Pre-schoolers earning gun licences at NZ kindies

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Kids with imaginary guns are learning real safety lessons at kindergartens and early childcare centres around the country.

At some centres, children earn a "gun licence" once they learn the rules around handling firearms. Children make their own guns out of cardboard and paper and if they break the rules they lose their licence.

New Zealand Kindergartens chief executive Claire Wells said the idea - which she understood had been thought of by some centres "quite some years ago" - was not about condoning guns, rather teaching children about the responsible use of firearms.

Many children are introduced to firearms through their families and it is not up to centres to place a value judgement on their use, Ms Wells said.

"It is a response to children engaging with pretend guns and staff trying to put conditions around this play, knowing kids will always play around these guns."

Ms Wells said children would bring guns to kindergarten, so were not being introduced to firearms through the initiative.

Children are taught not to aim their guns at others and not to leave their pretend weapons lying around.

Ms Wells was not aware of a connection between children playing with toy guns and being predisposed to using guns or being violent in the future.

The gun licences were not just for boys either, she said.

The initiative is not a nationwide policy but is up to individual centres, Ms Wells said.

"It's a way some teachers have identified of managing a situation of kids playing with guns."

Ngaio Kindergarten head teacher Rebecca Cross told the Dominion Post there has been a positive impact since the gun licences were introduced 18 months ago.

"Children will always make guns, whether it's in front of you or behind your back, so we thought it was better to teach them about safety."