Parents have been advised against purchasing toy weapons for their children as that could impact negatively on their future, says the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Theodore Hlormenu, Monitors Commander, at the Regional Police. If the practice was not stopped children could go wayward, he told the Times. He said instead of toy guns, other items that would enhance the child's positive development were more suitable. Mr Hlormenu said some parents bought toy guns, knives, explosive fire crackers and the like, which did not help them in their learning process, but rather predispose them to violence. "Some children are very curious and want to know how to use whatever they come across to know the impact in real life situation," he said and suggested that government put a stop to importation of dangerous toys. In an interview, a cross-section of the public said children picked up habits from the environment; stressing that through the use of toy guns children could tend to be violent and in adulthood, they might use real guns. Michael Oti, a student journalist, said toys were a means of education. "Every toy is a representation of objects so whatever the toy represents, the children learn how to use it. "If you buy a toy gun for your child, you are teaching him/her that there is a real gun and this is what it does." He said this situation coupled with the kind of movies that the children watched, facilitated their degeneration delinquency, A parent at Awoshie in Accra, Teresa Quaido, said toy guns are dangerous and their continuous use by children would give them the impression that they were not harmful. "However, when eventually they grow up, the children will continue to use such implements in their real forms without fear because their perception will be that those implements are toys," she said. Source: Ghanaian Times