From: "Alex Hamilton", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Hi, Steve,
Did you see this?
Alex.
--
Daily Telegraph
ISSUE 1823 Monday 22 May 2000
Guns return to the nursery school toy chest
By Liz Lightfoot, Education Correspondent
A BAN on toy guns in nurseries is being relaxed as
new research suggests that they reduce aggression.
Far from encouraging violence, they lead to more
imaginative and calmer play, says Penny Holland, of the
University of North London, a lecturer in childhood
studies. Over the past two decades guns have been removed
from nurseries and playgroups for fear of turning small
boys into potential killers.
After the shootings at Hungerford and Dunblane, shops such
as Hamleys and The Early Learning Centre introduced weapons
bans and parents were advised not to allow their children
to use them at home. But Miss Holland said that they had
been reintroduced at a number of nurseries and others were
thinking of following suit. She said she was surprised by
the behaviour of children in nurseries that now allowed them.
When the ban was lifted at Konstam nursery in Camden, north
London, for example, the level of aggression dropped. Allowing
the use of toy guns in a controlled environment provided "an
imaginative doorway through which boys' play was enriched",
she said.
After an initial enthusiasm, the children's interest in
weapons, war and super-hero play declined, leading to a more
relaxed environment. Miss Holland said: "Having given these
boys permission to pursue their initial interests, the world
of the imagination has become their oyster and they are
diving for pearls."
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