Sons fave show since he was 2 1/2.

My son has been watching Thomas since he was 2, he has an obsession with Thomas the Tank toys, shows, movies, anything to do with it. At a certain point I had to take away all the video watching as it came to my attention that the engines are all very RUDE to each other most of the time. Occasionally there is a decent message, but the focus is mostly on the rude behavior and my son started imitating it!!!! Recently I brought the shows back out, this time trying to fast forward through the unacceptable episodes, but I had to cut it off when an episode from the Halloween DVD featuring the "trouble trucks" (my son's favorite!) the first word of the show is "Shut Up!" and the engine named Duck bashes into a bunch of trouble trucks! I was shocked and turned it off immediately! What a horrible thing for a children's show! They blame each other for things, I'm so disappointed. Why is there not more talk about this? What's more is that while he was playing with his trains yesterday he acted out the scene and I heard him say "shut up!". Now I have to explain to him that that is not a nice thing to say and he is confused as to why..."but Duck said that" he looks at my confused. Argh!@#!

I began watching this with my son just before he turned 2 and quickly turned it off. Yes, there is behavioral modeling, and trains who are acting 'badly' always get it in the end and learn a lesson, but along with the lesson they learn, I believe it's also teaches bad behavior with examples of jealousy and envy and plain old mean spiritidness. I know this has a big following, and it is age appropriate, but I don't want my son modeling his behavior on these trains.

My son is in love with trains and this show gives him the chance to learn about what a train really does. The only problem is they only show it on the weekends!

Ever since my son has gotten his hands on a Thomas train set, he hasn't looked back. He has the DVD's, PC programs and many additions to the train set and only because he loves the stories behind this friendly train and the Island of Sodor. It's a wonderful program. Very educational in which it teaches children the lessons of being polite and having manners among other educational lessons. There are very few programs out there which can keep my son's attention for such a long time but this show has managed to that and much more. I recommend any little child to enjoy the wonders of this entertaining Train and his friends.

Currently Thomas only comes on PBS, in my area, once a week. Thankfully we own several videos also. With all of the junk shows out there, we are so glad to have Thomas available. My two year old and my five year old both love Thomas. They also love to 'read' the books and play with the trains. It is fine that the trains get cross with one another and such. We protect our children from being around mean or rude people and this is a great opportunity to explain to our children that not everyone is always nice. Some are grumpy and trouble makers. On Thomas, they work it out. Sometimes the trains persevere difficult things to get the job done. Sometimes they say something rude to someone then end up having to rely on that train to help them out. This series shows children how to get along with others (even when its tough) and many other social situations.

Overall this is a very nice show. All the trains are rewarding for being polite and useful. However, this is a very British caste system and there don't seem to be many repercussions for causing confusion and delay. My husband and I often wonder why Sir Topham Hat remains in charge when there are so many mishaps on his railway! Our 2 year loves it.

This show is the greatest show! This teaches kids frendship and responsibility.

This show is great. WE watched it when we were 1.