Bother!

Adam here. For quite a while now, Josh has been completely enamored with Thomas the Tank Engine. Thanks to Netflix Watch Instantly, he can see dozens of different Thomas and Friends DVDs whenever he wants. Which is pretty much all the time. Often, he will grab the remote, place it in Lisa's or my hand, and whisper "choo, choo."

For anyone who has not watched an unhealthy amount of Thomas, the show itself is pretty boring. I can't really figure out why little kids love it so much. Maybe it is just the fact that they are all model trains and just about every little boy in the world loves model trains and cars and such.

Anyway, Thomas gets annoyed and frustrated very easily on the show, at which point he makes a face and then says, "Bother!"

Josh recently started repeating the "Bother!" whenever it happens on screen, so I hit upon an idea. Whenever Josh starts to get mad about something or if he bonks his head on the table or whatever, I just say to him, "Bother!" and he repeats it. This often heads off his complaints or crying at the pass, and then he goes on with whatever he was doing.

I think it is cute and useful, but I wonder just how long it will work. Hopefully until he is 13 or 14.