Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

Original poster

Parents with older AS dcs - do they ever outgrow Thomas?

35 replies

SammyK · 04/09/2008 21:41

Took DS into ELC today to assess his reaction to the tower of doom, which I was wanting to get him for christmas.
He said oh yes that's nice (in a very montoone bored voice) - the spotted all the Thomas toys behind it and became hysterically excited and ran across the store to them!

I told DP about this and he said Thomas is too babyish, and he will outgrow it soon. If DS wasn't AS I would agree but don't think DP has his head around this as much as I do. DS is 4 next month, in 5-6 clothes so looks old but is very 'young' in behaviour.

I kind of realised he may still be in 'preschooler' type toys for a while now and felt guilty and sad for trying to push him on when he is happy as he is.
I am now thinking I should buy him Thomas as his main present (to go with his cuckoo clock and tardis.) WWYD?

OP posts:
Candlewax · 04/09/2008 21:46

Absolutely!! He will probably not outgrow Thomas until he is is at least in Year 5/6 which is when he may become aware that it is not "cool" to watch it at his age. My DS is 13 and still has hidden away his Thomas videos and if, by chance, Thomas comes on the television, he will still watch it. My DS has AS too by the way.

Original poster
SammyK · 04/09/2008 21:48

I did wonder if he would eventually notice his peers likes and dislikes. All the other kids in his class (all boys) are power ranger mad and ds just looks at them playing power rangers as if they are from another planet!

OP posts:
IdrisTheDragon · 04/09/2008 21:51

I hope you don't mind my posting here, but my DS is 4.9, is NT and still loves playing with his Thomas trains. He also has no interest in Power Rangers.

So I would say there is nothing wrong with your DS enjoying Thomas

TotalChaos · 04/09/2008 21:52

4 is so tiny to be bothered about liking Thomas, from your thread title I thought your DS would be 13 or something . Despite my best efforts to steer DS towards power rangers, he prefers my little pony and mermaids and wants pink hair (like Stephanie in Lazy Town).

Candlewax · 04/09/2008 21:53

Sorry, I meant absolutely buy him the Thomas stuff for Christmas, not absolutely he will grow out of it! He will love it and at least he will play with it so it won't be a waste of money at all.

Original poster
SammyK · 04/09/2008 21:59

I should add I hate power rangers so am very relieved he isn't into them. Good to know he is not the only thomas fan about.

My ds likes pink things too.

I do think he will play with it for a long while yes, so would rather buy him that than something that won't interest him.

Thanks

OP posts:
Tclanger · 04/09/2008 21:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TotalChaos · 04/09/2008 22:01

DS has a pink fairy magic wand , so a wizard outfit would be a step in the right direction!

Original poster
SammyK · 04/09/2008 22:23

Aaw we had a pink fairy wand for a while too (DP may have hid it actually no idea where it went!), it was fluffy and sparkly, ds loved it.

Isn't it funny how hey all like similar things and sounds.

OP posts:
Tclanger · 04/09/2008 22:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

supportman · 04/09/2008 22:36

Well sorry to mention this, but one of my clients is 24 and still loves Thomas...

misscutandstick · 05/09/2008 07:55

In my experience (5 boys age range 15 - 2y) they generally grow out of it by around 7/8yrs. DS2 (NT 11y) still has thomas stuff at grandmas and will play with it very happily with the excuse playing with his baby brothers, but generally doesnt play with it on his own.

I personally would buy him whatever makes him happy.

DS5 (2.3y autistic) likes to play with 'rolling' things (balls, wheels, spinning tops). It happens that most toys that do this happen to be the younger end of the market (6-12mths), but if thats what he likes...

Tclanger · 05/09/2008 09:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flyingmum · 05/09/2008 09:19

Echo what other people have said - I must say I thought that your son was going to be a teenager or something from your original thread.

I bought mine some wooden train thomas type stuff for his fifth birthday because he had just got back into making and building the train set again. 4 is still fine for Thomas - many children love Thomas still at that age and I don't think it will look odd at all. Buy him what he will play with.

coppertop · 05/09/2008 09:58

Ds1 still liked Thomas when he first started school. I remember his first lunchbag being a Thomas one. He started talking about Power Rangers within a few weeks of being in the Reception class and it felt as though he was growing up too quickly. Hang on to Thomas while you still can.

LOL at the pink wands. Ds2 nicked liberated one that was supposed to belong to dd and insisted that it was his. He also used to love Stephanie in Lazytown and wanted a Stephanie costume with pink wig for Christmas the year before last. It was the year when they were hard to get hold of so dh was relieved ds2 didn't get one.

Original poster
SammyK · 05/09/2008 11:01

Thanks everyone or the reassurance.
I generally do relish him being little, that's why I felt guilty yest, it's good to know you all think he is fine!

I will get him THomas for christmas but not sure what type. He has the toysrus train table in his room with a wooden track. Do't know if the wooden thomas trains will fit on it tho.

Don't want road and rail set as the trains use batteries. So it's wooden ones or take along ones. ANyone have any recommendations?

OP posts:
Tclanger · 05/09/2008 11:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pagwatch · 05/09/2008 16:41

we have a boy who is probably more severe and he does not notice at all what his peers are into.
He still moved away from Thomas a few yaers ago but can be interested in usual stuff ( age 11) like the spiderman films and Lord of the Rings but still loves toddler stuff - like In the nightgarden.

My Dh got quite upset for a while when presents were still to be found in ELC even though he was 8,9 10 ish. But we would just prefer he plays with the stuff that he enjoys.
I do catch myself at times - asking him to leave obviously baby toys at home, but most of the time I try to respect what makes him happy.
Hard though isn't it.

pinkcandyfloss · 06/09/2008 10:35

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

BriocheDoree · 07/09/2008 14:29

Ikea also do a good wooden train set that certainly fits in with the Brio / Tesco sets. My DD and DS both love Thomas! When we go to the grandparents, there are six or seven ride on versions that were made by FIL for DH when he was a wee lad and all the kids LOVE them! Apparently aged 3 or 4, DH used to take the ride on James to BED with him (this is a large wooden, wheeled toy, about 2 foot long...). Fortunately he'd grown out of THAT before I met him

Buckets · 08/09/2008 10:42

Don't think my dad (prob AS, unDX'd) ever grew out of Thomas LOL. He volunteers on the local steam railway now he's retired!

Mumi · 08/09/2008 12:16

Was just thinking the other day that my DS, who is 7 and autistic, hadn't really mentioned Thomas lately. They may "outgrow" it (or at least claim they have, just like NTs do ) but I think they'll always appreciate it

magso · 08/09/2008 12:58

Ds has a plastic Tomy Thomas set. I was about to pass it on, thinking he had outgrown it, when ds (nearly 9 ASD)interveined and started a new love of it centred on track building. Now he is able to build the track himself, and likes rushing the powered trains around. The plastic track is better on carpet, or uneven floors -it is slightly flexible and requires pushing together in a way ds with poor fine motor skill finds easier than the wooden track - which can come unslotted at the joints. The brio trains have the same wheel gauge but different connectors for coaches. Ds has several brands of trains in this gauge.)
This has happened with many toys I mean growing into them (fully)at a later age! He loves playmobil - only the men such as pirates and soldiers nothing contempary or gentle! I join in sometimes as a means of interacting and extending his play and language.
So I would say buy what he seems interested in.

Debs75 · 08/09/2008 23:12

DS with AS is 9 and a half and he still adores Thomas, we make sure he gets something Thomas every b'day and christmas as it makes his day.

Othe things he likes is teletubbies tweenies in the night garden pooh bear fireman sam. As you can see he is a good 5 - 6 years behind in his development but I don't really stress about it I think that by keeping him happy this way has helped him in other ways of developing i.e. his sign language has improved this year and we are finally seeing improvement in his behaviour.

The only thing I find frustrating is he is brilliant at jigsaws, often doing 10 different thomas ones at the same time. Whwere can I get a jigsaw that is something he likes (for a 3-4 year old) but is difficult for say a 8-9 year old so that we can stretch his skills a bit.

Finally don't worry that he likes 'childish' things, in his head he may still feel that young, once you conme to terms with that you will find it easier to develop him in other ways.

misscutandstick · 09/09/2008 07:36

just to add...

wooden thomas :
Pro 's: most brands of wooden track systems are the same size and quite compatible. The layouts dont tend to fall apart when knocked.
Cons : the wooden systems tend to be a little more expensive. They dont survive well when plopped in water- the paint peels off quite quickly

Takealong thomas :
Pro 's: convenient size to fit in little hands. The magnets are super-fab and will easily handle 8 being linked together without the magnets breaking hold, when pulled by the first train. If your little thomas fan likes wheels, its easier to see the turning because of the 'spokes' design on the wheels.
Cons : the track is a bit fidly to get to stay together and enthusiastic thomaseers will have difficulty in keeping the track together when things get exciting.