‘Bang, Bang!’ – Should ‘weapon play’ be encouraged in early years?
Do you allow 'gun play' in your early years setting? If not, there are some positives about it that are worth knowing, says Carla Coward…
- by Carla Coward
Gun play is a controversial subject within the early years sector. It seems to provoke a sharp intake of breath when mentioned in certain company, and lots of settings adopt a zero-tolerance approach. As a case in point, we recently had a supply TA whose immediate response to group of children making guns from construction items was, “We don’t do that here!” – my reply, however, was, “Oh yes we do!”
I’ve observed several interactions over the years in settings where children are not allowed to make guns, and it’s quite comical to watch. The guns are made in secret by those involved, while a lookout keeps tabs on who is coming. The children then engage in their play until an adult comes over and the gun mysteriously becomes something else:
“You’re not making guns?” exclaims the practitioner (knowing full well they are).
“No,” comes the cheeky reply, “It’s a… hairdryer!” And the interaction ends.
The children lie because they know they’re ‘not allowed’ to make guns. The adult knows full well they’re lying, but doesn’t follow it up because it is more important not to have guns. What’s more, the children realise that the adult knows they are lying too. All this reinforces is the purpose and utility of lying.
I cannot fathom the reason for this, or indeed understand the problem with making guns in the first place. I’ve heard it said that:
• Guns promote aggression; they make children violent. • They may grow up and hurt people for real – someone could die. • Guns are so negative; we shouldn’t allow children to play with them • Gun play leads to others getting upset.
Rather than deal with the above statements, should we bury our heads in the sand and pretend gun play doesn’t exist? Erm…no!
Right & wrong
Gun play will happen regardless of our rules because some children use such play to understand morals, right and wrongs. We need to remember that all children have the right to play, and that their play must be valued in order to promote self-esteem and confidence. If gun play is not valued, children will very quickly recognise that their interests, experiences and concerns are not important to us as practitioners – and as a result we will have children who don’t value themselves as learners.
Children have an innately inquisitive nature when it comes to exploring good and bad, right and wrong. This helps them to understand the rules that govern how we live in society. They regularly come across these ideas when something goes wrong and they are spoken to, or a consequence is given. From such occasions they learn a (minimal) sense of fear that inhibits their behaviour in future, but they may not fully understand why what they’ve done is unacceptable.
Gun play, on the other hand, allows children to work through ‘wrongs’ and understand them on a completely different level, as there are no consequences. They can act out a scene of rage, fighting the baddies, finding their hideouts and devising a plan of how to capture them. Eventually the baddie is shot and he or she dies. Children are able to play out the full extent of being bad, understand first-hand the reasons for not being bad, and ultimately realise that good eventually comes out on top.
I always remember playing out such a scene with a group of children. I ended up being shot and acted out a wonderful death scene, worthy of many a western. Children will always get up after being shot and continue to act out a different scene, but I decided to stay dead, to see what would happen.
The children continued to play and then noticed I was ‘still dead’. One child came to me, bent down and whispered in my ear, “You’re not dead, really, you know! This is only pretend, so this is where you get up!”
That short explanation wholly identifies children’s complex understandings of real and pretend, and the difference between the two. Children understand that guns in real life can kill you, but know that in the world of pretend, they don’t have the same effect.
As adults, we tend to overlook this – we don’t give enough credit to children’s knowledge and understanding of the world. Childhood is an exploratory time of sense-making, but adults often see children as passive recipients who cannot understand the complexities of society. In fact, I think children have a better understanding than many adults!
Supporting gun play
Be prepared Devise a gun play policy that is linked to your play and behaviour policy. Read more about the subject; there are lots of books and articles available.
Making weapons Discuss with the children how they are going to build their gun or weapon – what materials do they need, what are the fundamental parts required? Maybe they could draw a plan.
Support physical play There are always some children who don’t like the physical side of gun play and don’t want to be involved so:
– Set rules with the children (e.g. no contact to be made when kicking or punching out) – When capturing the ‘baddie’, ensure he/she is held safely (e.g. not around the neck) – Only involve those within the game – Let the children know if you do not wish to participate
Enhancing play ideas Try to provide opportunities for children to enhance their weapons, for example, by adding materials or new design features. They may also wish to build dens or hideouts – a group of children in my setting recently barricaded themselves in with boxes to ensure they had a safe place to look out for the baddie. They also drew a map so they could find their way back to base.
You can play too If the children are happy for you to join in then go for it – a whole world of exploration will open up with many opportunities for enhanced learning.
Remember, if you accept gun play as a starting point for learning, you are allowing children the opportunity to play at what is meaningful for them and required for investigation, to support their quest to make sense of the world and where they belong in it.
You will giving children the power to develop communication, listening and social skills, empathy, independence, team work and the ability to think things through and consider the effects of further actions. These vital skills are mastered through play and are a necessity for living in our world – for both children and adults.
Carla Coward is a nursery teacher at Westcourt Primary & Nursery School
