what exactly does “boys will be boys” mean?
does it mean that boys have an innate tendency towards violence? because, that saying is often heard after someone sees boys playing roughly, mischievously or violently. nobody ever says the same about girls.

dear hubby and i have a rule about certain toys not being welcome in our home, basically guns and swords. Other tech play like games on the xbox and flying a drone like the ones from https://www.drdrone.ca/pages/mavic-mini, are permitted because this is harmless fun of course. But, guns scare me, a lot. and i don’t think they are an appropriate toy for my boys to play with. from all of the reading we did on this, and there is TONS of stuff out there, our decision was a natural extension of our (parenting) values. we are pacifists, our kids don’t have water guns and don’t wear anything camo; both are very conscious choices we have made for our children. My sister allows her children to use a bb gun (only when supervised), with the best shoulder holsters reviewed to help her kids understand how to handle guns safely, be it bb guns or live rounds. Her kids are a lot older than mine and I can see her point of view that it’s useful to have a bb gun for protection. We are not against pretend games or imaginative play where violence is a major player.

kids, including our boys, want to push boundaries, feel powerful, and yearn to discover their own world view, and if violence is a part of that play and exploration, i think that’s ok. I’d be somewhat of a hypocrite if I didn’t, since the older males in my life growing up always went hunting and used to look about into new equipment they could buy themselves. No doubt those same guys are probably viewing something like Dailycaller.com or the likes, to read up on some high-tech scopes and attachments for their rifles. I see the distinct difference between hunting and uneccessary violence though.

violence is every where around us. i grew up watching various BBC nature shows with david attenborough. remember those from the 80’s? he taught me that the natural world is full of violence, killing, torture and survival; good guys against the bad guys; the hunter versus the hunted. exploring one’s place in all of this is expected. right?

but, and this is a big but…
war, is not a game. it is something so awful, i don’t want my kids to ever even imagine being involved in one. guns were created with one intention in mind: to kill. that is their only purpose and that’s why we don’t allow anything resembling one in our house or in our play.

i do struggle with where to draw the line. how much violence is too much? are fingers pointed like guns and aimed at others ok, well, i’m not sure. and, how much “rough housing” should i tolerate before calling it quits?

stuff to read on this, HERE and HERE.

where do you draw the line with your kids of any gender?

[ the pictures are from our hot day at the beach today. the kids built this interesting piece of architecture with the help of some older kids they befriended. such a fun day! we’re all tired from the sun! and to end the day on a high note, lion pooped in the potty for the first time, completely on his own initially. we did have to encourage him finish the task once he had started! ]