Boys Toys

I used to be one of those parents of boys. You know the ones … protective, nurturing, adamant that they’d grow up without any violent tendencies, the type who’d never in a million years let them have toy guns or weapons.

Ten years ago I was the type who would see little boys in shopping centres in superhero costumes with toy swords in their hands and I’d think to myself with a super judgemental “why would you let your kid do that, I mean REALLY. What kind of mother are you?”

Yep, I did.

I’m not that type of parent anymore.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m very protective and nurturing. Realistically I can’t 100% say that they’ll grow up without any violent tendencies but I’m hoping and praying and crossing everything for eternity that they won’t. However the latter, not letting them play with toy guns or weapons, I don’t stand by anymore.

Not because I don’t want to but because I just gave up trying.

I don’t know why or how but my boys watch shows on TV like Power Rangers and they play Minecraft and Roblox and they are completely fascinated with weapons and swords and fighting. I tried to steer them in other directions for as long as I can remember but when you can’t even buy Lego anymore without there being a superhero holding some kind of weapon it’s a hard battle to fight.

So over the years I just gave up. Boys have been playing cops and robbers for eons, right? All little boys wanted to be a cowboy with a gun, right? Even before Xbox and online games and Power Rangers, yes? That’s what I told myself.

Also when you have three boys, there’s enough people to have a serious weapon fight and enough people so that two of you can gang up on the third and play wars. Plus if you have something worthy of bribery, then there’s always the slim chance your twelve year old sister will get in on the action. Especially as Nerf have a range of toy guns for girls (it wasn’t me it was Santa, ok?).

Then one day someone I adore very much, Naomi, (who also has three sons) came over. She is one of those Mums who are just so kind and so patient and so lovely that you can’t help but feel like they are a million times nicer than you are. She’s a single parent and has done the most incredible job of raising three absolutely gorgeous boys. I just can’t stress this enough about her because I don’t know many people who even come close to being as amazing as she is.

Anyway to cut a long story short, Naomi’s house rivals mine for the amount of Nerf guns and plastic weapons it has. So if someone as kind and lovely and mothering as Naomi has lost the battle of the weapons too then that was all I needed to let go completely.

Anyway last thursday I was rewarded for my submission into letting them buy all the Ninja show bags at the Easter show and for letting them spend their birthday money from Grandpa in the $2 Shop on plastic swords and nunchucks.

I was at Charlie’s class assembly, where his class was on stage presenting what they’d been learning in class in front of the whole K-2 at his school.

They had been learning about motion and their teacher had used toys as a way to investigate. It came to the end of the assembly and they all had to stand up with a picture they had drawn. A picture of them with their favorite toy.

There was a little girl who had drawn herself with her favorite teddy bear. Another boy who had drawn a picture of his playstation. Someone had even drawn Mario from Xbox.

And then there was Charlie. My darling, sweet, gentle Charlie.

With his gun.