MY SON IS NOT A PACIFIST
Before having a boy, I never knew that the ability to transform everyday objects into guns was actually imprinted on the Y chromosome. But it is. About a year ago my son started shooting things. I was mortified. I am, afterall, a pacifist. A good pacifist, in fact. But, there he was using any and everything as a gun, blaster, pistol, bazooka, light saber, etc. The good news is is that until recently we have never actually ”stooped” to purchasing a gun-like toy and offend our peace-loving sensibilities. He has taken care of that all on his own.
Items that my son has transformed into an imaginary gun:
- Foot-shaped calcualtor
- A slice of cheese – bitten into the shape of a gun
- Clothes hanger
- Broom
- My flip flops (work great as over-the-wrist attack blasters… apparently)
- A pillow
- My $900 camera
- Toilet paper holder
- Vacuum attachments
- Baby bottle
- Socks
- Pens
- Soap dispenser
- His old leg cast
- Foam leters, particulary the “L” and the number “7″
- Sticks in varying shapes and sizes.
- Baby Monitor
- The headrest in the car
- A traffic cone
- A candy cane
- Breast Pump – seriously, this one stopped us all in our tracks.
- The car key remote
- Kleenex box
I keep telling myself that an active imagination is GOOD thing. And… I try to stay out of the line of fire whenever possible.
As the mother of 3 boys, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. We had a “no gun” policy until my MIL bought our oldest a toy gun at Tweetsie Railroad (a small train theme park near here). But wait, it gets worse. She bought it for him “to shoot Indians”. It doesn’t get worse than that, does it? Oh, I guess I should mention that they have open air shows in the middle of the park in which Indians try to rob the train. So, my MIL is not totally insensitive.
The big thing here, though, is Duplo blocks. We thought we were so smart buying Dulos for the younger two since older brother had so many legos. Well now they all three just create their very own guns of all sorts of varieties using the Duplo blocks.
You are correct. It is in their DNA.
BTW, I hope you don’t mind me “sharing” with you in your comments.
Yes…it is definitely written into their DNA! I bought my son a nice choo-choo-trian complete bedroom set including wall decal/sheets/bedset…toychest/trainset etc…He was 2 years old. EVERYTHING was turned into G.I.Joe barracks,guns, grenades…..you get the picture. 2 weeks before my son’s fatal car accident he had just taken and passed the test to join the army rangers (special ops division of the army)…so I’d say YES it is in their DNA…
Thanks for sharing :)
Carol Anne, I am cracking up at your MIL. And I love it when you share. :-)
Does this leave you in “awe” of what you actually have control over? If not, it should! There is a good reason why you look forward when you are at the 30/40 year stage. AT that point, you still think there are things you can impact.
P.S. You didn’t give me the OK to be “Auntie Bloo” but since I have been an “auntie” for many years, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind! SS
The breast pump IS a weapon! Well done Ty!! Hilarious!