Let boys go school with guns
{image-children guns_13042008.jpg news.oneindia.in}London, Apr 13 : Boys at nursery should be allowed to play with toy guns because it plays a key role in their development, say experts. The experts have called on to revoke the ban on use of toy guns in nurseries in Scotland.
Researchers
from
Government
agency
Learning
and
Teaching
Scotland
who
teamed
up
with
a
Perthshire
primary
school
for
the
study,
found
that
playing
with
toy
guns
promoted
boys'
learning
and
inclusion,
enhanced
their
imagination
and
prevented
the
playtime
sport
from
being
driven
'underground'.
Many
women's
groups
had
claimed
that
playing
with
toy
guns
made
children
aggressive
that
could
lead
to
long-term
damage.
Murdo
Fraser,
MSP,
the
Scottish
Conservative
deputy
leader
has
welcomed
the
findings
and
said
that
this
is
one
in
the
eye
for
the
politically
correct
brigade.
"Little
boys
will
always
want
to
play
with
make-believe
weapons
and
it
has
been
completely
misguided
to
try
and
ban
them
from
schools
and
nurseries," the
Daily
Express
quoted
him,
as
saying.
"I'm
glad
to
see
good
sense
prevailing
at
last,"
he
added.
Eleanor
Coner,
information
officer
for
the
Scottish
Parent
Teacher
Council,
said
that
boys
only
play
exciting
games
and
do
not
understand
the
adult
implications.
"It is in a little boy's make-up to want to do that sort of thing. We are thinking that they are shooting each other. They don't know they are shooting each other, they are just making a noise and shouting 'bang' because that's exciting," she said.
However, Jenny Kemp, of women's support group Zero Tolerance believes that toy guns in nurseries would reinforce age-old stereotypes.
"Young children need to learn from an early age that violence is preventable," she said.
"Nursery teachers have a clear role to play in this. They need to intervene when boys or girls want to play in aggressive ways, and to help children understand that there are different ways of showing that you are strong or brave.
"What is needed is a real effort to break down the sterotypes that hold children back and can have lasting and damaging effects on their life chances," she added.
ANI