Um NO!!! what a complete idiot! Thank goodness your son has one parent with a brain..good grief..oh, and maybe for fathers day your son should give him a calendar.

Hi namaste: I want to make a suggestion to you. Since your ex is sending this stuff to your 11 year old son, how about taking it to a local legal gun shop and trying to sell it. Then taking that your son and that money and buying him something he might actually want.

Many years ago when i wanted to sell my semi automatic handgun, I sold it to the local legal gun shop, and got a receipt that I could give to the police or authorities if they needed it (in case someone bought my weapon and it was tracked back to me so I could prove I sold it to the gun shop).

Personally, I would not want those items in my home and knowing that my ex is sending that type of stuff would inspire me to take it to the local gun shop and sell it there for whatever I could get for it.

Selling it at the gun shop will not only make you feel better, but will actually give the boy a gift in the end that you and he pick out somewhere else that will give him something to enjoy.

Your ex lacks adult proper judgement and that would make me think hard about him and your son not iinteracting n the future.

after Newtown, toy guns just won't get it.

Isn't an airsoft rifle for shooting felt pellets? I think my STBX actually has one. My answer would depend on what type of relationship your ex has with your son. Does your ex hunt? Shoot targets? Does he do this with your son? Does your son want these items?

I know many women's gut instinct would be to keep the stuff out of the house because of all the recent shootings. However, as the STBX of a hunter and avid shooter, I have also come to realize that this type of activity is a big bonding experience between father and son (if of course the son is actually interested in it - mine was not). While I was not a fan, I didn't discourage it. Our son figured out all on his own that it was not something he was really interested in. My STBX bought him a rifle when he was little and put it away for when he was old enough to use it, and also bought him an air gun for shooting felt pellets. He played with that for a while, always under adult supervision, and then the novelty wore off. I have no idea where it even is now.

On the flip side, my nephew, who is the same age as our son, was very interested in guns and shooting, and my STBX bought him the same air gun as our son, and his sister immediately put it away because she doesn't like guns. So, whenever he came to our house he gravitated to the gun - always. Seems the more she tried to keep him away from the things, the more he wanted to play with them. No, he didn't grow up to be a murderer or anything, but I think if he had them to play with as a child, under supervision, the novelty would have worn off, but instead she made a point of keeping them away and fighting about it for years.

So, I think it really depends on how much your son wants these things, what his father's involvement is with showing him how to use these items properly, and what your comfort level is with these items. You should not have to keep them in your house if you don't want them there. If his father is involved in his life and showing him how to use these items, then perhaps insist they be kept at his house. If your son has no interest and probably never will, then you could either put them away until he's an adult and can decide for himself what to do with them (they'll probably appreciate in value) or sell them now as an above poster suggested.

And keep in mind that if either shows up at school, you as the adult could be in big trouble. So if you decide to keep them, you should have them locked up so well that if you aren't home, even his friends couldn't break into a cabinet or whatever locked place to get at them.

You trust your son, but sometimes friends do things that are goofy.

i wouldn't let him near it until he is at least 16. my mother wouldn't even let me and my brother have a dart board.

Thank you, everyone.

Yes, it is a pellet gun.

Am I against shooting, no. I grew up with guns and my father is a gunsmith. I've been shooting my entire life. It's my dad's passion.

I hunt myself...but only bow hunting. My son has a bow too, although a children's bow. Practice points, no field points and he is only allowed to practice under supervision.

My ex husband is active duty. HE does not hunt at all. He also lives 800 miles away and only chooses to see son once per year.

My father was furious that this arrived. An expert marksman. His point...and mine...guns are not toys. And shouldn't be viewed as such. I have a more difficult time with the knife. Also, the real deal for this type of weapon has been banned in my state. The last thing I need is to even have anyone mistake this for something it is not. The rule has always been that there will be no visiting the range or learning until he is 12.

With all of that said...my ex is a violent man. This is what gets me the most with his choice of gifts.

It's all mind boggling to me. Everything is locked up...and will stay that way...although the kid has been all over me for days about wanting to use it.

Ugh.

Ooh, that's a tough one. I would just keep them locked up until he's 12 (your rule), and explain that to him. He's only got a year to wait. Not sure what the knife is all about - thought it was for gutting a dead deer after it's been shot, but maybe not? Anyway, I agree they're not toys and shouldn't be treated as such. You know better than anyone else what maturity level your son is at and whether or not he can handle these things. Not sure what he would even do with a knife. The gun I could see for target practice - but then again he's got to learn how to use them and you've already set a boundary for him of 12. Stand your ground. There will be many more of these arguments down the road, I'm sure, so start off on the right foot by enforcing the rules right from the begnning. An odd choice of gift, to be sure.

1 more thing: tell your ex what you're doing with all of these "gifts" he's sending. Perhaps he'll get the hint and send something more appropriate next time?

thank goodness that your son has good male role models in lieu of your ex.

I'd give him the gifts but when he is older. I'm just imagining if this were my son and my ex, considering the relationship is so poor, and knowing how much a sense of identity is, especially a boy to his father, I wouldnt get rid of gifts, my son might get very angry with me some day down the road that he wasnt allowed to have what his father wanted for him.

But yah, those sorts of gifts for an 11 yr old is inappropriate.

If theyre going to end up being sold to someone else, I would let my son do the selling if/when he makes that decision himself.