BB guns for 10 year olds? Am I Out of Touch?

[Danmel]

My 10 year old son wants a BB gun (we are SO NOT gun people). It seems that the "Cool" kids at school all have these "Air-Soft" BB guns and they go to each others houses and Shoot. (I assume not at each other). I think that is insane. Am I nuts?

They also all watch R Rated movies- and South Park- apparently one of the kids is having a party (to which my son in NOT invited) where they are going to watch a movie called "The Girl Next Door" about a teenage boy who has a former porn star move next door. The ad line for the movie is "He never saw her coming..but his friends all had"

Now, I don't think I'm a prude and I'm not a holy roller by any stretch of the imagination, but is this normal for 10 year olds?

Do I have to tally throw out my standards so my kids isn't an outcast? Do I want him hanging with these kids anyway? Where are these kids parents? And we live in a pretty upscale Jewish-Italian suburb on LI - I really wouldn't have expected such low brow stuff.

[MissHoneychurch]

1. I remember when I was a kid

we weren't allow to play with toy-guns. Big NO-NO. So we play with the neighbors toy-guns behind THEIR house (not been seen from our house) but our mom knew ANYWAY. Still baffles me but we learned our lesson. It wasn't nice when we got home.
You don't want guns in your house? Then there won't be any in your house. No discussion.

[ET Awful]

2. Does he want a official Red Ryder, air carbine action, two-hundred shot

range model air rifle?

He'll put his eye out.



Seriously though . . . the biggest problem with the Airsoft guns is they look very authentic. With the exception of a small orange marking on the very tip of the barrel (which is very easily eliminated), they look like the real thing from anything farther away than a couple of feet.

They shoot plastic bb's and don't shoot hard enough to break skin, but could definitely cause some pain if they hit a kid in the eye.

For instance, this is an airsoft gun:




I personally wouldn't want my kid packing one of these around . . . if he pulls it out in the wrong place in front of the wrong people, the results may be very ugly.

I'm not opposed to a bb gun necessarily, but one that looks like a real gun and could get the same reaction as a real gun from someone who HAS a real gun is a different story.

[RagingInMiami]

7. I own that gun -- the real version

A Colt .45 Officer's Special. A damn good gun. At first, I thought it was the real thing, but the trigger is different and the barrel is slimmer.

[ET Awful]

16. Well, the trigger on your Colt could easily be replaced with a skeleton

trigger (an easily done and low-priced modification). The appearance is exactly the problem though. If you were a police officer and someone pulled that on you in a low-light situation what would your reaction be?

[RagingInMiami]

21. If I was a cop and someone pulled that gun on me

I would not stop shooting until my target has been immobilized. Anybody who pulls a toy gun on the cop is just asking to be killed.

But that doesn't mean I think the toy manufacturers should make them look so real.

[TX-RAT]

25. bang,bang

[Mizmoon]

41. My goodness that's realistic looking

I don't know jack about guns but I would be very nervous having my young'un run around with such a real looking piece!

[MrSandman]

3. My 9 y.o. son ....

Doesn't watch more than two hours of TV a week. Usually animal planet or Explorer.

Sometimes we will rent an old family movie(Read Don Knotts; early disney animation; some contemporaries, e.g. Spiderman). No video games.

OTOH, he does have a BB gun he uses under supervision. I will not give him a handgun bb gun yet. They are way too hard to handle responsibly as a first "gun." So many of the airsofts are handguns.

On edit: Reading the other posts, YOU make the rules.

[Heidi]

5. Good for you.

I don't think BB gun ownership is "lowbrow" as the OP implied. Owning a BB gun is how my little brother learned at 10 years of age that he wanted nothing at all to do with guns. During the summer of my brother's 10th year, he got his first BB gun; same summer, he learned a valuable lesson by having to deal with his own feelings after he shot a songbird. The same summer, a cousin of ours shot himself in the foot with a pellet gun. Both boys gave up their BB/pellet guns of their own accord, and both will probably buy their own sons BB guns at some point.

You sound like a good parent.

[BikeWriter]

4. Different cultures...

We had BB guns as kids, and our children did, too. If I had them to raise again I'd do it the same way.

[Danmel]

6. I guess so

I grew up in Brooklyn we didn't have much property and no one used guns like that. Now I'm in the burbs (primarily for the schools) and there is more room so I guess more people have guns- they also grew up out here. One of my neighbors has had a problem with the kids in the house behind her shooting into her yard -she has three young boys- 8, 5 and 2 and she is afraid to let them play in their yard when the neighbors boys are out there.

Maybe it's just a Mom thing- although he plays Lacrosse and does other sports and I don't think I'm really overprotective.
Maybe it's a girl thing- I just never got into guns.
And maybe it's a cultural thing, Jews from Bklyn are not really known as gun nuts!
I just think boys that age are too young impulsive and wild to be using weapons.

[BikeWriter]

9. They should definitely be supervised...

and trained in their safe use, if allowed to use them.

[Deja Q]

12. Well, not all of them can be supervised... and 'trained in their safe use'

hardly correlates with "will be a conscious user of."

No kid should have a weapon of ANY sort. As a victim of bullies who had weapons, this is something I will speak openly aboud. No compromise.

Train the bugger at age 18 and send him in the military if he wants a weapon. Or even the police academy.

[BikeWriter]

17. You have a right to your opinions, no matter how misguided they are...

[Heidi]

13. But owning a BB gun doesn't make one a gun nut.

Look, if I had a kid, I probably wouldn't let him/her own a BB gun. It's probably even illegal where I live. But my brother had a BB gun, learned a lot about himself from the experience, moved on and became an engineer who has no interest in guns. Owning a BB gun, or even owning a secured handgun, doesn't make one a "gun nut"; not does it make one "lowbrow" as the OP suggested. I just think it's a cultural thing, and gun ownership isn't part of your culture. I respect your choice for your child. :hi:

[RagingInMiami]

8. I had a BB gun as a kid

And so did other kids in my neighborhood. We would shoot bottles and cans. A few shot lizards. One kid shot me in the arm and it hurt like hell.

I didn't shoot him back.

[Deja Q]

14. Be glad he didn't shoot you in the eye...

x(

[Deja Q]

10. A neighbor of mine, at age 10, had a gun that shot oil...

Shot me directly in the EYE with it. UNPROVOKED. I spent an hour in the shower with mum to flush the eye.

I've been mad that that human filth ever since.

Pity we never sued the fucker's father, though thanks to a foreclosure a year later, I doubt we'd have gotten anything on it.

Of course, back then my parents thought we were a civilized society. They were wrong. They'd be 50,000 times more wrong today in our sue-happy society where if you spill coffee onto your genitalia because you're a frigging klutz, you'll project the blame onto the coffee peddler and make cheap cash. It all rolls back to money these days; personal responsibility be damned. Personal injury too.

Projectile-shooting weapons for kids existed then in the 1980s and they still do now. Ditto for porn and other gaudy stuff. Normal that they want to see it or press the trigger. Maybe humans aren't evolved animals after all but are animals who know how to make bigger weapons than the local gorilla.

Before your son turns into a depraved vicious monster that bullies other kids unprovoked (what other point is there for children wanting weapons? Aiming it at trees and grass?!), please set him straight. And don't get him anything even remotely-weapon-like. As a magnet for all the bullies and other assorted vermin during childhood, we don't need any more bullies in this "society".

Maybe your son has been a victim of bully violence and wants to strike back. I actually tried that once by trying to get a mirror to reflect the sun back into the eyes of a person who, earlier that day, did the same to me. Again, UNPROVOKED, while I was RIDING A BICYCLE. The animal wanted me to trip so it could laugh at my expense. Of course they said no and didn't care about the events leading to it... (though it took 18 more years for me to figure out what a truly cold, uncaring "society" we live in. )

I grew up on semi-violent TV (A-Team, et al) and even video games like "Commando". I still play shoot'em'ups as an adult. They have never changed my personality, and I can assure you I've been through a LOT. Maybe the games, unfathomed to me as such at the time, were merely a psychological outlet. On the other hand, I just think the games were fun to play. Something to do and nothing more. The setting was fictitious so I didn't care. (OTOH, while games in an obviously fictitious setting are okay, games like GTA3 go WAY TOO FAR in making the game close to reality. These I have a problem with and I was actually affected by it. GTA has got to go...)

Hell, the fact I'd been a target by so many (oh, you have no idea of the extent...) and yet I did not turn out like Charles 'Andy' Williams (who went on a rampage in a school because he got tired of the abuse; and then our "media" called him the problem while ignoring the TRUE PROBLEM of bullying) is a good thing... some people have better ways to cope. And somebody should have been listening to Charles, long before he ended up turning into a monster himself. (I won't deny it, but the little that was said of being a victim of bullies was more than enough to prove he wasn't a willful monster, but one created by his enemies. There's a moral difference here.)

Victims of bullies can be odd people. But we remain good people unless we snap; I'm just lucky to have a high tolerance threshold.

Bullies need to be restrained and never indulged. Period.

But definitely find out if your son has been a victim of violence and wants revenge. And then act on it. Stop the madness before a good kid becomes like Charles.

[xmas74]

26. But in rural areas there is a point to having weapons,

at least for some. Most started out around here w/ a hand-me down BB gun and learned how to aim. Later, they moved on to older hunting rifles. Many of those same kids (boys and girls both) had to miss school during parts of hunting season. Why? Because whatever they killed was what fed them during the winter.
I grew up w/ many poor children. They helped feed their families w/ hunting-both rifle and bow. I don't like guns but I can accept the responsible use of them.
My best friend's husband is a hunter. He is teaching her nine year old son how to hunt. They store their weapons at his friend's house (who is a single police officer and keeps them locked up at all times). B____ knows how to aim and shoot. He also knows that it is not a toy. When he is older he will be allowed to go hunting w/ his stepfather and only his stepfather. He will not be allowed to go w/ anyone else. And what they kill, they eat.
As to any other weapons: I was taught how to use a compound bow in school. I have a pretty damn good aim. I have thought about buying one because I enjoy target practice. But a compound bow is a weapon. It can kill if used for the purpose of hurting someone or something. Then again, my Zippo and a can of hairspray is a weapon.
My car keys are a weapon.
Responsibility and maturity are the key to everything.

[BearClaws]

31. Hypnotoad,

Maybe those violent video games did change you.
My philosophy doesn't associate guns with shooting people.
Yes, guns are deadly weapons.
You have a supreme responsibility as a parent to teach your kids right and wrong.
NEVER in my life have my firearms been possessed with the thought that would use one toward another human being.
They are stored safely in a locked gun safe.
I HATE assault weapons and handguns.
All they do is bring the public down on the sportsman and safe sporting usage of firearms.

[mrbill]

11. you'll shoot your eye out........

n/t

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. BB Guns Yes -- Soft-Core Pornography No

Lots of people (myself included) had BB guns as kids and turned out to be comparatively normal. And Air-Soft guns are even safer than the traditional Daisy -- still not for shooting at people, of course.

As far as the movies go, I'd have a chat with the other kids' parents -- they might be just as appalled as you are. If they're not, I would have second thoughts about letting my kids hang out over there.

We've always been partial to opening up our house to our childrens' friends -- that way we can control the environment. Get a pool table (if you have the space) or a basketball hoop -- something that draws in kids like a big magnet.

[Danmel]

18. We like to have kids here too

We have an air-hockey, Foozball table, and a pool (of course it's 46 degrees and raining out on May 25th so who knows if it will ever warm up!). I have lots of movies that are appropriate with out being too childish- I don't make my 10 year old watch "Stuart Little". But a lot of these people really seem to have no standards at all.

I guess I'm just not a gun person. I'll have to see what these things are (I do know it violates Town Code to use them at your house)

[Deep13]

19. South Park ...

... is definitely not for children and only lazy parents permit 10 year-olds to watch.

"Air Soft"? It is safe to assume that they do shoot each other.

Most of my friends had actual rifles when they were 10 or 12 and none of them ever shot anyone. I guess it depends on how responsible you think you son is. If he can be trusted with it the additional responsibility will encourage him to be responsible with that too.

[BiggJawn]

20. You're the Parent, YOU set the rules.

You don't want your kid to have a BB gun, he doesn't have one. Will this prevent him from handling his friend's guns? Probably not (oh, geez, that sounds SO Rumsferatu-ish)

I didn't have a BB gun. When I turned 18 and could buy it myself, I had a .22 Marlin autoloader. When I turned 21, I bought a S-W Mod. 28 revolver.
Don't have either anymore. Both went to the pawnshop during the Ray-Gun Era.

[BearClaws]

22. My Dad,

Wouldn't let me have one, even though we were a family of hunters.
He told me that because it wasn't very powerful, that I would not have the proper respect for it that any firearm demands.
When I was old enough to successfully complete the state hunter's safety course, he bought me a 20 gauge shotgun and spent much time teaching me the dead serious safety issues that are associated with firearm ownership.
From there, we proceeded to spend a decade of duck seasons together, which also fostered my extreme passion for nature and the outdoors.
I think he did the right thing.

[BiggJawn]

32. We were pretty cavalier about BB guns when we were kids.

Did shit with them we would NEVER try with a "real" firearm, and when we went hunting, we handled the real stuff with proper respect and safety.

Don't hunt, don't shoot for sport anymore, spend my spare time either pushing pedals or handling a garden trowel or Bonsai shears...
Go figure....

[xmas74]

23. My brother had a Red Rider when he was eight.

We lived in the country. And he could only use it w/ adult supervision (namely, my father). It could only be used on paper targets attached to a hay bale and nothing else. That was the only gun in our house and only because my father always wanted a RR as a child (he came from a very big and poor family).
As to R rated movies-I had to sneak into them until I was 16. They weren't allowed except for one. I was allowed to watch Stand By Me when I was 13 and I had to watch it w/ my parents.

[Blue-Jay]

24. I had a BB gun when I was about 10.

I never killed anything with it.

[Blue Diadem]

27. I don't know if it is legal to shoot one unless you live in the

country. The bigger cities and small towns I've lived in have ordinances against them. I've heard of a few getting confiscated in this town when kids were shooting out of their bedroom windows at neighbor's pets or at other neighborhood kids.

I'm also not familiar with the air soft type, does it have less velocity or shoot something soft? Speaking of guns, when my son was about that same age, 10 or so, he went to a camp out birthday party in town. Those kids had 22's. He stopped being friends with them after that. It was his decision although I would have stepped in had he not made that decision.

I hope you don't feel you should throw out your standards so your son can be popular. It's not worth it.

[barackmyworld]

28. the girl next door is a pretty explicit movie

with nudity, and not something for 10-year-olds

[Dukkha]

29. I have an Airsoft MP5 AEG

it's a fully automatic battery powered pellet gun. They're commonly used in "Airsoft Skirmishes" which is like paintball but with Little pellets and much more realistic looking weapons. Some are cheap like the spring powered handguns but the AEG machineguns run around $200 for an MP5 or M16 to $1000 for an M60 or SAW.

http://www.airsoftguns.net

[curse10]

30. Me and my brothers had BB guns- before we were 10- and we watched R rated

films. We turned out just fine :-)

[Heidi]

33. You mean to tell me . . .

that having BB guns and watching R-rated movies didn't turn you into a "lowbrow" "gun nut"? ;)

[Madrone]

34. I got a bb gun for xmas when I was just a 5 year old girl.

BUT - my dad owned a gun shop, I had been trained in gun safety since I could sit up by myself, and I would have never been allowed to take it over to other kids' houses whenever I felt like it. I was only allowed to take it out with dad -

As for the OTHER stuff you're talking about - no, no, and hell no.

[Mutley]

35. my friend's little brother shot me with his BB gun

I think he was 10 or 11 at the time. Right in the back of the knee. No major injury, but it hurt like hell for days!

[Lars39]

36. Assume they *are* shooting at each other.

The bigger question is, Are you going to raise your kid or is he going to be raised by the pack?

[theboss]

37. I had a BB gun at 8 or 9

That is the normal age.

Seeing R-rated, sexually explicit movies is another matter completely.

[MadHound]

38. A BB gun at age ten is normal

I got one at that age, along with the safety training that went with it. Within a few years of that I got other projectile weapons, a bow, a boomerang, wrist rocket, started shooting a real gun(.22) etc. It helped develop a good eye-hand coordination that carries over into other non lethal sports like pool, Bball, soccer, etc. I never shot at anything other than non living targets, excepting the couple of experiments I had with hunting with my Dad when I was a kid.

It won't turn your child into a gun nut, it is helpful with developing coordination and concentration, and quite frankly, playing with projectiles is fun. Give your child the proper training, supervise him until you are confident that he is responsible, and let him have his fun. It is through such toys as this that a child gains confidence and learns responsibilty.

As far as the movies go, forget it. R rated is not for even the most mature ten year old.

[ladjf]

39. It's OK to play with BB guns if you don't mind your child being

blinded. My next door neighbor was blinded by a BB gun.

[Dervill Crow]

40. I had a BB gun when I was 10.

But my parents also had 5 acres on a lake where I could shoot pop cans and such. There is no way I would let my city kids have a BB gun.

I wish I had that BB gun now. I got my son one of those blow-up "Beat Bush" punching bag things so he'd have something to beat up when he's pissed at me (he's in 9th grade and we disagree on lots of things, but not politics), and I'd LOVE to use that for target practice.