Posts
Click on and scan the opposing perspectives published by Kristin Fuhrmann, LPC, RPT, and Daniel Franz, LMHC, CADAC II, in the March issue of Play Therapy magazine.
Then click on the “Comments” link below and post your own in accordance with the Protocol displayed in the right column.
After commenting and the “Word Verification”, you will be asked to “Choose an identity.” Click on ‘Name/URL” and enter your first and last names (e.g. John Smith, LMHC, RPT).
This discussion will continue until March 25 and be moderated by Guest Editor Jodi Crane, PhD, LPCC, NCC, RPT-S.
Thank you for your interest and participation. May we all gain greater insight and wisdom!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Point-Counterpoint Question: TOY GUNS IN THE PLAYROOM - YES or NO?
Posted by Association for Play Therapy at 3:25 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 Comment:
First of all, thank you APT for starting this blog so we can have a forum to respond to the new Point-Counterpoint column in the "Play Therapy" magazine. I am Jodi Crane, Director of the Appalachian Play Therapy Center at Lindsey Wilson College and Guest Editor for this column. I will be helping Stephanie Carter to moderate this blog. I think when addressing this issue it is VERY important to first be aware of one’s own experiences and how this influences our beliefs and biases in this area. Toward that end I will share some of my experiences in this area. In a latter post I will report on the research that addresses this issue.
I have one younger sister and no brothers. As a child, I did not live near any of my cousins so the only contact I had with boys was at school or church. I bring this up, because boys tend to be attracted to guns more than girls. My family did not hunt. Even to this day I can’t recall even being near a real gun. When I was a junior in high school a close friend of mine killed himself with his grandmother’s gun. Based on these experiences I personally do not like guns at all.
My mother taught kindergarten for almost 3 decades. I sometimes was able to visit her classroom as we were on different school schedules. Throughout adolescence, I babysat both boys and girls. In high school and college, I worked at various day care centers. Through these experiences I began to learn about the power of play and became aware that even if there were rules not to play guns, the children were eventually come up with creative ways to construct them on their own.
Currently, I am married to a man that grew up hunting and live in a state where hunting in a big part of the culture. (In fact, my daughter has had gun safety training at her public school.) I now have an almost 5-year-old son. So far he hasn’t shown any interest in playing with guns, but I am sure it will come.
Through my play therapy training and clinical experiences I have a new appreciation for toy guns. They don’t have to be about violence, the part that I personally fear. They usually are about power, protection, mastery and even fun.
In my next set of posts, I will report on information from the book, "Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence" by Gerard Jones. I have learned so much from this book. I think it should be required reading for every play therapist.
Post a Comment