Hi there

Perhaps your little boy holds his big brother in awe, and wants to emulate him. That said, I have to say, kids like guns! My mother raised us to believe guns and fighting were bad, and we were never allowed any toy guns, but we still used lego to make them, and dolly pegs! Its exciting, especially if it not allowed!

I raise my sons to respect life, and I don't buy toy guns, but we bought some water pistols last summer when it was hot, and of course the boys wanted to make blasting noises, etc.

Your son doesnt sound aggressive, maybe he likes the idea of the hero having a gun, being strong and powerful?

This might not sound like a real answer, more a compromise, but I introduced more strategic games to my son, to channel his enthusiasm for battle into something that would challenge him intellectually. He plays Age of Empires, where you have to build a civilisation and conquer the others. Very low level violence, just buildings breaking really, and its helping him develop his brain power!

Hope this helps

Liz x

hi there, just wanted to let you know I have the exact same thing going on at my house.My son is 7 and very into battles and fighting etc.Although we do not have "toy guns" he makes them out of lego,sticks,pens etc.He has a very creative imagination.He pretends there are bombs going off and bad guys everywhere and is always battling with miniture army men.As long as he knows the boundaries socially (which sounds like your son does).This type of play is also good for the imagination and strategy building skills.I sit down with my son and play these games to both moniter and educate him in this type of play,afterall-his interests are important to him and valuable to his self worth.As long as they know the difference between games and real life.

my little brother is 6 and we had problems like that before. the whole thing was his parents used to let him sit in front of bad cartoons all day. and play the bad games. we finally got to the point of taking all the fighting ones away. maybe if u try that and avoid sections that have guns/knives etc. maybe by not being around or playing with them he'll get used to other things