Question about guns

[teatimefor2]

Does/Did your three year old know what gun is?  

Thanks!  I'll explain my reason for the question later.

[Ashley&Scott]

He didn't know at 3. He's 4 now & I don't think he knows.

[tealblue]

Yes he does.

[mrsGreeko]

Yes, but DH has guns in our house (all safely locked under multiple levels of security) and we started gun safety talks with all of them really young. Stop, don't touch, leave the area, and tell an adult (and you will get ice cream).

[glitzy07]

Yes. At least of the Nerf variety, thanks to his older brother.

[AmyRI]

Yes. The father of one of his classmates at daycare is a cop and that's how it came up early on.

[Deleted]

I have an (almost) two year old (DS2) that will pick up a nerf gun and say "pew, pew". I think this is about as far as any of my kids got at this age or by age three. They know it shoots nerf dart and like to say "pew, pew".

I just asked my three year old (DD2) and the conversation went like this:

Me: "What is a gun?"
DD2: "Ian's" (referring to the nerf arsenal that DS2 likes to play with but doesn't know how to use)
Me: "What does a gun do?"
DD2: "Boom, boom."

So, I guess they know what a gun is, sort of.

[redheadbaker]

Yes. We have the book "A Fly Went By," and a man in that book carries a gun.

[qcinoct]

yes. But not because we have one. It's because they love police stuff (Legos, books, etc) and they all have guns to 'get the bad guys'. I HATE it. And even though we don't let them have water guns or other fake guns, they still find a way to make anything into a gun-shaped thing (stick, legos, fingers, whatever).

[Deleted]

Feb 12, 2016 14:24:19 GMT -5 Ashley&Scott said:

He didn't know at 3. He's 4 now & I don't think he knows.

Same here.

[momin2013]

Nope. I just asked him if he knew what a gun was and he said "I don't know". Then I said, you don't know what a gun is for? And he said "uhh, it's for cutting things!" So, no.

[h]

My oldest did not. My subsequent kids did, largely due to the older brother factor.

[lmb5109]

I don't thinks she does. She's napping now so I'll ask her when she wakes up. She has been saying "me dead" a lot because there is a 5 year old boy at daycare with 2 older brothers.

[anaps28]

Yes partly Bc a police officer came to preschool last year to talk safety and partly from my older nephews (6 and 9)

[spk926]

I'm almost positive the answer is no.

[curbsideprophet]

I don't think so

[penguingrrl]

None of mine do/did at 3. My oldest was 6 or 7 when she first saw one (being used in a self defense martial arts class) and asked what it was. That opened the door to what it was and never to touch it.

[turtlegirl]

DS1 did not at 3. But ds2 does since he has an older brother.

[Deleted]

DS doesn't know & he is 4. I asked him what a gun as & he said " is that like a shooter for water in the pool?"

[picksthemusic]

DD has found two of DH's toy guns. Both are equally ridiculous - one is a pirate musket with an orange cap over the end, and the other is a 'cowboy' pistol that is tan and has cow spots all over it. She likes playing with them when she finds them, but they are now up and away. I have told DH to stop getting them down and leaving them places for her to find. I don't want her playing with them thinking they're toys when they're deadly weapons.

We will be educating her on what to do if she finds a gun (don't touch, walk away, tell an adult).

[MrsAxilla]

Feb 12, 2016 15:14:32 GMT -5 h said:

My oldest did not. My subsequent kids did, largely due to the older brother factor.

Ditto.  My daughter knew what a (toy) gun was by 18 months or so.

[aspentosh]

I don't know, honestly. I would guess probably yes but she's never said the word to me or H and I can't think of any reason she would know what they were (besides maybe school or a book).

[scribellesam]

I said no, but I don't know for sure. It's hard to tell with his speech delay, but I don't think I've heard him use the word gun. He usually refers to water guns (the only type of gun he's had contact with) as being for "putting the fires out."

[jeaniebueller]

Yes he did.

[cjeanette]

I know that DS would turn toys into guns at that age. I don't know if that was him knowing what it was or doing what other boys did?

DD I really can't recall. She was more into marshall arts sort of play fighting than guns.

[karinothing]

Feb 12, 2016 14:24:19 GMT -5 Ashley&Scott said:

He didn't know at 3. He's 4 now & I don't think he knows.

Does he go to daycare? DS learned from daycare.

[karinothing]

If you are asking whether he could see a real gun and know it's a gun I am not sure, but he plays shooters and recognizes toy guns in the toy aisle. Like nerf guns.

[Deleted]

No. I wasn't sure, and asked and she had no clue.

[mlvmd]

Yes. DH has one for work that he has to bring home so he has seen it when he puts it on while he is getting ready for work. We decided that as much education early on was safer even with it locked up all the time.

[MadamePresident]

Nods does.