Should nurseries bite the bullet and stop banning children from playing with guns? Judith Napier observes one that did, with some surprising results
Should little children be allowed to tote toy guns and act out war games? Up to now, the answer has always been emphatically no - such games, goes the argument, encourage boys (it is nearly always boys) to indulge in ever more aggressive and violent behaviour.
Early years settings have worked hard at enforcing a policy that advocates zero tolerance of war, weapons and superhero play. But a London academic has published new research which she claims shows that zero tolerance is, in fact, counter-productive and even damaging.
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