May I rant a little please? - Page 2

[aira]

Sorry - double post!

[Moochie Mamma]

Oh boy I sympathise. DS was obsessed with George Shrinks last summer and wanted to watch it endlessly. It was a really hot summer and I was preggo so we spent alot of time inside so he ended watching alot. Anyway one day there I was in labor and to my horror found that the freaking theme song to the show was going through my head DURING CONTRACTIONS!!

:Puke

[Diane B]

May I respectfully suggest that Thomas the Train is doing exactly what its creators and marketers intend it to do - infiltrating your child's imaginary/play life so that he will want even more books, dvds, cds, clothing, toys etc. with the "thomas" theme. This is how product marketing works, and it's aimed at our children. Whether it's Dora, or Thomas, or Disney whatever, it builds on toddlers and preschoolers' natural love of repetition and familiarity and exploits it for profit.

My daughter obsesses about things too, but because we limit her media and licensed character exposure, it's about stuff that doesn't have objectionable content. For example, we tell her a bedtime story each night, and for some reason known only to her, it ALWAYS has to be about the ocean, seagulls, and her best friend E.

[Jish]

So would it be horrible for me to admit that we have been to "A Day Out With Thomas" three times with our older boys. We go in Union Station, IL, and it is an absolute blast.

My first was Thomas Obsessed and while I didn't always appreciate the way the trains talked to one another, my ds didn't really pick up on the negative language. He did pick up on the habit of saying "yes, sir" or "no, sir" which was hysterical. I haven't watched a Thomas video that's been made in the last 7 or so years, so I'm pretty sure that they've changed, and I might be surprised at how it might not be for the better. But, there can be teaching experiences in simple things, even kids videos.

The drug of choice in my house is "Diego." It's aimed at kids a bit past the "Dora" age so both my 2 yo and my 5 yo can both enjoy it. I'm not a big believer in television as an educator, but I can't believe the things my kids have learned about animals from that show. My 5 yo says he likes it because he gets to learn new things every time he watches it. Plus, it often gives us a starting point to do more research (via books) about the animals on the show. I wish my brain could absorb as much as theirs.

[aira]

We have Day Out With Thomas tickets for August... :


I mostly hate the way the controllers talk to the engines, and then there's the whole steamies vs diesels feud that recently sprung up.

But DS playing with the trains is fine with me, and when he's talking about the unfortunate situations in the shows, we talk about how I think it hurts feelings or isn't fair. I let DS know that if he ever finds himself in such a case, he might want to say ______.

So in that case, it's "educational". Like, OK DS, this is what not to do!

[Nani]

We haven't really been exposed to Thomas yet, but I remember vividly when my then 14 mo dd watched some Baby Einstein videos while she was sick for 10 days and became obsessed with the"Animals on the farm" version. It was bad, I mean BAD! The video of course was cute, but she got so sucked into it that as soon as her favorite piggy scene was over, her life just stopped and all she could do was tie a kot in her brain from wailing. So I limited video exposure to "when it's dark outside we can watch one" and then a few days later just eliminated the whole video experience altogether. She doesn't see any now and I'm relieved! She reads about 20-30 books a day, I sing a lot with her, we go swimming, hiking, playing with animals, playing with hand puppets (she asks me 30 times a day where the "pupps" are ), or whatever stuff, but no video.
Thanks for the warning, mamas! I'm now even more sure that I don't want her to have much TV/video exposure. She's now 19 months.

[PeacefulSeams]

At our house it's Blues Clues. It has been that way since he was 1 and now he is 3. Blues Clues birthday party, stories, DVD's, toys, Dolls, games, clothes. It's bad when out of the blue you start singing "we are gonna play blues clues. we are gonna play blues clues. we are gonna play blues clues...cuz it's a really great game...yea" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA it's enough to drive you insane cuz you can't stop singing that annoying song!!!!!!

[bellona]

Here it's : Sponge Bob. For the record, I want to state that from the second I set eyes on that square freak I've been against him. The first time I saw the show I nearly fell off the couch in shock that it's marketed to preschoolers.

But, my kids saw it despite my best efforts. Dh brought it home once, then they saw it at my mom's (I thought she was supposed to be on my side ) and have been hooked on it since. It is not allowed in the house, but they still talk about it ALL. THE. TIME. Even the baby sings the song

Someone needs to stick that sponge in a blender or digest him, which as I found out at our science class are the only two ways to kill a sponge

[aira]

bellona... :

[ShadowMom]

Originally Posted by bellona

Here it's : Sponge Bob. For the record, I want to state that from the second I set eyes on that square freak I've been against him. The first time I saw the show I nearly fell off the couch in shock that it's marketed to preschoolers.

Spongebob is a tool for the corporate machine. Every big company in America should pay the creators of that show.


Now, about this Thomas. We went to Target today (too darn hot at the zoo!) and Thomas the Train is, literally, EVERYWHERE.

It is amazing to me. Everywhere we walked in the store, there was Thomas. And Dora, and the whole crowd of characters.

We managed to walk out of there without anything (believe me, DS has enough trains at home already!).

I am already sick of Thomas, and my DS doesn't even watch the show, for crying out loud.

[aira]

DS asks to go to the store just to visit the trains! All in all, he rarely wants to bring one home. His huge collection is my mother's doing.

A couple of weeks ago I bought him a big set b/c we were going to be having a work/packing intensive weekend and no babysitting... It totally backfired. DH built the whole thing of Friday night, and DS went nuts with all the "newness". He hated it. I think it was a little bit overwhelming. So after the weekend was terrible, we put it away and told DS we will bring it out again at the new house. Well, now he wants to see the drawbridge, and the roundhouse... He's been thinking about all the new stuff and wants to see it again.

6 more days to the new house... Just 6 more days...