Well, DUH!
http://www.nationalreview.com/document/document052400a.html
Pistol Pacifiers
Guns return to the nursery school toy chest.
Liz Lightfoot from the London Daily Telegraph, May 22, 2000
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."
http://www.nationalreview.com/document/document052400a.html
Pistol Pacifiers
Guns return to the nursery school toy chest.
Liz Lightfoot from the London Daily Telegraph, May 22, 2000
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."
