Christine Gross-Loh, the author of Parenting
Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us, writes about the effect that banning toy weapons
in the U.S.
has on young children. The author first describes how she wanted to manipulate
her kids’ growth so that they became uninterested in toy weapons. Despite her efforts,
her two boys were eventually introduced to them. After moving to Japan , Gross-Loh was surprised to see that teachers
not only tolerated children’s games with weapons, but seemed to support it – unlike
the U.S.
Though it is true that in Japan
there are very few deaths by gun, the main reason why weapon simulation at an
early age is not frowned upon is that is viewed as a normal stage of childhood.
Gross-Loh then describes how today in the U.S. many children are punished if
they show a slight interest in guns, because of the zero-tolerance created after
school shootings in the 90s, despite weapon play having been common in the 50s.
The author comments that weapon play helps with social issues and is actually safe,
since it is fantasy. Research is given that acknowledging a child’s interests,
being gun play or not, actually helps a child engage in school. Gross-Loh questions
whether the benefits of banning toy weapons compensate for accusing kids of
being wrong and not allowing them to engage in their interests and imagination.
Gross-Loh writes well, but her article does not always
seem completely convincing. She utilizes spatial organization and the pattern
of development of comparison-contrast to describe different circumstances in Japan and in the U.S. U.S.
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