ABSTRACT
Practitioner 1
What’s going on over here, boys? Do we play like this in school?
The children freeze and stop what they are doing.
No we don’t, now go and play nicely in the sand or do a nice painting. (Not giving the children a chance to answer)
Practitioner 2Why did you ask them to stop playing?
Practitioner 1Well, they were shooting each other and we don’t play with guns here!
Practitioner 2But why not?
Practitioner 1Well, there’s a zero tolerance policy.
Practitioner 2There isn’t actually a government or school policy. It’s just what we’ve always done but maybe we need to re-think our practice.
Practitioner 1Really, well there should be one! Allowing aggressive play just promotes violence. And what about children that have witnessed violence, like the refugee children who have come from war-torn countries. Aggressive play, particularly guns, could be disturbing for them and for children who witness violence at home.
Practitioner 2That is certainly something we need to consider and monitor closely but role-play can allow children to come to terms with things they have witnessed and make sense of the world they live in. If we make sure they know that it doesn’t have to be that way and let them act out their experiences, we’ll have a better idea of how to support them.
Practitioner 1Well I don’t agree at all, I think children get hurt if we let them play like that.
Practitioner 2Of course we need to establish ground rules and if they’re getting too boisterous we need to step in, but if they are allowed to play they are more likely to understand the boundaries and rules they need to adhere to so that no one gets hurt. Banning gun play doesn’t stop them, it just encourages them to be deceitful.
Child 1Let’s play outside.
Child 2Yeah, the teacher won’t see us out there.
Child 1Why am I allowed to watch telly and see lots of my favourite superheroes shooting baddies and saving the day?
Child 2I know. I love Transformers and Ben 10. I only want to play like them. Transformers have massive guns and shoot the baddies.
Child 1So if it’s so bad for us to play with guns and pretend to shoot and beat up the baddies, does that mean my daddy is bad for being in the army and using real guns?
Child 2And does it mean that my big brother is bad because I’ve seen him play computer games that have loads of guns in?
Practitioner 1Well, I blame the media and video games; even those children who haven’t witnessed violence see it every day on the TV!
Practitioner 2And nothing is going to change that, so the best we can do is support them to make sense of what they see.
Practitioner 1Why are boys so obsessed with aggressive play; why can’t they be more like the girls?
Practitioner 2Although generally boys are more interested in this type of play, some girls will join in given half a chance. Maybe they are just more willing to conform to the adult rules than the boys. Our boys aren’t doing as well as the girls either, so we need to raise their attainment, so why don’t we try a different approach?
Practitioner 1OK, I take your point … so how can I more effectively support their learning?
Practitioner 2I found this book, We Don’t Play With Guns Here really helpful; it helped me look at things from a different perspective and see how this sort of play can support social skills and imagination.
