Coqui's obsession with trains

 This might be news to you, or not, but I have a train maniac on my hands!

Coqui loves trains. Alot! Trains are everywhere in the house. He has train system called GeoTrax, that are plastic, and the wooden ones from Thomas the tank engine. He has train books. Many! We have shirts with trains on, we have train hats and whistles. We have posters and calendars. And he has DVDs. I mean the plain ones that are all about trains, and nothing else! Yeah.

I have absolutely no idea where it comes from. At first I figured, it's a boy thing. Right? We got him the GeoTrax because it was plastic, so less breakable. It has push trains and remote-controlled trains. So we thought it's a good start. When playing with it, he just has to wear a certain shirt, matching train pants and hat. And the remote control in his hands! My train engineer!

When he was younger, I had to help him alot with building those train tracks, but now, that he is older and has much more practice in what works and what doesn't, he has become quite excellent in building complicated tracks with ups and downs and under the bridge and over the tunnel. It's amazing. And it teaches so much. Patience when things don't work. And when things don't work, it teaches also problem solving. It teaches perseverance. Sharing with his sister. Obedience for following rules in how to set it up a certain way that works. And while we are at it, it teaches integrity. I love the enthusiasm. I love his seriousness about this hobby.

And I have to admit, I love learning about trains with him through the books we have. It is interesting. And it is a fun way to travel, too. He has been on fun trains in amusement parks, but he also has been on real trains! I find it sad that no-a-days kids don't get to ride trains anymore. I grew up with it, went on vacation with it, overnight, and I have alot of memories about trains. It's exciting, especially as a kid. So I want to make sure that my kids know that there is more than just cars! Like there are bikes and trains and airplanes and trams and buses - the public transportation system is endless and there to be used.

Please let your kids ride a train - at least once in their childhood! It is so much fun. We have. On a train with a steam engine. On a train with a diesel locomotive. We rode on a monorail and on an airport train. We've been on a little garden railroad that they have in Germany. (picture to the right) We've been to a train museum and explored all about trains. Coqui was fascinated. He has a great hobby.