as the labels and images are catchy). Then it stigmatizes the guns as somehow more gun-like, (i.e., more dangerous) than others, and impugns the motives or morality of anyone who would defend such obviously nefarious instruments that no one really “needs.”
http://www.libertylawsite.org/2013/05/30/the-bad-gun-dumpster/
Great work as a father Jay. I will the do the same with any kids I have (boy and/or girl) if they have an interest in guns, and do the safety training in any case.
Jean B: Thanks, I think the same principles apply to practically any situation you encounter as a parent.
Jenny you have a son who hides his interest in guns from you…
I’ve seen this more often than I can count- kid comes from a house where guns are BAD and little Jimmy HATES “violent” games. They come over to my house, immediately grab my sons’ cap guns and run through about 20 rings of caps in an hour. Then they find the nerf guns… same story. My kids can get a little bored because these things aren’t FORBIDDEN to them.
Without exception (10/10 awesome kids) my Cub Scout den likes the bb guns more than anything at the Cuboree.
cw: I completely agree! Same sort of issue with getting their whittling chip, they were very interested in pocket knives at first, but now it’s just whatever 🙂
I have a son. He is not interested in guns and doesn’t play with pretend ones either. So I stopped reading after your first line because guns are stupid.
How old is your son?