Pre-K issue

On the drive home from school today the boys were playing "guns".  They told me that their friend brought a "real" gun to school.  One that can kill someone dead.  The kid told them he could shoot someone dead with it.  I told them I really didn't think that it was a real gun.  They of course insisted it was and we discussed guns a bit.  They told me they saw it and it was real (they have never seen a real gun and have only once played with a toy gun).  We again discussed gun safety which we have talked about before etc.
 
I very very seriously doubt the kid was being honest (little boys brag) or it was a toy gun even though these are not allowed at the school.  At least I assume they are although there is no set rule stating no toy weapons. 
 
Do I talk to someone at the school about this? I do not want them overreacting which I don't think they would do.  I am sure the kid said something about having a real gun at school but not sure how much my boys have embellished as little ones do.  I am not real concerned about it to be honest.  It is a private school but I know if it were a public school it would be a  big deal so feel the parents of the kid should be made aware of what their child is saying at school. 
 
Also would you tell your child to talk to the teacher if someone says this to them even in the Pre-K level?  Just to make the teacher aware of what is going on during playtime and making sure it is addressed appropriately but not overreacting which again I doubt they would do.
 
 

 

I would.  I would tell the teacher everything you just told us, so that they could address the student and his parents about the situation.  I do agree that the child probably had a play gun in school.  And I would tell my child to also let the teacher know as well.

 

I agree.  No matter what the age, if a kid says they have a gun at school, it should be looked into.  Here in NJ, a 4 year old shot and killed a 6 year old not too long ago--and yes, it was in the suburbs!  Any gun talk should be taken seriously, and should be brought to the attention of the school.

 

Yes i would talk to the school and yes i would tell my kids to tell a teacher.  Even though at this age it is most likely a toy gun (or even just a discussion of a gun), establishing the right response now is important.  
 
there is no negative to sharing this information (except maybe your kids will be labeled tattle tail - which means kids doing wrong things will be less likely to include them :acute: ) and there is potentially a huge negative to not sharing.
 
Also, if it was my kid was talking like that i would want to know about it and would (eventually) be grateful to anyone who let me know about it!

 

I would definitely contact the school about it. Even if it was a play gun, I don't think anyone should be bringing play guns to school.
 
I vaguely remember that when I was a kid, a boy next to me in one of my classes showed me that he had a bag of BB's. I was in elementary school. I didn't really think much of it but I mentioned it to my mom. She didn't make a big deal out of it in front of me, but the next day the principal called me in to the office and asked me about it. My mom must have called the school and let them know. I have no idea what happened the boy who brought the BB's, but IMO there is no reason to have any sort of real or toy gun at school.

 

Thanks everyone!  I just didn't want to overreact.  I would want to know if my child said something at school so I could address it with him at home. 
 
I could not talk to the teacher this morning since she had a crowd of kids around her but I will speak with the administrator tonight (teacher is gone when I pick up). 

 

I would too. Even if they're just talking about guns and shooting, the teacher can redirect that kind of play if she notices it going on.
 
Also, I have brought up things like this at my preschool because either my boys are exaggerating or something bad is going on.. either way, I think that it needs to be addressed. We had a fiasco a few weeks ago where Miles was telling everyone that kids undressed him. It turned out to be a much less serious incident, but it led to Miles getting put in a more advanced classroom so he wasn't as bored and more focused on school work, and I know in the meantime they've had lessons on personal space, and telling the truth, so both of those things are good.

 

I agree with everyone else, I would tell, and if I was the parent of that child, I'd want to be notified so I could talk to my child about it.

 

I talked to school at pick up.  I actually talked to the grade school teacher (small school) since the admin was in a meeting.  She also has a son in the pre-K class.  She is going to talk to the admin and teacher.  I guess there is a group of kids who play superhero all the time and they have had to talk to them before about appropriate play behavior and set up ground rules for the play.  They will be having a life skills lesson appropriate play and reviewing the rules.  They are also going to send a note home to all parents reminding parents of the rules and asking parents to discuss at home.
 
I was fine with the resolution as it addresses the entire class.  Luckily it is currently frigid here so no outside play for awhile and when they are inside they usually play games, legos etc.  so it is a bit more structured.