The Train Reaction

by Kate Hayes,
 

What is the deal with little boys and trains? 

My daughter is five years old now. In that five years, the most interest that Anna has shown in vehicles is when she told me that she thought we “named” our SUV “Trailblazer,” which is why we referred to it that way. Just like a girl…always naming and nurturing things. 

Our son, however, is a different story. Kellen is all about action, all the time. The moment he turned two, something inside him started screaming, “You are a boy. Boys love noise. Boys love dirt. Boys love trucks. Boys love boats. Boys love TRAINS!” 

And suddenly, without quite knowing how it happened, Kyle and I joined the ranks of all the other parents of preschool boys whose lives revolve around choo-choo trains. We read about trains. We do train puzzles. We set the DVR for all the train shows on TV (“Thomas and Friends,” “Chuggington,” and “Dinosaur Train.” If I’m missing any, please let me know.) We collect toy trains for Kellen to add to his ever-growing collection. (Did you know that ONE wooden Thomas train costs $20?? Hello, Craigslist!) And then, of course, we spend hours upon hours playing trains with Kellen in his playroom.

He always makes me and Kyle “be Percy.” I don’t know why. He has about 50 trains. But no matter what, we get stuck with Percy. It’s actually pretty amusing, because he doesn’t pronounce his R’s yet…so when he asks, “Mommy, do you want to play with my Percy?”…well, you can imagine how it sounds. It makes me glad he’s not a girl.

Our family also plans train-related excursions for our son’s benefit. We visit attractions that have trains, just so he can ride them. We take the commuter rail to other attractions whenever possible, because Kellen thinks it’s the main event. Just this past Sunday, we took a two-hour train ride along scenic Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. We drove two hours to get there, and three hours to get back home (with traffic). That makes seven hours devoted to said train ride…mainly because we knew how much Kellen would love it. We knew he would be THRILLED! Which he was…until he fell asleep thirty minutes into the ride. Oh well. At least the rest of us were able to enjoy some lovely New England scenery.

It just all leaves me wondering WHY my son and countless little guys like him are so passionate about trains. They’re big. They’re noisy. They go fast. I get that. But I still don’t get it. Do you???

All I can think is that it must be a guy thing. And because I adore my son, I will continue to go along with it. I’ll watch more Chuggingtons, do more train puzzles, and make the very best choo-choo sounds that a Mommy can make. I’ll even pack little Thomas trains to take with us when we travel. Except for Percy. I can’t have him talking about his Percy in public. I’m sure you understand.

Kate is a contributing writer for Mommy Moment. Kate is the proud mom of Anna and Kellen, two preschoolers who are starting to pick up all of her best habits: a passion for reading and exploring new places, an intense interest in organizing, and a total disregard for sleep. See what she has been up to over at www.adventuresinparenting.me

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