There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to letting kids play with toys guns. Some parents see it as no big deal and shootouts in the living room don't phase them in the least. Others are horrified by the very idea of children pretending to kill one another and forbid toys guns entirely. I think it is a safe bet to assume that Angelina Jolie would fall into the first category.According to Jolie, her eldest son Maddox thinks war is pretty cool and she wears solid gold proof of this around her neck. ''Mad, our 6-year-old, draws lots of war scenarios,'' she explains. ''He's all into war and guns. So for Mother's Day he drew a machine gun, and Brad had it made into a necklace, which is really sweet. It's really cute. I think it's really good!''
I think making jewelry from your kid's artwork is a fantastic idea. But a machine gun? Considering Jolie's tireless humanitarian work with refugee children affected by war, I would have pegged her as more of the peace-loving type.
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1. I think people become too consumed with the thought of "war" and "peace" and how it involves their kids. I remember when I was his age (was it really 20 years ago! dang), we did the exact same thing, though our dads' didn't make jewelry from our drawings. I am no psychologist, so I can't really make any real conclusive thoughts about the matter, other than I believe it is just part of who we are. 1000's of years of evolution have instilled in us, boys probably more so, some primal (if you will) understanding that to survive we need to be stronger, better, smarter than the others around us. I think this is an extension of that feeling. All of my friends seemed to grow up just fine, even though we ran around the neighborhood shooting BB guns at each other and breaking more than a few bones in "war". I don't think that it really ever leaves us either, it just evolves into other things. I'd have a hard time believing that "war" is not evidenced in school when you are competing with your classmates for the highest grades, best spot on the team, best colleges, etc. Even when you get out into the job market, you have to have a strategy to get the job you want, the board room is sometimes called the war room, plans of action aren't far from plans of attack, and so on. Some of the kids I know who had parents that wouldn't let them compete are now back at home, essentially living with their parents, settling for things in life.
Now, I am making broad generalizations here, but I would wager that for a majority of the people I've met in life, it holds quite true.
Posted at 12:01PM on Jun 27th 2008 by Baron