Can't be too careful?

You know those brightly-coloured plastic guns that fire sorbo-rubber darts?  Kids love 'em.  But there's a time and place for everything.  A four-year-old boy going on holiday with his parents was stopped by security at East Midlands airport when such an article was found in his hand luggage.  It was confiscated and he was subjected to a body search.  So was this, as the parents maintained, a pathetic over-reaction by the security personnel, or was it an act of stupidity by the parents in allowing their son to attempt to take such an article onto a plane.  Bit of both, I think...