Playing Good Versus Evil

          One of the current trends in school is the banning of good guys versus bad guys play.  The reason is the use of pretend weapons.  Many parents and teachers believe that if we allow games where the ‘good guys’ takes down the ‘bad guys’ it will cause children to become violent. With all of the different tragedies going on in the world this has become a huge concern. Children are actually getting suspended for pretending to use weapons in school.  Just because a child makes a pretend gun out of their fingers does not mean that they will become a violent killer in the future.        

          Children play these types of games for a number of reasons.  Some reasons being as simple as they have fun playing it.  Another reason that I have said before is that children use play to process the world around them.  Children are using the good guys versus bad guys play to try and understand why things around them are happening and what the effect is.  This type of play allows children to make the distinction between good and evil. 

          This play should not be completely stopped but it should be monitored and discussed.  In the article 'When Good Kids Play The Bad Guy,' Scholastic gives tips on how to handle this type of play in a manner that will not shut down a child's ideas.  One of the tips was to help you child set rules for play where there are good guys and bad guys.  It is so important to have discussions with your child or students about what a good person is versus a bad person is.  It is also important to discuss the difference between reality and pretend.  This play should only be stopped if children are actually getting hurt or if you are seeing an actual violent streak in a child.  One of the ways to combat this is to limit a child's access to violent images, shows, movies, and video games.