Apparently Bratz Dolls do serve a purpose!

[Guest]

This may be just, like, totally anecdotal, but I remember reading about a study where they were testing some sort of game. It was apparently something akin to Cootie, where the players rolled dice or struck a spinner to get pieces to build whatever the goal of the game was.

The researcher explained the rules. Showed the kids the pieces of the game. Played through a couple of turns to make sure they understood it. Then was "called away", so they could monitor the kids on how fun they thought the game was.

Within minutes, most of the kids were playing other things entirely. Not only had did they ignore the game being tested, they took the game pieces and built "guns" to play with.

I agree with this.

Little boys play with guns. I think it must be a Y chromosome instinctive reaction (even more so than cooking steaks on the grill.)

Kids with actual toy guns love to emulate games from Gameboy or Xbox - whatever they've seen. Cops and robbers are out.

Legos make terrific guns and give you the added benefit of annoying your big sister because she's actually trying to build with the Legos while you are shooting at her.

If two children have no toys at all they'll still create gun shapes with their hands and make "pow" noises at each other.

There are no toy guns in our house but I've watched my 5-year-old build military weapons out of anything and everything (even Play-doh).

I don't know why. It's a sickness.

 

[Guest]

 

[Boxlicker101]

Many years ago, when I was a child, we played a game we called "guns". It was not cops and robbers and it was not cowboys and Indians. Just "guns". As a reference, this was after WW2 and before and during the Korean War. We would choose up sides and one side would hide and the other side would come looking for them. The idea was to kill all the members of the opposing team. I suppose we could have pointed our fingers and made shooting noises but that would not have been cool so we used toy guns and made shooting noises. We didn't say "bang" or "pow"; we made a noise something like "key", with our throats closed. It wasn't all that realistic either but that is what we did.

Anyhow, we played with toy guns all the time and nobody got scarred or mentally unbalanced from it. We all knew it was just a game. Many homes had real guns, rifles or shotguns and sometimes pistols and we all knew the difference between them and the guns we played with. I think if there is somebody who plays with toy guns and then becomes a psycho or a criminal, they would have done so with or without the toy guns.

 

[kellycummings]

Anyhow, we played with toy guns all the time and nobody got scarred or mentally unbalanced from it. We all knew it was just a game. Many homes had real guns, rifles or shotguns and sometimes pistols and we all knew the difference between them and the guns we played with. I think if there is somebody who plays with toy guns and then becomes a psycho or a criminal, they would have done so with or without the toy guns.

Guns have been a part of our culture for so long that it has become natural for kids to play with the toy versions. Hell, adults do too, that's what paintball is.
I don't have a problem so much with kids playing "guns", I did it, my kids do it, it's basically harmless. My problem is with the toy companies and advertisers. They push violence and materialism on kids in a way to make it seem important and normal and they tell them that this is the way they should be or they are nothing.
I'm not naive, I know that this is big business and I know that kids are smart. I also know that people don't grow up to be serial killers because they played with a gun as a child. It's just that I get disgusted with where we are today. I don't believe fashion is important at all and I try to impress that on my kids while still letting them have things to "fit in."
I hate violence in all forms but allow my son to play with toy guns because I know that it won't hurt him. I'd rather he played with legos or something but you can't force a child to play with something.
I guess I'm just sick of how things are.
Maybe I'm just ranting. Sorry.

 

[sweetnpetite]

Errr... What's a bratz doll?

DYK that if barbie was a real person, she'd have to walk on all fours? The Earl

Seems like that would add to the apeal-- or at any rate, change the deomographic.