Old readers - sorry about rehashing this one. It's one of my favourites - and then Guns n Roses are playing tonight - so......
Guns or Roses?
A neighbour said she didn’t let her son touch a toy gun.
I came home to find Neel and Nikash shooting at each other, rolling over, playing dead, with hands plunged into gory imaginary blood wounds, and tongues grotesquely stuck out, eyes rolling. The toy guns, knives, ropes were OUT !
S came home to find his son surrounded by a PINK teaset, dolls and teddy bears. The dolls were OUT !
Out went Ben-10 and his aliens, OUT went the sharp toys kids under 3 “may swallow”, out went the rockets, gum, toy snakes, poisonous paints …
Meanwhile, in the last year, my sons have swallowed a bee, then a red crayon, jumped from a plain ole sofa and twisted an ankle, fallen off a SAFE rockinghorse and cracked a head, fallen off a child cycle and torn a ear ! One almost beheaded the other with an ABC book. I have come to the conclusion they can turn cotton balls into life-threatening missiles.
Learning : Children who play with guns don’t grow up into terrorists. 15 years back a kid who played with guns grew up into Abhinav Bindra, and won an Olympic Gold, or they turn into army cadets. It’s never what you put into their hands that shapes their life. It's what you put into their heads.
Guns or Roses?
A neighbour said she didn’t let her son touch a toy gun.
I came home to find Neel and Nikash shooting at each other, rolling over, playing dead, with hands plunged into gory imaginary blood wounds, and tongues grotesquely stuck out, eyes rolling. The toy guns, knives, ropes were OUT !
S came home to find his son surrounded by a PINK teaset, dolls and teddy bears. The dolls were OUT !
Out went Ben-10 and his aliens, OUT went the sharp toys kids under 3 “may swallow”, out went the rockets, gum, toy snakes, poisonous paints …
Meanwhile, in the last year, my sons have swallowed a bee, then a red crayon, jumped from a plain ole sofa and twisted an ankle, fallen off a SAFE rockinghorse and cracked a head, fallen off a child cycle and torn a ear ! One almost beheaded the other with an ABC book. I have come to the conclusion they can turn cotton balls into life-threatening missiles.
Learning : Children who play with guns don’t grow up into terrorists. 15 years back a kid who played with guns grew up into Abhinav Bindra, and won an Olympic Gold, or they turn into army cadets. It’s never what you put into their hands that shapes their life. It's what you put into their heads.
love that last line... aren't we all examples of that.. living what we have learnt from our parents.. swallowed a bee, red crayon is hilarious. sorry hilarious coz i have done quite a few of them.. super awesome kids u got ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Swati. This was 2 years back. Since then one has broken an arm and another a foot!
DeleteAgree with the last line!! Mine pretend freezes/shoots stuff the whole day. I just keep repeating what I need to :)
ReplyDeleteA friend is going for Guns and Roses tonight!!
Simran - have another one. Then they can shoot stuff at each other, and not at you :)
DeleteThe last line made the post :) My husband plays with a Nerf gun ( yeah no typos there!) and my two yr old says."baba bad no guns"! She just never liked them . Maybe a gender thing. So the nerf gun now is played only in the office.
ReplyDeleteI have to ask what a Nerf gun is... since I've gone on record saying I won't google. :P
DeleteSo profound and so true that Jane, how do you make even profound sound funny :).
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Aparna. I am just plain funny. The profound is accidental . ;)))
DeleteSuch a tricky thing so simply put. :) Well, my dad taught me how to use to use a rifle when I was 12 but I haven't murdered anyone yet, despite the strong urge every once in a while. ;)
ReplyDeletehahahah... i'm never going to get on your bad side!
DeleteHey Janey...sorry for the late comment...freshly back from Goa holidays :) :) first...kudos for actually being able to write one post a day!!
ReplyDeleteOf all the humour in your blog, the best ones come quite naturally from Neel and Niks. It's so much fun to have one new post to read every day...give my thanks to whoever put this idea in your head. M lovin it!
missed you!!!!!!!
Deleteohhh Jane you are a mom after my own heart!! Which is why I say..all the cool moms live in my computer:D
ReplyDeletehahaha.... am i one of the viruses?
Deletewow, jane, yes i am one of those older reader :) remember this so clearly. Although there are no weapons yet at home.. what were there were all broken and all the bows and arrows were fought too hard and all down the garbage dump and now, they ask no more :)
ReplyDeleteWhat phase are they in now, Arch? Neel has started drawing battle scenes, full of gore. Another passing phase I'm telling myself. :)
DeleteMy boys are never going to be violent.... like you said what we put in their head will shape them.... here you are talking about toys look everywhere we only see violence even news is full of that.. we just need to teach them good and most important we need to be good examples... they will follow what they see at home and what they see their parents do!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the cuts and bruises the boys love it!!!!!!!! and it's part of growing up so let goof around and have fun....
Ira, 'your' boys will love you even more if they see this! :)
DeleteWe help them grow and be confident that they'll grow fine :)
ReplyDeleteTrue, Swathika. More hope than confidence.
DeleteAnything is a weapon/ dangerous......Like your blog can...jus kidding
ReplyDeleteblog's waiting to blow up some day!
DeleteHe he he....you took me on a rewind!!
ReplyDeleteOne of Achu's first toys was a gun-proudly presented to him by his oh-so-indulgent father!!Well,you press the trigger and you can hear 7 different tunes one after the other....Need I say more???That weapon was HEART-STOPPING,BRAIN-BURSTING,EAR-SPLITTING...CAN KILL ANY ARMY!!!!
I guess the connecticut kid killings make me regret this post a lil bit now. but not rethink it. it's not the guns, it's how we're effing with their minds.
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