| Stopping boys from playing with aggressive toys | | | | also have a great imagination when it comes to |
| like guns maybe interfering with their long term | | | | play. I remember my young days when we |
| education. Now there is a controversial star if | | | | played 'cowboys and indians'. Or we played out |
| ever I saw one. However, psychologists are now | | | | our own war games. The truth is many |
| coming to the view that suppressing a young | | | | generations of males grew up playing with these |
| boys natural play habits could have serious long | | | | toys - they certainly did not become overly |
| term consequences. | | | | aggressive adults - in fact the youth of today is |
| A new document issued by the Department for | | | | far more aggressive than my generation and that |
| Children, Schools and Families said children should | | | | is without these toys. |
| be encouraged to take part in play which | | | | Boys do need to be boys. They need to play in a |
| "involves more action". | | | | fashion which is natural - not forced into unnatural |
| The gap in education standards between boys | | | | play. By being inventive, using their innate |
| and girls is growing and growing at an alarming | | | | tendencies they learn to grow. Education becomes |
| rate. Some of this has been tracked back to | | | | more interesting. With that, one would hope, the |
| when 'political correctness' took over and parents, | | | | gap between boys and girls would fall. Boys may |
| schools and sociologists called for the bans on | | | | also get some of the aggression out of their |
| guns, tanks, toy soldiers and the like. One | | | | systems early. |
| psychologist has been quoted as saying: | | | | A simple example of this can be seen in young |
| To tell a boy that playing with a gun is bad can | | | | boys who will still often play these games using |
| have consequences. It is often difficult to | | | | finger and thumb as a gun, or suitably shaped |
| understand a child's reasoning processes, | | | | stick, until told to stop - "it is bad" or "it is wrong". |
| however, if the child thinks that playing with a gun | | | | Leave the child to play - let them get self |
| is bad, and the child likes playing with a gun, then | | | | confidence and the ability to play how they want. |
| he, the child, must also be bad. | | | | Their education standards will rise. |
| Boys have a naturally aggressive nature. They | | | | |