> Guns return to the nursery school toy chest
> By Liz Lightfoot, Education Correspondent
>
> A BAN on toy guns in nurseries is being relaxed as
> new research suggests that they reduce aggression.
> Far from encouraging violence, they lead to more
> imaginative and calmer play, says Penny Holland, of the
> University of North London, a lecturer in childhood
> studies. Over the past two decades guns have been removed
> from nurseries and playgroups for fear of turning small
> boys into potential killers.
>
> After the shootings at Hungerford and Dunblane, shops such
> as Hamleys and The Early Learning Centre introduced weapons
> bans and parents were advised not to allow their children
> to use them at home. But Miss Holland said that they had
> been reintroduced at a number of nurseries and others were
> thinking of following suit. She said she was surprised by
> the behaviour of children in nurseries that now allowed them.
>
> When the ban was lifted at Konstam nursery in Camden, north
> London, for example, the level of aggression dropped. Allowing
> the use of toy guns in a controlled environment provided “an
> imaginative doorway through which boys’ play was enriched”,
> she said.
>
> After an initial enthusiasm, the children’s interest in
> weapons, war and super-hero play declined, leading to a more
> relaxed environment. Miss Holland said: “Having given these
> boys permission to pursue their initial interests, the world
> of the imagination has become their oyster and they are
> diving for pearls.”
>
> ——-[Cybershooters contacts]——–
>
> Editor: [email protected]
>
> Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
>