# Do all small boys want pointy sticks (and other weapons)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980 "2013-03-26T02:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/21 "2013-03-27T10:06:16Z")
Yes, boys like pointy things and guns. When we were little, the kids that didn’t have plastic guns, made ones out of stick, and those who were really lazy simply used their thumb and index finger. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/22 "2013-03-27T14:13:37Z")
I was shopping at Target a couple weeks ago (looking for a new vacuum cleaner), and spotted this lady in the kitchen wares section. She had a little boy in her cart and he had a set of wooden spoons in his little hands. Everywhere she went, the kid would point a wooden spoon at another customer and gleefully shout “Pow! Pow!” I thought it completely adorable and hilarious. So he “shot” me. Mama told him, “Stop it, that’s not nice.” So I completely undermined her parental authority and launched myself into an overly dramatic wooden spoon “death,” ending with a collapse on the floor. (This was way more fun than pricing vacuum cleaners.) Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mama grin a bit. Well this just lit the kid right up. As soon as I got up off the floor, he started shooting again. I was too far from the spatulas or I would have armed myself and shot back. Instead, I let him “kill” me about three times. Good times. I’m all for playing cops and robbers with some random kid in a store. We were both entertained and Mama had a few minutes of peaceful shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/23 "2013-03-27T16:23:07Z")
A couple of years ago, I stayed with a very nice hippy lady, who had two older girls, and a 2.5 year old boy. They mainly just played outside, but had a few dvds to watch as a treat, all of which contained no violence. It was a totally hippy island community, and all the kids’ parents at the tiny local playgroup had pretty much the same pacifist views as she did. Small boy’s first day at playgroup, he came home, and was pointing a finger at everyone and everything and yelling ' **BANG!** :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/24 "2013-03-27T16:24:55Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > A while ago we told the Cub (age 4 & 3/4) we were going to take him to a museum. The following dialogue occurred: > > Cub: “Will they have guns there?” > > Us: “Not sure. Maybe.” > > Cub: “Cool! will they let me shoot the guns?” > > Us: “NO!” > > Cub: “Will there be swords I can use?” > > Us: “No.” > > Cub: “What about a bow and arrow? I could shoot someone in the eye.” > > Us: “NO!” > > Cub (still hopeful): “An axe?” > > Us: “No!” > > He was just about to say “Wot abaht a pointy stick?”, I’m sure. > > Where do little boys get all this from? Are you complaining? That sounds like a nice young warm blooded heterosexual male to me. I hear in some countries people pay for one of those… a lot. > [@Filbert](#): > > A couple of years ago, I stayed with a very nice hippy lady, who had two older girls, and a 2.5 year old boy. They mainly just played outside, but had a few dvds to watch as a treat, all of which contained no violence. It was a totally hippy island community, and all the kids’ parents at the tiny local playgroup had pretty much the same pacifist views as she did. > > Small boy’s first day at playgroup, he came home, and was pointing a finger at everyone and everything and yelling ' **BANG!** :smack: Pretty much sums up that being a pacifist is futile. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/25 "2013-03-27T16:50:02Z")
> [@Saraya](#): > > Are you complaining? That sounds like a nice young warm blooded heterosexual male to me. > > I hear in some countries people pay for one of those… a lot. Ha ha ha! That’s so t— Wait. What? ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/26 "2013-03-27T18:08:31Z")
With my boys they love sticks pointy or not. They are only 2 though. But they will find the biggest stick that they can still carry and frag them all around the park and neighborhood like tiny little jousters. ---
**Author:** ![ems](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@ems](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ems)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/27 "2013-03-27T21:51:48Z")
I am a 35 year old woman and given half a chance with anything remotely resembling a stick I will turn it into a sword. Last night for example I wrapped a birthday gift in pretty pink paper with bows and stuff and then proceeded to have a ‘sword’ fight with my husband in the middle of the living room with the cardboard tube. 😃 My god-son got a Nerf gun for his birthday (from his bestest godmother;)) and him and his little sister and Daddy have endless battles. So I agree it is a ‘kid thing’ with no limit on the age of the _kid_ ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/28 "2013-03-28T01:49:59Z")
My son has been making swords out of anything remotely sword-like since he was 18 months old. Items include his inside stick, outside collection of sticks, his smaller car stick, various straws, curtain rods, towel racks and actual toy swords. He’s almost 7 and has a collection of three or four swords that he loves. He also loves axes and guns as well. That’s primarily related to preschool and kindergarten friend influences. My husband and I never really thought to introduce them but he came home from school wanting a gun. After we refused, he began making his own guns (out of sticks, no less) so we finally relented around age 5 when he at last got a Nerf gun and water gun. In my limited experience, no matter how much you try to limit their exposure or minimize it, they’ll find a way to make a gun, a sword, an axe - whatever weapon - themselves. Determined little poops, aren’t they? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/29 "2013-03-28T05:07:40Z")
> [@Saraya](#): > > Are you complaining? That sounds like a nice young warm blooded heterosexual male to me. The kid is less than five years old. This is a creepy post, even leaving aside that liking weapons has nothing at all to do with sexual orientation. > [@Saraya](#): > > Pretty much sums up that being a pacifist is futile. That doesn’t follow at all from the post you quoted. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/30 "2013-03-28T09:17:16Z")
> [@JLRogers](#): > > The kid is less than five years old. This is a creepy post, even leaving aside that liking weapons has nothing at all to do with sexual orientation. > . I think you’re being wooshed… ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/31 "2013-03-28T17:00:43Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I think you’re being wooshed… Check out **Saraya** ’s posting history and you might change your mind about that. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/32 "2013-03-28T20:41:13Z")
Another vote for the “no age limit” theory. I still like sharp sticks, and poking dead things with them - a habit that has gotten me escorted out of several funeral homes… ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980/33 "2013-03-28T21:23:55Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > (age 4 & 3/4) That’s my favorite part 🙂 [I’m almost 44 & 1/2] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-small-boys-want-pointy-sticks-and-other-weapons/653980.md?page=1)