One Track Mind
Posted on February 6th, 2008 – 9:35 AMBy Kay Krhin
When Ben was born, one of my friends gave me two Thomas the Tank DVD’s that came along with wooden trains. I thanked her and set them aside. Afterall he was just a baby and wouldn’t be watching them for quite some time. I hadn’t really heard of this cheeky British train that she gushed about her son loving. What was the big deal with Thomas???
At a shower another friend said “Hey - do you want our Brio train table and wooden tracks?” I shrugged, I didn’t know-again, he was just a baby. My friend Angela, overheard the generous offer, squeezed my elbow firmly and emphatically said in my ear “SAY. YES!”
Last summer Ben was at the doctor for an upper respiratory cold. He needed to be nebulized - “Put in a DVD to get him relaxed.” she said.”He should sit still while he breathes in the steam.” I remembered the Thomas DVD’s and popped one in. Our life hasn’t been the same since.
All trains.
All the time.
Now, his trains are the first thing he wants in the morning. “TT! (Thomas), Percy! James!” he calls and looks for them in the house. Then he plays independently with them throughout the day. Concentrating on each movement and placement of each train, he rolls them across the coffee table, along the countertops and across the couch. And the last thing at night he even kisses them goodnight. ”Night night T.T.”
The DVD’s we have are narrated by George Carlin or Alec Baldwin. I amuse myself by imagining George Carlin having the trains say the “Seven Words You Can’t Say on the Island of Sodor.” Or perhaps Alec Baldwin would snap and suddenly Sir Topham Hat would call Gordon the engine a “Rude thoughtless pig!” (Gordon really can be, you know.) But thankfully the worst I’ve heard uttered on The Island of Sodor is a frustrated engine exclaiming ”Cinders and Ashes!” or “Well, bust my bumpers!”
I became so aquainted with Sir Topham Hat over maternity leave I was worried I would use some of his common phrases when I came back to work. “Thank you. You are a very useful engine.” or “You have caused much confusion and delay!” Now where’s my marmalade?
I hear the train thing is either a passing fancy - or a passion that lasts well into adulthood. Hence places like this.
Any toddler obsessions going on in your house these days?
26 Responses to "One Track Mind"
Henry’s just started to get into this train obsession. Trains, Trucks and cars are his thing.
Sounds like our house. Our toddler knows every train by name and shape, instantly. I can’t keep them straight. He sleeps with one or more each night. Not very soft but he is happy.
thankfully for us the first 3 have moved on a bit but our4 year old and 2 year old still love to play trains during the day. Though mine never got into the movies so it could be why even at 4 mine is moving on from the love of them.
Fire trucks! My son calls them “butter trucks” for reasons unbeknownst to us, but ever since our Fire Department had their open house and he got to see and ride on the real thing, our lives have never been the same. We even wave at where the butter trucks go night night when we drive past the fire station. His favorite DVD is one we got free with a toy truck that shows real fires and real people from the fire house. It’s a great one when I am cooking dinner, etc.
My just-about 3-year-old has moved out of his train obsession (still likes them) and now his constant companion is an old blue flashlight. It’s like he loses his super powers if he doesn’t have that thing clutched in his hand.
My school agers have been out of diapers for years, but they still giggle when I exclaim, “You’re nothing but a screechin’ and a noise!” And, my favorite: “Muckle nuisance!” Thomas is great fun.
Yes, my almost 4 year old still loves his trains and his Thomas DVD’s.
If you think the model railroad museum is neat, check out these guys.
http://www.gmltc.org/gmltc_02-02-02/
They took a love of trains and legos well into their 30’s and 40’s. It is crazy how cool this train layout is. (Full disclosure - my Uncle is one of them!)
My guy just turned 4 and he has been obsessed with dinosaurs for about 2 years now! His favorite place is the science museum and he knows every dinosuar’s name, how big they were, and what they ate. We have dinosaur books, toys, stuffed animals, clothes, coloring books you name it. He dreams of being a “Dinosuar Scientist” and digging up dinosaur bones. He loves trains too but we never got into Thomas. He has the GeoTrax which are great.
In our house, it’s all vehicles all the time. Trains and fire engines top the list, but police cars and planes are big, too. “Excavator” was my son’s first word. Seriously.
Ahh, we have Sir Topham Hat quotes in our house, too. Thomas sure is popular! We went to visit Thomas in Stillwater last summer. They converted the Zepher into Thomas, and you could ride the train. What a blast. Thomas is still big in our house, but not as big as Little Einsteins. “You have caused confusion and delay” has been replaced by “I canNOT BELIEVE IT!”
Becky, I searched many Target store for a Pat Pat Rocket for Christmas. Little Einsteins is big with that crowd. On any given day there are 3 Rockets on the counter at Daycare because they just “have” to go with.
My 2.5 y.o. son has been obsessed with Thomas since he saw his first video at age 1. My favorite Thomas saying is when he tells me he is “cross” instead of using the word grumpy.
My son is obsessed with trucks-he has named them all (he has about 20!) and he is very particular about who gets to play with which truck. He knows the difference between all kinds of trucks (cement mixer, telephone repair truck, mail truck etc.) It has been going on for about 4 months with no end in sight. We’re waiting to introduce him to trains until he’s closer to three. For tv show obsessions its the backyardigans which thankfully I like too!
At our house it’s all about Dora, Diego, and princesses for our 3-year-old!
My son is obsessed with Thomas too! He loves to tell us that things “are a big, big problem!” He even sings the song while he is playing. My husband likes to tell me that I am being “daft.” Darn that Thomas…he is also really into Firetrucks. He got a firetruck tent for Christmas, and he and my husband “drive” it all around the house putting out fires. It really is a great way to tire him out when we can’t get outside…I am getting pretty sick of all the sirens. He has 4 trucks, all with sirens, and he can get them going all at the same time…Please God, let our 2nd child be a girl:)
Kim –
Thanks for sharing the pictures of the Lego train display. My son used to be a Thomas nut and is now obsessed with Legos.
Do you know if it’s still on display at Jackson St?
Erin, I curse toys that don’t have off switches. My son gets all of his Caterpillar bulldozers and dump trucks going at once. Ahhh!
Julie, the website is pretty out of date, but I’ll check when they are next on display. The thing is amazing. It even has a subway on the lower level, with windows in the base so you can see the subway train go around. It is a whole extra world underground.
My 21 month old has just entered the “Cho Cho” stage. He loves the Thomas show, Thomas sticker and his Fisher Price Animal Train. I think he picked it up from his 2 1/2 year old counsin who is a Thomas feak.
Julie, sadly, nothing is in the works in the Twin Cities right now. They will be in La Crosse Wisconsin, March 8th & 9th, and at Brickworld Chicago in June. You can find my e-mail on my blog, and I’ll let you know if anything in the Twin Cities comes up.
Kim - what is a Pat Pat Rocket?
Becky - Pat Pat Rocket is the rocket on Little Einsteins on the Disney Channel
Kim - Try the Disney store at MOA. I saw Little Einsteins toys the last time I was there.
My 3 y.o. daughter is in love with Caillou and anything else on PBS kids.
We were obsessed with trucks and trains at our house around 2 years old…now at 3 1/2 it is McQueen and Cars (the movie) all the time! Will watch the movie any time at all; loves to read books about McQueen, etc.
And of course there is still his absolutely ragged stuffed Very Hungry Caterpillar (VHC as my DH and I say), which accompanies him EVERYWHERE. If only you knew ahead of time what they will end up falling in love with, and could buy multiple sets to have around! I can’t find that same VHC anywhere anymore…I’ve even called the manufacturer.
So, we just keep patching…
Katy-
Try ebay. It’s amazing the stuff you can find on there.
I had no idea they had a toy Rocket! Oh my gosh, I’m going to have to go look for one. I’ve never seen any Little Einstein gear at our Target.
Faith, we were into Caillou at our house for a while, until our daughter started acting out like Caillou does every once in a while. It was as if she fixated on the things he did that weren’t so nice. We actually had to stop watching it.
Last night we watched a documentary on Animal Planet about the world’s oceans. Our 3 year old was more excited about seeing the sea lions and whales than she has about any other show. That was exciting!
One last item. The Disney Channel has great music bits between shows. There are the Information Movers and the woman who sings about trains. They are amazing songs, even to my husband who is a music snob. We love that you can buy the songs off of iTunes.
Anissa–
Been there, done that! No luck. We just keep taking him to the “Caterpillar Doctor” (a former co-worker who sews) and she keeps miraculously bringing him back to life…
Thanks Faith, actually I did end up with a Pat Pat Rocket just before Christmas. I’d have been in a lot of trouble if I hadn’t. Somehow the 3 year was convinced he was getting Pat Pat Rocket without us saying anything. Now that Christmas is over you can find them almost everywhere.
