Adelaide mum plans toy gun 'buy-back' event for kids' awareness following Connecticut shooting
Sydney, Dec. 17 (ANI)
An Adelaide mother has taken a unique step to help children understand the danger of weapons by organizing a toy gun 'buy-back' event after the shooting in a Connecticut school.
Mother-of-two Sam Paior's idea began as a way of getting rid of toy guns in her Panorama home and encouraging her sons, Ben, 12, and Bailey, 10, to think about the dangers of weapons.
According to the Herald Sun, the idea quickly spread after a post on Facebook attracted attention from other parents.
"Hearing and looking at all the reports about Newtown (Connecticut) was devastating and incredibly upsetting," Paior said.
"I've always kept toy guns away from my kids, but in the last year or two they've got a bit older and they go to the Royal Show with other kids and they come home with that rubbish," she added.
"I was just thinking about how I hate having that stuff in the house and I made them round them all up," she said.
According to the report, the concept of buying the weapons back for five dollars each began as a way to make her kids think about the issue of violence and why they should give up the toys.
"I really struggled with whether to tell my kids about what had happened and then I thought they're old enough that they're going to hear it from other people," Paior said.
"I talked to them about it...and I related it to their school and I think it really hit home," she added.
Fellow parent Catherine Blanch, who is helping to organise the event, said she hoped people will understand the reason behind the event and explain to their kids the dangers of guns, the report said.
"I just thought it was a really good idea. Kids are so conditioned to playing with guns and violent video games and I thought, why has no one thought of this before," she said.
The organisers hope the event will include a barbecue, education on guns and violence and the crushing of the toy guns and violent video games, the report said.
Paior's son, Bailey, said he understood why they should destroy the toy guns after seeing the 'scary' scenes from the US.
"I do think it's a good idea because might not like getting rid of their toys," he said.