With two young boys, our home is filled with Thomas toys. We have wooden Thomas, electric/plastic Thomas, and Lego Thomas in three separate bins under the boys’ bunk. We’ve navigated the website with a toddler on our laps. I effortlessly talk with the boys about couplers, the merits of a diesel engine v. a steam engine (steam engines are nicer), tressle bridges, barrel loaders, hopper cars, flat cars, tenders, and why Lady Hatt is a bit like Cindy McCain. I know the difference between Edward and Percy. We have the trading cards, all of the videos, books, and music soundtracks. We’ve even gone a trip to visit Thomas in Pennsylvania.
Jonah is completely done with the Thomas phase, though he will sneak into the room and listen to a story that I’m reading to Ian. Ian is nearly done with Thomas, too. There are a few trains on their bedroom rug at the moment, but it’s not the first thing he wants to play with anymore.
It’s all about Pokemon and Bakugan. Bakugan balls that open up when they touch a card are THE toy of the moment. Steve has been instructed to come back from the NYC Toys ‘R Us with six of them for various birthday parties.
I haven’t figured out Bakugan at all, but from what I can pick up from Jonah, this Pokemon stuff is really strange. Trainers fight other trainers, by having their Pokemon battle it out. It’s got a disturbing Michael Vick vibe. The trainers are the enlightened masters of their pets, which require a firm hand and good care.
My geeky sons spend hours reading charts about the capabilities various Pokemon, so they can win battles on the DS. It’s really a short jog from Pokemon to Dungeons and Dragons.
I haven’t packed up the Thomas toys, yet, but I fear their days are numbered. Their stories about friendship and duty are going to be replaced with war strategy and correct leadership. All those English messages about keeping a stiff upper lip and duty to country will soon be forgotten. We’re now getting stories from modern Japan, which rewards kids for memorizing charts of facts. Strange world.
Apt. 11d 
laura, if you are looking for a new home for the thomas toys when you do decide it is time to pack them up, i’d be willing to negotiate with you. i’ve a little 2yo guy who is just now moving into the thomas phase, though his involvement is now limited to listening to me read the books to him and playing with the thomas display when we visit the toy store.
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We have Thomas, Gordon, Howard, Emily, Terrance and Bertie. Edward and a couple of others are in the closet for Christmas (or an emergency bribe). And, I know to a very high degree of certainty that when I go home tonight I will be asked to take an engine and get him stuck in the snow so that Terrance can come and pull him out. Apparently that never gets old.
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So that’s what a Bakugan is!
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I held onto all the wooden Thomas and Brio train stuff…and now my grandson plays with it when he visits.
My boys did Pokemon after Thomas, too, it was when Pokemon first came out. Then they moved on to various board and roleplaying games, but only because we taught them what we were playing–we’re gamers too.
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Also, thanks for the link to your post about your trip to see Thomas. I wasn’t reading this then.
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The Pokemon thing is totally weird and something that I get not at all. I’m inclined to think the version you are describing is a boy thing. The girls just think they’re cute (though they do know their “talents”)
But, my girl is really into books, not toys. So, we get to hear detailed stories of the clans and rules of the “Warrior” books (which are about cats) and about the talents of “fairies” (like, water talent fairies, and their characteristics). I get asked “what do you want your talent to be?” Or what is my warrior clan name? or my harry potter name (I think it’s patricia phoenixfeather, or something like that)
The boy, currently,is into legos, an activity that everyone is happy with.
We never really went through the thomas phase, though I tried. They seemed like a good toy. The girl never got into them, and since the boy follows the girl around, he never got to drive the choices, when he was little enough to enjoy them.
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From Thomas to Pocket Monsters to D&D, and then it’s just a short step to blogging for The Atlantic. You did remember to give them a cool & marketable first name like Ta-Nehisi, right?
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first and foremost, Pokemon is about learning typology. It’s kind of the same as when kids learn every kind of dinosaur there is.
But it’s also a fusion (like a lot of subsequent imitations) of the logic of girl and boy toys as US children’s culture has defined them. You have to nurture and love a Pokemon if you’re a good trainer, if you follow the show. The games have a similar logic: you have to care what your Pokemon think of you, a cruel trainer fails badly, there’s a contest in the Pokemon DS game that involves making your Pokemon beautiful and happy (it’s like a dog show, essentially.)
The cartoon, which has been around for a while, definitely has its odd, anime-ish aspects in terms of narrative and characters. But one of the things that’s oddly charming when you watch it enough is that a lot of it is about the reconstitution of family, about young people (preteenish) caring for each other while they go on a hero’s journey.
Yes, there is still the perplexing issue of the status of Pokemon themselves–they’re basically sentient or intelligent, and yet, they’re “mastered”. But you know, it’s no odder than a lot of fantasy literature in that respect. As far as formulaic long-running cartoons/games/toys go, I think Pokemon is pretty good stuff.
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Though let me warn you–one of the stock elements of the Pokemon movies is that a special or legendary Pokemon befriends a kid who is a sort of guest star, someone not a regular in the series, and at the end, the legendary Pokemon either needs to return to some legendary limbo or sort of pseudo-dies only to pseudo-resurrect at the very last minute of the film. Many tears for kids ensue.
A lot of the anxiety that parents have about kid culture is resolved when you get into it yourself to some extent, trust me. Otherwise, it’s just like all this talk where we’re fretting about whether a tweedy egghead can like NASCAR–of course it seems hard to understand or appreciate when you only get vague, osmotic glimpses of it.
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Speaking of Thomas, how did Sir Topham Hatt get knighted? From the show, it clearly isn’t for running an accident-free railroad. I’m waiting for the episode where Sir Hatt tells Thomas how useful he is and Thomas shouts back something about how a little better focus on safety could have let Thomas stay in the roundhouse more.
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I’ve tried to watch those videos, Tim, but they’re way too boring for me. I watched enough to get the pit bull stuff, but the story lines are a snore. The animation is also really bad. I’ve excused myself from having to learn more about them. I don’t have any anxiety about it. I’m sure that my kid isn’t going to start participating in cock fights after an afternoon of Pokemon Diamond. But, at the same time, it’s really too boring for me to get into it with him. I miss trains.
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We started our train collection with a wooden set given to me by my big sister, with heavily implied commitment to return the favor when my kids are too big and her kids are having their own kids. By the time our set has made the rounds of the whole family, it will be monstrously huge. (It already fills a very big plastic bin from Target.)
BTW this same sister also just sent along a large box of American Girl stuff, perhaps the girly equivalent.
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Bakugan is a lot of fun. I have two boys one who is 11 and one who is 3. What I like about it is that it is easy enough for my little guy to play with me and his big brother.
I didnt think my 3 year old would get it and I am sure he really doesnt but the look on his face when he is rolling the Bakugan onto the card and it pops open and his Bakugan wins the battle is priceless.
It surely is a going to be a hot item this holiday season. My son created and frenzy here on our block and all the kids have been buying their little team of Bakugan all week.
Have fun with the Bakugan!
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Pokemon may not necessarily lead to D and D. I think the more standard trajectory is towards Strat-o-Matic and fantasy sports.
And I like to watch some Nascar while wearing tweed. But I love me them open-wheelers. Somebody is going to have to write about
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Pokemon may not necessarily lead to D and D. I think the more standard trajectory is towards Strat-o-Matic and fantasy sports.
And I like to watch some Nascar while wearing tweed. But I love me them open-wheelers. Somebody is going to have to write about
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Pokemon may not necessarily lead to D and D. I think the more standard trajectory is towards Strat-o-Matic and fantasy sports.
And I like to watch some Nascar while wearing tweed. But I love me them open-wheelers. Somebody is going to have to write about
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Oh no – it is the beginning of the end. I happily packed up Thomas & Co. with trainboard and gave them to the public school pre-k . Pokemon and Power Rangers ruled through 2nd Grade. And then the evil Scandavian conspiracy to build everything you own (think IKEA) descended upon us -yes, LEGO. My child’s personal affliction was Bionicles – which even comes with movies and books. Now I spend pain filled nights stepping on hard plastic pieces that send shock waves up my leg. Good luck – it’s coming.
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For those who aren’t familiar with them, these Bakugan are kind of a cross between the traditional game of marbles and Transformers: They are marble-shaped action figures that pop open into these miniature beasts. The game is being lauded in that it teaches rudimentary math skills: Players must add up their points received when they calculate the value of their Bakugan character and follow the instructions on various cards they receive during game play. Kids love it!
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