I know it's only a water pistol but it still emulates a weapon and we don't like those so we actually doubted buying it for him at all. In the end we decided not to make a big deal about it and went ahead. We just had to laugh when we realised that he didn't know how to hold it, what it was for or how to pull the trigger! He's getting the jist of it now.... this is him just after squirting water into his own eye!!! Some day he'll probably start playing cowboys and indians (or worse still some power ranger type exterminator character) and run around shouting "bang, bang, you're dead" making light of living and killing like all kids do. If we ban it they'll probably love it all the more. So what can we do? Nothing. Just wish in vain that all pistols could be water pistols...