by My name is Gordon Davidescu, and I watch Thomas and Friends with my fifteen month old son Chaim Yosef. This is our story.
It all started when he was six months old and my wife happened to notice that Thomas was being suggested to her on Netflix. She put it on and observed that he did not seem to care at all. They went back to watching the extremely creative and joyful Yo Gabba Gabba.
Five months later, she was serving Chaim Yosef lunch and had the television on PBS when Thomas the train chugged his way onto the screen. Chaim Yosef clapped. This was the foundation of the beautiful relationship we currently have with Thomas and have for the last few months.
Whenever we put on Thomas and Friends for Chaim, he stops pretty much whatever he is doing and starts doing his little dance which consists of bouncing up and down. For awhile he would always hold onto something while bouncing up and down but now that he has started standing freely he does a two arm dance, bouncing up and down cheerfully.
There’s a good reason that I have enjoyed watching Thomas and Friends and it is the good moral values represented on the show. It teaches the importance of being friendly and cooperative as well the fact that there are necessarily consequences for bad behavior. On the show, whenever a character does something that would be ill advised, such as not doing what they are asked, something befalls that character. When Gordon the Express Train (I find it almost a little sad that the character that shares a name with me happens to be one of the most rude ones as well) ridicules a certain train line he later finds himself in a situation in which he must use that very line and suffers ridicule as a consequence and must be rescued by a train he respects the least.
In the last couple of months Elizabeth and I have made the decision to split languages — I speak only Romanian to him and Elizabeth speaks only English. I therefore make an effort to find episodes of Thomas and Friends in Romanian — I find them on YouTube. Chaim has been responding fairly positively to watching Thomas in two different languages.
I look forward to Chaim being more conversational and when he reaches the right age playing with some lovely model trains as well.
That’s a wonderful review, Gordon! It’s good there are still moral learning lessons available on TV. Your dual-language raising is fascinating. I wonder what Chaim will think when he’s out in public with you and you’re speaking English and not Romanian?
I also wonder this. Then again he experiences it now when I address his mother! 🙂
How interesting! You know that will stick with him for LIFE! 🙂 I’m impressed. Where IS PERTH AMBOY anyway? I heard Perth initially and thought Australia, but apparently I’m wrong.
It’s in New Jersey! 🙂
What a great post, thanks for sharing with us. Thomas has been a family favourite with us for many years. I can’t imagine any home with children and no Thomas.
You are quite welcome! The program is fantastic as far as good values go.