Kids Playing Guns

I've been debating this with myself for years now. I really have mixed feelings with the whole thing. Yes, guns can be dangerous and should not be taken lightly but what is wrong with kids pretending to 'shoot' a gun, not necessarily at each other but unliving objects as well? I don't like it when Gabriel pretends to shot others and will talk to him when he does. I explain that he can pretend to shoot at trees, bushes, the couch, etc. but not me, his sister or the cats. I do feel that kids need to be educated that guns can and do hurt people when used incorrectly but should we try to stop the immagination of a child pretending to play with guns or should we talk and explain to them how dangerous guns can be and then let them play? The school Gabriel attends, as with many schools, now will not let the kids pretend to play with guns and I respect that and understand, but should I try to control it in my own home? I'm just not sure. Growing up we still played cowboys and indians and good cop, bad guy but this isn't necessarily how the game is played anymore. It seems to me that the kids are just shooting anything and everything, and the sounds they make can be disturbing. But is thier play really that much different than what we played as children or does it just seem to be because of our current social times with violence and shootings happening everyday? This concerns me for many reasons but I am just not convinced that saying do not play with guns is the whole answer. Having guns in our house growing up I was never interesting in touching or even trying to shoot them. I barely remember them being an issue, though I do remember coming across a gun in my parent's bedside table as a teen and picking it up but didn't point or pretend with it. And it is a concern to me that the gun we do own be kept out of reach of the children and unloaded. On that Matt and I both agree. I guess in many ways I feel like the most we can do for our kids is to let them be kids but offer guidance and education on important topics like guns. I think I am leaning more towards letting them pretend but with some guidelines.