Nursery World - Enabling Environments: Let's explore ... bad guys

Rather than condemning weapon play, we can benefit by using
children's interest in this area as a gateway for learning. Marianne
Sargent advises.

It would be highly unusual for an early years setting to have weapons in their stock of toys. However, it is not unusual to find young boys creating their own guns from almost anything they can get their hands on and brandishing them as they chase each other and hide around corners in pursuit of 'bad guys'.

This can be a contentious issue in the Foundation Stage. Practitioners may find themselves feeling uncomfortable allowing children to play with weapons and pretend to kill others, while at the same time understanding their need to re-enact and process the images they see in the media, comics, television programmes and films.

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