NSBR: Talk to me about Thomas the Train

[Voodoo_Bryn]

I don't get it.

We watched it for the first time today since Yorick got a book for Christmas and he's loved it.

So it was on PBS today and...

I really really don't get it. We watch Nick Jr. around here, so am I just used to a higher budgeted toddler show or am I just... not... sedate enough?

The only thing that really moves is their eyes, which creeps me out and the trains... so it seems so boring and irritating to me.

Somebody help me understand this phenomenon and why I'm supposed to sit through it with my toddler.

[nikkiARNGwife]

It grows on you. I've learned to just tune it out we watch it so much. DS loves to have it on and play with his trains at the same time. We pretty much own them all after 2 year of collecting them. I like the lessons that it teaches..and it's a nice change from some of the loud obnoxious things he likes to watch. He loves his Thomas for sure

[Jennifer]

My kids love Thomas...I've been sitting through it for 4ish years now, lol! You just kind of get used to it. We have about 5 DVDs, too... In the brand new shows, their mouths move and the people are more life like. That's really WEIRD after years of the other.

[Stacey42]

My boys love it too. We have all the Take Along Thomas trains just about & they play with them while watching it. I think it is on Sprout and it appears at random on PBS. We check the DVDs out at the library.

Thomas has been around a long long time. It was called Shining Time Station when I was kid 30 years ago & the graphics were about the same then, except for the new ones now where the mouths & people move. They tell nice stories with good lessons & in general don't beat you over the head with anything except the idea of being useful.

I love that George Carlin does a lot of the voice overs, though I keep expecting him to say "Percy was a big pain in the ass" rather than "Percy was a cheeky little engine"

[Julie Billingsley]

My 5 year old LOVES Thomas. Everyday the track and trains get pulled out and he plays with them ALL DAY LONG. We have all the showed Tivo-ed so I can recite whole episodes. LOL And one of our family sayings is "luckily, no one was hurt" because they say that 100 times per episode. LOL

[lauren grier]

it annoys me.. we never watched it ^_^

[nikkiARNGwife]

My 5 year old LOVES Thomas. Everyday the track and trains get pulled out and he plays with them ALL DAY LONG. We have all the showed Tivo-ed so I can recite whole episodes. LOL And one of our family sayings is "luckily, no one was hurt" because they say that 100 times per episode. LOL

lol..it's the songs that get stuck in my head over and over lol...and whenever I do something for Avery..he'll say, "mama, you're a very useful engine." too cute

[jaylensmom]

my son watches it sometimes...i think he gets a little bored with it...he does love to play with all his trains and he knows every one by name...when i first watched it i was like what the heck is this i thought the trains would talk...i usually read a book when he watches it (bad mommy i know)...

[pewtertm]

Rachel LOVES Thomas. We've done the Day out with Thomas...have a track set-up on the floor...books...DVDs...honestly I think DH gets as big a kick out of the toys as she does.
It sort of reminds me of classic Winnie the Pooh...they are generally quiet tales...not the action-packed cartoons we grew up watching on Saturday morning cartoons.

And the TV shows are better than the Thomas movies...I'd admit that the ONLY time I've ever fallen asleep at the movies was during Thomas & the Magic Railroad...and I was sitting next to about 12 4-yr olds. They were enraptured, I thought I was going brain-dead.

[DawnMarch]

gosh, I am SO glad that we don't watch those anymore. I was exactly the same as you when I first saw them. like, HUH????? And I find the trains so whiny and annoying. But, my kids have both gone through a phase (around 3 y.o.) when they were obsessed with those videos.

[newfiemountiewife]

My kids all loved Thomas, even the two girls. We have a few of the wooden trains, and they love playing with those, even now! I'm not sure what the kids like about it, but I know mine all love it.

[kscwgirl]

I'm not a Thomas fan. JJ likes it, Abby can take it or leave it.

[NettieB]

Haven't ever watched the TV show or videos. Thanks for the heads up they might be a challenge!

We have several of the books, or derivations on the originals from Rev. Awdry's The Railway Series which started over in Britain in 1943. DS loves the wooden railway, and we build interesting railways with elevated sections, bridges, stations, etc. and run the engines and trucks over them every day. He's as hooked on his train sets as his DUPLO, and hopefully it helps with his small motor skills.

[joelsgirl]

I'm on your side Bryn. I hate Thomas vidoes. Jack, who's 4, loves playing with his train set, but he always gets bored during the show. i'm SO thankful for that.

[Tracyfish]

Glad I'm not the only one...I do laundry, scrap or something else when L.J. watches Thomas...I find it sooooo boring. But he loves it, so I guess it's fine.

[rach3975]

We play with the trains and read the books, but we don't watch the show. We watched once, and the trains were so mean to each other--they were calling each other names and crashing into each other on purpose. Reading everyone's replies here, I'm thinking that maybe the episode we watched isn't the norm. But after I saw that one I didn't let DS watch any more because he imitates EVERYTHING he sees on TV and I didn't want him acting like that.

Originally Posted by Tracyfish

Glad I'm not the only one...I do laundry, scrap or something else when L.J. watches Thomas...I find it sooooo boring. But he loves it, so I guess it's fine.

I know I should be watching tv with the kids and talking to them about it, but I consider video time to be Mommy time. It's the one time during the day that I get to sit at the computer or get something done. (But in the interest of honesty, it's a lot more computer time than anything else.)