Fantasy weapons

At first glance it seems surprising that one nursery in five still allows young children to bring in toy guns. Their parents generally don’t bring in real guns. But then consider waterpistols. Are they a kind of pretend gun or a real gun that is more or less harmless? In any case, the need for toy weapons depends on the game. Children don’t play cowboys and Indians any more, which required guns. But they do play pirates, for which they need a sword, even if it’s homemade out of paper. Playing pirates does not make children grow up into pirates, any more than generations who played with toy guns later shot people in the street. Shootings are the sad result of adults’ less imaginative games. Children excel in nuanced pretence. They can use fantasy weapons to play the most real game of all: goodies versus baddies.