Last month, I “unfriended” someone on Facebook for the first time. In fact, I had to Google how to unfriend someone. It was December 21, one week after the horrific massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Like most people in America and around the world, I was shaken to my core from the events which transpired on December 14, 2012.
Not only could I not fathom what must have been going through the teacher’s minds on that terrible day (even though I was a teacher myself), but I could not get over the twenty first graders who were murdered. I could not even look at my own first grader for weeks afterwards without getting teary eyed thinking of the parents who would not get to hug and kiss their first graders goodnight.
That is why, when I logged on to my Facebook newsfeed and saw three of a Facebook friend’s children, ages 6, 4 and 2, holding semi automatic rifles under a caption which read “This is how we do Christmas in Texas” one week after the Connecticut shootings, that I could no longer have that person as a friend on Facebook. A line had been crossed, and I could not look away.
Some may say I made a rash decision and I should not “unfriend” someone because of one post, but that post in particular was so upsetting to me that there was no other possible action I could take. I just knew I didn’t want to see it on my newsfeed again. I understand that people have guns to hunt and I respect that, but I do not and most likely will never feel that guns in the hands of young children, even as a joke, will ever be okay with me. Yes, even after being escorted all over Lagos by armed guards and being around guns on a regular basis, I do not feel that guns in the hands of children are ever okay.
I felt good about the decision I made until I watched my own first grade son play a few weeks ago. Like many boys his age, he loves Ninjago ( Legos), Super Heroes and Super Mario Galaxy. The Ninjago figures come with weapons like swords and nun chucks. The characters on Super Mario Galaxy have to “defeat” each other. I never really thought about it before, but what is really going through my son’s mind when he is playing with these toys? He plays pretend with his friends at school at recess and they all pretend to be the different ninjas. What are they really thinking they are doing when they are “defeating” each other? He is a happy, healthy seven-year old, and he displays no signs of violence of any kind.
My two younger brothers played with cap guns all the time when we were little. They made pretend guns out of sticks. They did not grow up to be mass murderers. It seems that now, even the thought of anything to do with a gun as a toy is taboo. I, myself, always said my children won’t play with toy guns, but somehow the pretend weapons have made their way into our home anyway.
What is the answer? I am not sure. I thought the line about weapons for me was clear…my children would not be exposed to guns or weapons of any kind, but now I see through toys and video games that thought is not true. Even if these toys and video games aren’t introduced at home, children will find out about them through other friends they meet. The line is blurred and at times hard to see.
Is this a rite of passage for young children to explore imagination through pretend weapons or is it just the same as posting pictures of young children holding real rifles? After all, pretend or not, weapons are weapons and the outcome cannot be disputed.
I personally see when my son plays pretend with his Ninjago figures, super heroes and video games that he is making sense of his own world and what he perceives to be right and wrong. He acts these scenarios out through his play and at this stage, he does not really understand what “defeated” ultimately means. We have talked several times about how all of the super heroes and Super Mario games are not real and they are only make-believe. In his world of imagination, he only understands that the “good guys” are always the ones who win.
I do feel a slight pang in my stomach when my son runs through the house and yells that he defeated Pythor (from Ninjago) for the hundredth time, but does that make it wrong? I just don’t know anymore. The line seems so blurred now.
Do you have certain toys or games which are off limits to your children because of weapons? How do you teach your children about violence in toys and video games?
This is an original post by Meredith. You can check out her adventures with her husband and two children in Lagos, Nigeria and her transition back to living in the U.S. on her blog www.wefoundhappiness.blogspot.com/
Photo credit to the author.
It’s good to have that line. We all should… but when it comes to family and friends, sometimes it’s so hard to draw it. I use to think not having play guns was a good idea, but now watching my 3 year old, who isn’t exposed to any television except movies that we pre-select for him is fashioning guns out of sticks. I think you are right, they have to work it out through play, but that doesn’t mean we need to have them pose for pictures with semi-automatic guns. Great post Meredith!
I’ve just read another post where a mom banned Star Wars because (in her opinion) her 5 year old son became aggressive after watching it. Personally, I believe that you can’t shield your children from violence because (even if you ban it at home) guaranteed some “friend” will expose them to it!
I believe that the best way to protect your children is by giving them the correct knowledge about things – whether we’re talking about guns or sex or any other “difficult” subject. My father took me to a shooting range as soon as I was old enough to hold a gun. He taught me about gun safety and the correct way to handle a weapon. He taught me to ALWAYS assume a weapon is loaded unless I have cleared it myself. I have never touched a weapon since.
Remember that kids are ALWAYS interested in “forbidden fruit”! Rather have honest, age-appropriate conversations about guns, sex, drugs etc to prevent them from trying things out behind your back … with posssibly tragic results!
Here’s how I feel. Facebook should be fun and interesting, a hobby. If something in your feed makes you feel uncomfortable, then that is totally ok not to want to follow that person.
When it comes to guns, I do not think that guns belong in the hands of children in any circumstance. Period.
Thank you for sharing this difficult situation with us, Meredith. You did an awesome job!!
Jen 🙂
I thought Facebook would go back to being non-political after the election, but now I’m seeing lots of posts about gun rights, too.
I don’t let my son play video games, even though that is what all the boys at school do and talk about. The other day, I saw he and a friend were playing a game on his friend’s iPod. I know the friend’s mother, so wasn’t too concerned about it, and I didn’t really watch what they were doing. But when we got home and he started talking about the game, I realized it was very violent. Stupid of me, I know, but I didn’t even realize those kind of games were out there for iPod!
This parenting thing just never seems to get easier.
It is so true that we can say our children will not play with guns or play video games, etc…but they make their way into our children’s lives even though we would rather them not. I agree with you,Simona, we, as parents, need to talk to our children about the difficult subjects so they do not hear about them the first time from friends or strangers. I guess that awareness of violence from weopons is one of those things. I am from a family who was never around guns so this is a new territory for me. Glad to know I am not alone in this:)
I relate to your post. I just hid a friend from my newsfeed because of some posts I found incredibly insensitive. I’m not big on censorship. People certainly can post whatever they want, and I can certainly choose to not look at it. But I knew when the line was crossed for me, though, so I’m opting out of seeing what that person has to say all together.
As for raising my sons with weapons and gun play….I shield them to an extent but they too play Legos and tame video games with fiends. Once school age, I find it’s how boys (at least in my area) relate, and if a friend has an older sibling, then they can hear all sorts of stuff. So similar to earlier comments, I embrace the tough topics and talk about weapons and safety every time my 7 year old son goes to a new friend’s house, because I want him to be prepared to make smart choices (although I hope he never has to really confront a bad situation.)
Oops!!! Big typo…the play with “friends” not “fiends” !
I love Facebook for the interaction it allows me with friends made around the world. I am thankful to be able to stay in touch in such an easy way.
I quickly learned to hide people who around election times make remarks that are not sensitive to their friends who may not have the same beliefs … it happens and I struggle with it. It is easier to hide someone and stop ‘in’ to see how they are doing without the unfriend part which can make waves … that said I have unfriended too. So is there a line – definitely, and only we can decide when it has been crossed. btw, guns are a no 😉