The Controversial Kids' Toy - The Hand Gun

With summer in full swing the occasional water fight is inevitable. The activity is an excellent way to keep cool, especially when the temperature climbs close to 100 degrees fahrenheit. There are an array of tools that can be used in these water fights such as cups, water balloons and pumps. Still, the most common tool for a water fight is probably the water pistol. 

Who doesn't remember the epic super soaker battles that commenced on those scorching summer days? They where colorful. They had an air pump. They were cheap. Still, with the seemingly increasing amount of child shooters, some worry that toy guns will encourage children to use a real gun, or other forms of violence against their friends and family. 

According to one article, "Everyone has an informal causation theory that playing with guns leads to the use of guns in adulthood," says Michael Thompson, PhD, child psychologist and author of It's a Boy! Your Son's Development From Birth to Age 18. Yet, most adult men who did engage in gunplay as children don't commit violent crimes."

Although studies may show no correlation between toy gun play as a child and adulthood, that does not ease the worry some may have about the link between toy gun play and real gun violence in children. Arguably speaking, even if toy gun play doesn't encourage aggressive behavior, it may encourage ignorance.

It's a child's job to play. Besides water pistols, toy soldiers, cop and cowboy dress up sets also come with guns. Some of them even come complete with the satisfying pop, pop, pop and smoke of dud "bullets." Toy guns make kids feel heroic and brave when most kids feel small and helpless. At the very least, kids just like to hear the noise it makes. That being said, the worry is that a child may think that a gun is an acceptable way to solve problems against people they see as aggressors. 

The argument around having real guns in a house where children live is that parents are taking precautions to protect their families. Gun safes, supervised handling and educational talks are only a few ways gun advocates are trying to keep the family guns out of little hands. But, with more and more shootings in the news, the worry only seems to grow. 

The sight of a child pointing a toy gun at another child, or themselves and pulling the trigger is alarming. Memories of twenty elementary kids shot dead along with their teacher is enough for most parents to hide all kinds of toy guns from their kids for all eternity. On the other side of the spectrum, some parents say that that is an overreaction that may be causing more harm than good. 

In the wake of all these child shooters, schools have been issuing severe penalties for any signs of aggression such as play shooting that they see from children. Some are arguing that kids will be kids and that it was "just play." Although most kids show no indication of any other violent or worrying behavior when it comes to gun play, the idea of a child making a gun out of their fingers and shooting their friends is "just play" is absurd. Suspending a fourth grader for his finger gun may be an overreaction, but not having an in-depth and easily understood conversation about why that action is not allowed is equally wrong. 

To eliminate the ignorance around toy gun play parents need to sit down with their child and explain what guns are for and what they do to people when they are used. Children as young as one-years-old can use a toy gun. It may be hard to have a meaningful conversation with them about the damages of guns. If that's the case, hold off on the toy guns until they can understand. 

What it comes down to is that guns are not dangerous. People are. A gun in the hand of the right person can save a life. A gun in the hands of the wrong person can take a life. With that thought in mind, guns are not toys. They are tools. And you wouldn't let your child run around with an electric drill without teaching them how to use it first, now would you?

Loving Your Body vs. Being Unhealthy

Body love seems to be what everyone is talking about. The body image movement is in full throttle let be news articles or musicians. They all say the same thing: Stop cropping waist lines and show us what a real woman looks like!

The harm the fashion industry is doing to the average woman's self esteem in the US is surprisingly damaging. Women and girls alike struggle to look like the image that they are told is beautiful with no account for body type, ethnicity, or history. What's even more troubling is that it's not only high school girls and adults that are worrying about their weight. Elementary girls are in the struggle as well.

Kaelin Tully told Buzz Feed, "I can remember being hyper-aware of my body as a little kid. I was 8 years old and refused to wear pants at all because I was worried about showing everyone how chubby my thighs were. Thinking back, it was kind of bizarre for an 8-year-old to feel that way."

To make matters worse, the images that these little girls are struggling to imitate are not actually real. The gorgeously smooth, flawless skin and hour glass figure that is portrayed by the models are actually as blemished as you and me. With the help of Photoshop and other softwares, already skinny models are being slimmed down, airbrushed over and almost totally done over until you would never recognize them in real life. 

Beautyredifined.com stated in a recent article, "When superstar singer Kelly Clarkson was digitally slimmed down almost beyond recognition on Self’s September 2009 cover, people noticed. Her appearance on “Good Morning America” within just days of the cover shoot proved that her body did not look anything like the very thin one that appeared on the cover." 

However unethical these actions may be, it does not give license to be unhealthy. Although the models are depicted as being long limbed, willowy creatures that easily slip into a size xxxs, the reality is that some people have not been in a size zero since they were in the fifth grade. That is, if they ever were. That being said, it probably isn't a good idea to accept an unhealthy weight and cease all exercise with the idea that what is depicted by the media is faked. 

There is a healthy weight range for all bodies, men and women. If that range is passed the body is put at greater risk. Heart disease, stroke, type two diabetes, and clotting are just a few examples of what would happen if obesity is left unchecked. 

It is all too easy to ignore the advice of doctors and other medical professionals when it comes to how to care for the body. This could be the case even more so for moms. Baby weight has a nasty way of sticking to every part of the body. Expecting mothers are instructed to consume an alarming amount of calories in order to provide for the growing person inside her. Those eating habits can easily follow into new parent life. 

What the media industry does with photoshop is mortifying. The movement that is in place against it thrive to get realistic models depicted in magazines and in videos. The misrepresentation of the "average" body is driving young girls and adults alike into eating disorders, fad dieting and shattered self esteem. 

Although it's okay to say "Love your body" it is not okay to use those words as an excuse to not be healthy. What the body image movement is trying to address is real. What the media does is cruel and, in some cases, irreversibly damaging. But, that does not mean that men and woman should not strive to be healthy. Everyone, overweight or otherwise need diet and exercise in order to stay healthy - if not for ourselves, then for our children.