Is it ever appropriate to get a child a toy gun for Christmas? 

With the 25th fast approaching, letters are being written to Santa Claus up and down the land. 

In Dublin, Newstalk reporter Steph Regan was helping her two children write theirs when one came up with a controversial request. 

“I said to Jack, ‘What do you want from Santa?’” Steph told Lunchtime Live. 

“He went, ‘You know what? I’d love a gun and a target.’”

Jack has owned toy guns before and Steph did not think much more about it. 

It was only when she went out to dinner with a friend who asked about the Christmas list that she began to have second thoughts. 

“I said, ‘Well, he’s asked for a gun,’” Steph said. 

“She looked at me and said, ‘Oh no, no, no, no.’” 

'My Mammy doesn’t let me play with these'

It turned out there are other parents who do not like the idea of young children playing with guns. 

“He had a little friend over and they were playing with one of Jack’s nerf guns,” Steph said. 

“The little boy got really excited and he said, ‘Oh, brilliant. My Mammy doesn’t let me play with these.’ 

“I hadn’t given it a lot of thought and then I thought, ‘Maybe he shouldn’t be playing with guns?’” 

Steph said she still wonders if people are overreacting to the idea. 

“To be honest, I didn’t really see a big deal with it,” she said. 

“I didn’t want to make it into a big deal because I kind of think if I say, ‘You are not allowed this, I think that will make it into a big deal.’ 

“So, I didn’t say anything but when I saw the reaction of other Mums, I was like, ‘Oh God, am I a bad Mum? Maybe I shouldn’t be giving my child a gun.” 

According to research from 2018, it is unlikely there is a correlation between playing with toy guns and criminal behaviour in adulthood.

You can listen back here:

Main images. A child with a gun. Picture by: Alamy.com