Toy weapons
Aim:
To think about whether children should play with toy weapons.
You will need:
Paper, coloured pens / crayons.
Duration:
30-40 minutes
Divide the group into smaller groups of 4 or 5. Ask the groups to discuss the following questions. Remind them to make sure everyone has a chance to voice their opinions, and that they may not all think the same way. The level of the discussion will vary according to the age of the participants. An adult may need to help younger children to get thinking about the issues.
Questions:
- Do you think children should be allowed to play war games with toy weapons?
- Is it just harmless fun, or does it encourage them to think conflict is ok?
- Do war games encourage imagination and creativity?
- Do they usually portray war as fun and adventurous?
- Are people who play with toy weapons more likely to fight as adults?
- What alternative games could children play?
The second part of the task is to design a poster to raise awareness among parents about war games. The group can decide on their message - maybe they think toy guns are ok, maybe they think they should be banned, or maybe they just want raise awareness about alternative types of games. It is good to get parents thinking about the issue too, so they can make an informed decision about toy guns. Maybe the group could display their posters on a school parents' evening or in a library.
Extra option:
If people feel strongly about this issue they could join a discussion forum on the Global Village website about toy weapons and war games, to find out what other young people think.