Kid Amnesiac

I swear we didn’t put him up to it…

Here are the TV shows Simon is regularly exposed to:

1. Tom and Jerry
2. Curious George
3. Syd the Science Kid
4. Dinosaur Train
5. Thomas and Friends
6. Caillou
7. Mama Mirabelle
8. Kipper
9. Noddy
10. Sesame Street
11. Bob the Builder

#1 is a treat he gets at his grandparents. He loves it, and I haven’t seen him get violent as a result.

#3 is useful mainly as a timer: when Teacher Suzie calls the kids inside for rug time on the show, Simon has to head out the door to be at KIP on time. He never asks about the other 2/3 of the episode.

Shows 4, 7, 10, and 11 are desperation time fillers, mostly used on weekends or snow days. He rarely watches an entire episode of any of them. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if all should be on this list.

That leaves the biggies. Curious George, still a great favorite. Caillou, which rose up the ranks about a year ago, right when Simon could identify with the lead character. Thomas and Friends is another oldie but goodie that is responsible for his saying “cross” instead of mad and using “cinders and ashes!” as an exclamation. I think it also has a lot to do with how Simon narrates his toys. I hear things like this every day: “’Oh no! I’m stuck!’ the car said. ‘I’ll help you,’ the other car replied.”

Kipper, the Frasier of kids’ shows, is a family favorite. It will always have a place in my heart for the way Simon sings along with its opening theme. It will always have a place in Matt’s heart for its making Simon pronounce “Arnold” as “AH-nuld”. Finally,there’s Noddy, a show we sometimes supplement with the books my step-mom enjoyed when she was a young girl.

So here’s the thing: Curious George is American, and Caillou was originally French Canadian. But the other three? All British. He’s not even four, and the Anglophilia is already showing up.

It’s adorable, but it does come with a tiny complication. Conversations like this sometimes happen:

Mommy, I want to go to the store and get a jail so I can put Sly and Gobbo in it.

Honey, I can’t find any Noddy toys. I’ve looked, and  you can only get them in England and South Africa.

Can we go to England and get a jail and Sly and Gobbo?

No honey. England is very far away. It would take us a very long time.

Can we go after my nap?”

On the plus side, I have an idea for an adorable Halloween costume that (1) I can make myself; and that (2) we are unlikely to see repeats of while out trick-or-treating this year.