From the moment Peanut was born, people started buying toys. Pretty standard, I guess. First, it was the soft variety; tiny stuffed rabbits, dogs, and lovies. Then, as she got older, it became dolls. My mother, in particular, was thrilled upon finding a little Asian “baby” in a Connecticut toy store. But Peanut’s interest was fleeting, and her dolls sat largely untouched (despite my encouragement). As a child, I loved any type of “baby”, after all. It seemed obvious that Peanut should, too.
I never realized how gendered my toy selection was until Peanut developed a marked interest in something surprising. Like many parents, I’d expect. I can’t quite remember when we noticed that she likes trains; but at some point, it became apparent. So we started creating a bit of a collection for her. Thomas, James, and Percy were a few of the first. Now she has quite an array, including a small replica of the “E” subway train. We read the books; we watch the Thomas and Friends dvd’s. Some are admittedly cringe inducing (the songs; the narration). But when your child is in absolute blissful love with something, it becomes slightly more tolerable. (And let’s be honest, here – for those of us who *occasionally* depend on the television, it’s also a wonderful distraction.) Her train obsession is all consuming. I’m concerned she may eventually turn into a “choo choo”, due to a mix of over-exposure and sheer will (that would be much to her delight, by the way).
Last night, I took Peanut out of her bath. She grabbed a towel, and gently dried Gordon, the train she insisted on bringing in with her. It was simple, sweet. And I thought about how incredibly lucky she is, to be a girl in this generation. In her life, it will be perfectly acceptable to cradle a blue train. A pink doll. Or both.
Ahhh the train obsession. We too are there. What makes it so great in our house is that Ollie’s Grandfather is a train fanatic and in fact our family business imports model railway. So I guess it was always going to be that way, but its even nicer that the boys have something special to share with their “Da”.
I love it! It’s so sweet when they find something they love. I remember the days of my son taking Gordon (or Henry, as it was) to the tub and then washing him and drying him. And then taking him to bed with him. It’s sweet.
Saturday (May 7th) is National Train Day! You should see if any of the NYC train stations are celebrating – I know Union Station in DC is having a big to-do for it!
She just looks completely enamored with it. So fun that she has such a love for trains!
Trains are just so cool. We all love them in this house. We’ll spend hours building different tracks with the Fisher Price GeoTrax trains. It’s really a great thing about having boys and girls–we have all kinds of toys available. Some days my son will play with the kitchen and the baby dolls (we all appreciate a man who can cook and change diapers) and the girls love the trains and cars just as much as the boys do.
if you were jenna lyons, there would be a media frenzy surrounding Little P’s love for all things train! that’s just crazy, in my opinion! i love that she’s found something she absolutely loves- and that she’s growing up in a society than can embrace that! one of Carter’s favorite “lovies” is a soft nurse doll- a girl- with long red hair- that has lot’s of activities on her- you know, the zipper, the button, the velcro, the pocket, etc.. and he just adores her. it was a gift from my mom eons ago when I was accepted into my Nursing program.. And Carter is a full-fledged boy! i love that he loves his doll
Rock on, Peanut!
So nice Peanut loves trains, my little boy adores them and has many. Lucky her, she is a girl, as you said it’s no problem whether she chooses girl or boy toys or activities. It’s a little harder for a boy, but I will encourage my little one to do and play with what he wants. Right now he’s very much into boy things interested in boy toys only.
How exciting to be a girl this day in age. I love that you guys LET her play with trains. As old fashion as it sounds, we do know families who forbid things like that with their daughters. In fact, a friend of my husband’s brought his daughters & wife over to our house for dinner one night, and the little girls had a BLAST playing with my sons cars and trucks and trains. When the night ended, they wanted to take a car home with them. Since we have thousands, I agreed and the mother absolutely forbid it. Her daughters weren’t allowed to play with trains. Thank you for teaching your daughter that she will not be limited by her gender in our society.
Great post. I think that some parents get caught up in what society says is appropriate for girls and boys to play with or do when growing up. However, as parents it’s our job to protect our children from that nonsense and just allow them to themselves. I love that you are doing that with your daughter.
Moo is by no means a girlly girl. She prefers pants and a tees to frilly dresses and hairbows. She likes getting dirty and playing ball. She wants to play the drums and the guitar and enjoys playing with cars and trucks. And I’m so glad that her father and I let her. We allow her to be exposed and experiment with those things so that she will grow up being herself and not who society says we should force her to be.
Take it from the mother of a Thomas Junkie: Go, quickly, and drive those trains off of a cliff while she’s sleeping — before they take over your house
{And am I the only one who thinks that the Island of Sodor bears a strange resemblance to the island in “Lost”?}
Cute. I love it. For us, it’s not any one thing, but she is pretty attached to her blankie that she has slept with for a very long time. It used to just be in her crip for naps and night time, but now it goes everywhere. Right now it is all things Elmo and Dora. It’s a serious obsession for her right now. Oh and an occassional Barney.
How sweet that she loves trains instead of baby dolls. My house is filled with baby dolls but if my kids wanted to play with trains I would not be upset.
I think it’s fabulous that you’re so accepting of her passion, regardless of any gender expectations. A couple of months ago it was stuffed dogs, so the trains could very well be a passing phase, too.
It’s always the girlie mom that get the tom-boy! Too early to tell though. And what’s wrong with trains anyway? I think they’re very romantic. In fact, I’m taking one to Boston on Friday
I met a mom at Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago & her 2 1/2 year old girl is IN LOVE with Thomas the Train!
My parents always tell people I wore velvet dresses while climbing trees–total girl & total tom boy!
Lboy, won’t go to bed without his trains or his pink & purple “Baby” stuffed animal!
And I quite honestly think that the trains are really good for their dexterity, so I’m all about him playing with them!
I guess it makes sense too – I mean we live near subways and railroads and you’re on them so often. I’m actually very proud that J yells out “choo choo” every time we pass one of those green globes (makes my NY heart melt!)
She is just too cute with her trains! I think it’s good that she likes a variety of things.
You are not alone! Kate requested a Lightning McQueen party for her 4th birthday, and Maddie, for her upcoming 3rd, wants dinosaurs!
I love that she thinks outside the box. If I could find anything my kids would play with for more than a few minutes we’d invest.
Oh so true! Love that precious picture of her all dressed up with the trains. My girls are both very into balls and cars which are not typical “girly” toys. And outdoor play is a huge part of what we do; getting muddy and messy makes it even better. Love that they live in a time that can let them love all those things and play dress ups all the time too!
First I have to say this, that picture is adorable. Beauty in real life is what I would call it. I think the girl part of her is the one that nurtures, be it a train, a doll or a pet.
Yes, our children are lucky to grow up in this generation.
Your loving description of peanut makes me want to confess: I did something terrible today and the mommy guilt is eating me up.
i love this story of peanut and her trains! even though today i think parents are more ok with their kids playing with whatever makes them happy, i feel like toys are so much more marketed to “boys” or “girls” from when we were growing-up. i tried to buy legos the other day and had to choose between pink and flowers or blue and cars, there were no “regular ones” but i digress…
Good for you for being an optimist! I worry about this generation, with the technology, temptations etc. but you make a good point regarding typical girl/boy toys!
I had a truck on a string that I dragged around me between ages 2-3! Love it!