Reply #58: similar story here

[Mz Pip]

My older son started asking for a gun when he was about 4. He'd make them out of sticks, he'd make them out of Legos. But we always said no. When he was 5 he asked again and his Dad told him how guns were bad and how they hurt people, etc. Our son gave him a puzzled look and said, "I don't want a real one!" We pretty much gave up after that and by time he was 11 he had quite an arsenal of fake guns.

Now he's an adult and doesn't own a gun. He works as a prosecutor going after criminals who often do use guns.