Max, The Little Boy Who Loves Guns – Fridays with Ferne: Episode #30

Have you ever been worried that your child would end up on the wrong side of the tracks? What about when they were four years old?  

Max, at four years old, loves guns. Max wants to be just like his father who sells gun parts and takes his son to shooting ranges. Max’s favorite game is playing nerf guns with his parents. When they play, the only rule is that Max cannot shoot his little brother Pete. One day, Max does exactly that – he shoots his brother with a nerf gun, who promptly bursts into tears. Max then runs away and continues to play as though nothing had happened. Mom is doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t know how to deal with Max in a way that helps him understand the gravity of what he’s playing with. Mom is worried that if Max doesn’t understand the weight of a toy gun, then he won’t understand the weight of a real gun.  

I think that if Max cannot safely play with nerf guns, then they should be taken away. If Max continues to use his fingers or reimagine other toys into guns, mom should change his focus of attention. Give him something different to play with, shift his attention onto something else.

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