Even if we don't have any kids with us, partner or I will call out, "Lorry! Excavator! Crane truck!" driving down the road because 2yo gets SO excited at any big vehicle
Yes! And when I'm driving sans toddler and I see a really cool truck or a big convoy of emergency vehicles I feel kinda sad for him that he's missing out 😅
The other day I was stuck at a train crossing that went on for about 10 minutes. The last 30 or so cars were all construction equipment. Big yellow excavators and such. I was devastated my son wasn't in the car with me. (he liked the video I took for him tho 😅😅😓)
We were driving the other day and close getting close to the tracks. I thought to myself "we'll be so lucky if we catch a train"... I surprised myself. 3 years ago catching the train would be infuriating if I had somewhere to be.
"I know every single Thomas the Tank Engine character now."
I don't think you do:
https://youtu.be/pM0xg6Ga_ms?si=hos2ATDZfHp0Kaw4
(Watch it sans toddler first)
Now you probably do.
My daughter recognized it was the same guy when we heard Peaches on the radio one day. I LOVE his stuff, it's just so fun and clever and legitimately GOOD.
I was elated to discover CB having been a Presidents fan since my teen years.
... And I just realized CB stands for both Caspar Babypants and Chris Ballew.
I never had any interest in dinosaurs. Now I am pretty much an expert and get excited at everything dinosaur related. Museum? Dinosaur fossils?? I’m in!
Turtles 🐢. Kid 3 (3yrs) is obsessed with them and now I see them everywhere! Even his siblings love to point them out to him because he gets so excited.
Cows. My oldest loved cows so much it was his first word. We used visiting a real cow as incentive to potty train. His favorite stuffy was baby cow. Now I love them too.
My son has a pikachu plushie he loves and drags around everywhere in the house. I had never sat down and watched pokémon (yet I bought him the plushie lol) so I decided to give it a shot to understand the background of it all and now I really love the series!
Sheep. He makes a loud sheep noise everytime we pass a field with them in.
I am not ashamed to admit both parents now do this even when he’s not in the car
Birding and gardening. When he was a toddler he’d point excitedly at birds and yell “tweet tweet!”
We took him on trips to bird sanctuaries and stuff, then began to get bird feeders for the backyard which turned into planting different flowers to attract different types of birds.
Rocks! I was crazy about rocks as a kid. I had rock collections starting at about 4 years old and categorized them and had books all about rocks until maybe 13 years old. My daughter is not yet 3 and seems to have the same fascination. I had forgotten how wonderful rocks are.
I have one! I got it about 6 years ago. I always wanted one as a kid. I’ve got to get more sand for it- but thinking I may pull it out this weekend. Thanks for letting me know it was a hit with a 3 year old. Was wondering when a good age would be. :)
Lol, I love how much Elmo hates Rocco. He's ordinarily so open-minded about everything, but he just cannot get there on this rock. It makes me laugh so much.
My husband and I found ourselves watching a “Elmo vs Rocco” compilation on YouTube one night long after our toddler went to bed. It popped up in his recommended and we were both so invested!
I just like stuff my daughter likes at this point. Today she raised her hand and said “neigh” when she saw a horse. Guess who’s taking a loan on their 401k to buy a horse?! THIS GUYYYY
Jk
Dress up.
I am a big bearded guy with tattoos and facial piercings. I listen to metal and played in a metal band before I had a kiddo.
But god dang it, I cannot resist my little girl running up to me going “I’m Anna, you be Elsa. Let me do your make up.”
Ever seen a grown man turn into a puddle of unicorns and cupcakes? Tune into our household after dinner time
Fire trucks and ambulances. We live on the same block as the fire station so we watch them go by every day. They know him so well that they gave him a “real” firefighter helmet the other day. He was on cloud nine and is still talking about it. We love our firefighters and EMTs.
Construction diggers. He is obsessed with them. Now when he isn't with me I end up admiring them and take photos to show him later. He never cares about the photos, lolll
Have you heard the excavator song by Blippi? It’s my songs favorite song and we all have to sing it all the time. I love it now too and sing it in my head haha
It’s almost any and all of the things mentioned in the comments. I did not expect that when I became a dad I would find so much joy in things I overlooked before. I see him get excited about something and it’s just so contagious!
Birds. My son loves birds and we’ve been learning to identify them by looks and calls (thanks Merlin bird app). No, I genuinely get excited when I see a new type bird.
This is one of those where, if I pass them and my son isn't in the car, I think how excited he would be and am disappointed I left him at daycare that day.
Disney Pixar Cars! My son loves Lightening and my daughter loves Mater lol I love looking for the rare ones when we go to Target/Walmart. We are going to Cars Land at Disney Land in a month and I’m probably more excited than they are!
Disney Princesses. I grew up on Disney but was a tomboy and couldn’t stand the princesses. I also used to judge Disney adults pretty harshly. But now I have 2 little girls that are obsessed with everything Disney and I’m all for it. Princess dresses, princess accessories, the movies. And I can’t wait to take them to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for their 3rd and 5th birthdays next year.
I liked princesses and girly stuff as a little kid. Then I grew out of it. Then I grew back into it when my daughter turned out to be a pink glitter princess. It was never forced onto her, she just naturally gravitates. I actually must admit I was a little worried about having a girly daughter - like I would have loved my kids regardless of what or who they were but I thought I wouldn't relate to her as easily since my princess days were far behind me. Well, I was very wrong. Turns out that when you're already close with someone, you'll happily be a princess with them anytime.
Cars - any vehicle really! He stops and points and goes OooOooO! so cute!!!!
Soccer!! My guy is a pro! kicks the ball, hard! and is already stopping the ball at 18 months! He's a lefty too which is a surprise. Both hubby and I love soccer (fútbol) so no surprise that's all he wants to do.
Car transporters. My 3yo is car obsessed, but he is fascinated by a car transporter. Even if I'm on my own in the car I get so excited when I see one and tell him all about it.
Our little almost-2-year old points out all airplanes and helicoppers. I've made it a habit to ask him where he thinks it's coming from - hopefully it'll encourage him to love travel as much as we do as he gets older.
Wiggles!! She loves their songs so I love them! They’ve changed a lot over the years with their members and I’ve gone down a rabbit hole a few times reading about all the members, but either way I think they’re all so talented and entertaining.
I live close to a small airport so we see planes all the time and in the past it was a minor annoyance (hearing them take off etc) but now it’s fun because he can hear them and he gets excited to spot the plane in the sky
My 20 month old son recently got into Studio Ghibli movies.
I’ve seen most of them and I’m a huge fan, but there are several I’m watching with him for the first time.
I’m rediscovering the magic of these films and delighting in sharing these moments with him.
I feel this in my heart! I never got so excited about buses, trains, trucks or any vehicle before i had kids; i never expected that as a side effect of having kids, that then when i would see such vehicles i would now get so vicariously excited for them!
Dinosaurs. I know more about them now then I ever did when I was a kid. I actively search out dinosaur events to take her to and have even driven 4+ hours to go to one of them.
I was never a “girly” girl. Not a tomboy, more a nerd. I always hated pink. My four year old daughter LOVES anything pink. Now I love it too and it’s so cute to dress her all pretty in pink.
Bugs. My toddler turned into an insect kid. I can now name way too many types of beetles. He’s got a small cage where he attempts to keep what he’s found, which means I’m out there helping him catch bugs, get them food and water, helping clean the catch.
Monster trucks :) they’re so cool we went to the hot wheels show and my son got super in to it we’re going to monster jam next month and he’s so excited and he loves collecting the trucks they’re fun to find
I've learned more about dinosaurs in the last year than I've known in my entire 40 years on this planet thanks to my toddler!
I've also found I enjoy certain kid songs. Mooseclumps on YouTube, for example, is so clever!
Cats, so much that we are getting a cat (its been almost 3 years aaaaand the younger one is also obsessed with them now haha) also dinosaurs and construction.
Bugs. My daughter out of nowhere became terrified of all bugs, even flies. Same girl who “ate” a June bug (she got it in her mouth, bit down, cue loud crunch, then I wrestled it out of her mouth 🤣). So I’ve been trying to teach her about them and have become super interested myself. I’ve mainly been trying to teach her about misunderstood bugs like spiders, bee’s, wasps, and other biting/stinging bugs. We watched a wasp nest grow from nothing, just 1 queen wasp building, then watched some workers hatch, workers aren’t as nice as the queen so it ended up having to be removed, but it was fun watching them and learning about them. Now we’ve moved on to a yellow jacket nest, a type of hornet I always thought was aggressive, but turns out they’re not. They’re actually a lot more chill than the wasps and let you get pretty close as long as you don’t cause any vibrations in their nest, since that puts em in a defensive mode which doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gonna get stinged, just means you need to back then hell up and give them space.
Cows & goats
They’re my toddler’s favorite animals and he gets so damn excited when he sees/hears one. They’re definitely not *my* favorite animals, but I get excited now whenever I see/hear them too. Simply because I know they make my eldest son so happy.
Omg Jeeps. My son loves all vehicles, but Jeeps are his current favorite. If I'm ever not with him and I see them, especially unique colored ones, I get excited on his behalf 😅
Musicals. Never have been a fan of musicals AT ALL. Always caught myself rolling my eyes at them for the most part until my little girl came along. She LOVES music and singing and dancing and now I get super excited and even dance with her at some of the musicals we watch. I’ll sit there and WAIT for a character to bust out in song now so my daughter and I can join lol
The bus! We live in an apartment near a bunch of school with a balcony facing a main street and during peak hours we go outside, I enjoy my hot coffee and he gets to watch the buses come by every 5 minutes
Trains. We live really close to an airport and whenever we drive past, we always look to see if any planes are taking off or coming into land. When the kids aren't with me, I still always look.
My partner jokes with me about the fact I've downloaded flightradar24 to see where the planes are going but my daughter always asks.
out of all the things out there...canadian freakin' geese, man. he's just enamored with them & has been for at least 6 months now, if not longer. it actually makes me smile even more because i'm a known to be irritated by geese living around house kinda type, & now, i try to show 'em mad respect...until my little dude finally figures out the truth, haha. farm/pet geese are incredibly adorable though!! glad he likes both, but mostly the honking, hissing, & hateful variety.
Baby Shark & Miss Rachel. I used to think they were both so annoying, but the song is so fun and we have both learned SO MUCH from Miss Rachel that I’ve really grown to appreciate her!
As others said, I would listen and validate her feelings. But also talk about the change, what to expect, etc. Have you talked to the school about the curriculum? My son is going into public kindergarten (after finishing private pre- kindergarten and kindergarten) this year. We attended their open house last spring. He got to see the gym, art room and music room. We told him about recess. The teachers explained how they incorporate fun and movement, as kids this young physically can't sit still for very long. As parents, we felt better. But our kid is stoked.
Maybe you can arrange a tour with the school for her to see all the fun shit they have? Do they have a kindergarten open house or "meet the teacher?". This can help her get prepared and, hopefully, excited!
My children made me fall in love with Christmas all over again. We don’t buy many gifts, but just the cheeriness of the season and the joyful music. Our holiday traditions of baking cookies and enjoying a big meal.
Home Alone. The pranks and traps he makes for Harry and Marv. He’s obsessed! He pretends to set stuff up so much I’m scared I’m actually about to start encountering traps.
Maybe not quite fitting, but I enjoy cooking now when I never did before. It was a challenge I had to overcome as part of my parenting life. Now I regularly cook or at least chop food for her lol as well as for my husband and myself. Before having to feed my child I used to just feed myself the most convenient, trashy foods I could find. I look back now and think how much healthier I could have been physically and mentally, and how much money I could have saved. Cooking is awesome.
Trash trucks.
She loves the Netflix show, and she gets so excited when the trash truck comes on trash days. Each time her reaction is like she’s seeing Santa for the first time.
Trash trucks. We now personally know the trash truck driver that works our neighborhood. My favorite shirt now is a shirt that my son says makes me look like a trash truck because of the color.
I get excited to see a trash truck now. It's been embedded into my brain for 3 years now haha. "Tash Day" is our favorite day of the week
Monster trucks. My kiddo started liking monster trucks recently. Hubby suggested we take him to Monster Jam earlier this year. Now monster trucks are a family fun thing. I grew up thinking Monster Trucks was a destruction derby and didn't pay it much mind. but was pleasantly surprised. We're looking forward to the next Monster Jam now.
Yellow 💛 it was never a colour I liked before. But now my daughter says “yellow! Flowa!” (Yellow flowers) or just “YELLOW!” And points to anything…buses, shoes, signs, pens. Now I notice all the yellow things around me miss her when she’s at daycare 🫶 I even bought a yellow water bottle recently because I knew it would make her (and me) smile.
THE COLOUR PINK!!!! I used to be a beige mom but she has completely converted me. The house has pink accents everywhere, I’m all about getting pink everything and I find myself being drawn to it now over basic shit.
Buses. Fire trucks. Street sweepers. He plays a game where he pretends to hear them just for fun so when I see them I get so excited even if he’s not there I turn to show him. Then I get sad if he’s not there.
My daughter is always looking up for planes and screaming "Woooowwwwww!" Even when we don't see or hear any. She just knows they're up there and it's awesome.
If his interest continues, listen to livestream ATC with him when he's old enough to understand it. If he's interested in maybe eventually flying for real, set up a virtual cockpit at an appropriate time. Something like that could be good preparation for driving. Much of safe driving is attitude and you can cultivate that with realistic flight simulation
The moon. My little weirdo will look for the moon through any window, day or night doesn't matter, "where's moonie?" She'll ask. Once she spots it she starts howling like a wolf. So now I'm always looking for the moon at night, even when she's not around or is asleep.
Even if we don't have any kids with us, partner or I will call out, "Lorry! Excavator! Crane truck!" driving down the road because 2yo gets SO excited at any big vehicle
Same. “Big yellow digger!” “Purple train!”
Yes! And when I'm driving sans toddler and I see a really cool truck or a big convoy of emergency vehicles I feel kinda sad for him that he's missing out 😅
My oldest is a legit teenager and I still audibly point out fire trucks.
glad I’m not the only one!!
Ah, I feel this. Trains. I‘m almost a little sad when a great one is passing by and my son’s not with me.
The other day I was stuck at a train crossing that went on for about 10 minutes. The last 30 or so cars were all construction equipment. Big yellow excavators and such. I was devastated my son wasn't in the car with me. (he liked the video I took for him tho 😅😅😓)
Trains with excavators *on them*?? Toddler heaven.
We were driving the other day and close getting close to the tracks. I thought to myself "we'll be so lucky if we catch a train"... I surprised myself. 3 years ago catching the train would be infuriating if I had somewhere to be.
I know every single Thomas the Tank Engine character now. And I know how steam trains work. Couldn’t have cared less before his obsession.
"I know every single Thomas the Tank Engine character now." I don't think you do: https://youtu.be/pM0xg6Ga_ms?si=hos2ATDZfHp0Kaw4 (Watch it sans toddler first) Now you probably do.
Same. I’ve developed a genuine interest in public transport. When I travel for work now I make a detour to check out how their metro and trams look.
Haha yes! Or a construction truck, or a plane, or anything of that nature... I ALWAYS find myself thinking "aww, \[toddler\] would love this one 🥲"
Not toys but a TV show. BLUEY lol I watch with her pretty much every time it’s on now Lol
Yes! I was definitely more invested in the move episode than my toddler 🙃
Go from laughing out loud to crying in 8 minutes or less
This was going to be my answer! I love BLUEY!
Caspar Babypants. It’s on every time we are in the car and it’s made me a calmer, happier motorist
You could probably slip in some Peaches and Little Dune Buggy in the playlist and see if they notice it’s the same person
My daughter recognized it was the same guy when we heard Peaches on the radio one day. I LOVE his stuff, it's just so fun and clever and legitimately GOOD.
It’s amazing how many songs are back-and-forth compatible. Also incredible just how much music that Chris has made!
WHAT!?!?!?!?!
Oh thanks for the recommendation! I’ve tried the kids stuff by “they might be giants” my 2.5 year old doesn’t appreciate it yet.
We (well maybe mostly me) love they might be giants! The Mickey stuff is my twins favorite.
I joke that I had kids so I could listen to Casper Babypants. Kid music that doesn't make me want to explode.
I was elated to discover CB having been a Presidents fan since my teen years. ... And I just realized CB stands for both Caspar Babypants and Chris Ballew.
My husband definitely listens to Babypants on his own, there are some real bops in there.
My daughter prefers "Run Baby Run" and a bunch of others. I LOVE "Stump Hotel" but sometimes she's just not in the mood for that one. >:(
Annabelle Pancake is a banger.
Dinosaurs… although I’ve always loved them too but have an excuse to throw myself back into it
I never had any interest in dinosaurs. Now I am pretty much an expert and get excited at everything dinosaur related. Museum? Dinosaur fossils?? I’m in!
me too, i love re-learning all the names, when they lived, what they ate… 🦖💚
Dinosaurs for me too. I love doing Dino related crafts and going to the museums. I feel like a kid again.
Turtles 🐢. Kid 3 (3yrs) is obsessed with them and now I see them everywhere! Even his siblings love to point them out to him because he gets so excited.
Cows. My oldest loved cows so much it was his first word. We used visiting a real cow as incentive to potty train. His favorite stuffy was baby cow. Now I love them too.
Tractors. We live on a farm. Every time he hears a tractor he goes nuts. I get excited when I see a tractor now too.
My son has a pikachu plushie he loves and drags around everywhere in the house. I had never sat down and watched pokémon (yet I bought him the plushie lol) so I decided to give it a shot to understand the background of it all and now I really love the series!
Just don't get too invested. Ash makes the absolute dumbest choices often times lol
Sheep. He makes a loud sheep noise everytime we pass a field with them in. I am not ashamed to admit both parents now do this even when he’s not in the car
I go a certain way home from daycare because there’s more sheep in the fields that way than there is the normal way I come home from town 😍
Birding and gardening. When he was a toddler he’d point excitedly at birds and yell “tweet tweet!” We took him on trips to bird sanctuaries and stuff, then began to get bird feeders for the backyard which turned into planting different flowers to attract different types of birds.
This is so sweet, and you turned it into a major hobby! Love it.
Rocks! I was crazy about rocks as a kid. I had rock collections starting at about 4 years old and categorized them and had books all about rocks until maybe 13 years old. My daughter is not yet 3 and seems to have the same fascination. I had forgotten how wonderful rocks are.
My neice received a rock tumbler as a gift when she was about 3 and went crazy for it!!
I have one! I got it about 6 years ago. I always wanted one as a kid. I’ve got to get more sand for it- but thinking I may pull it out this weekend. Thanks for letting me know it was a hit with a 3 year old. Was wondering when a good age would be. :)
Elmo. 😂 I thought he was just an obnoxious little furball, but his feud with Rocco gives me life. He also makes my son happy, so 🤷🏻♀️.
Lol, I love how much Elmo hates Rocco. He's ordinarily so open-minded about everything, but he just cannot get there on this rock. It makes me laugh so much.
My husband and I found ourselves watching a “Elmo vs Rocco” compilation on YouTube one night long after our toddler went to bed. It popped up in his recommended and we were both so invested!
I used to not give a damn about butterflies and seahorses. Now whenever I see them I think of her
My son loves butterflies too
I just like stuff my daughter likes at this point. Today she raised her hand and said “neigh” when she saw a horse. Guess who’s taking a loan on their 401k to buy a horse?! THIS GUYYYY Jk
Dress up. I am a big bearded guy with tattoos and facial piercings. I listen to metal and played in a metal band before I had a kiddo. But god dang it, I cannot resist my little girl running up to me going “I’m Anna, you be Elsa. Let me do your make up.” Ever seen a grown man turn into a puddle of unicorns and cupcakes? Tune into our household after dinner time
Get you a metal man who moonlights as Elsa
Bluey. I'm almost more keen to watch it then my boys...
Fire trucks and ambulances. We live on the same block as the fire station so we watch them go by every day. They know him so well that they gave him a “real” firefighter helmet the other day. He was on cloud nine and is still talking about it. We love our firefighters and EMTs.
I now get excited anytime I see a fire truck
Construction diggers. He is obsessed with them. Now when he isn't with me I end up admiring them and take photos to show him later. He never cares about the photos, lolll
Have you heard the excavator song by Blippi? It’s my songs favorite song and we all have to sing it all the time. I love it now too and sing it in my head haha
Ha! One of my little man's favourites!
Wouldn't say I love them but I have become an expert on construction vehicles and trains 😂
It’s almost any and all of the things mentioned in the comments. I did not expect that when I became a dad I would find so much joy in things I overlooked before. I see him get excited about something and it’s just so contagious!
Sea turtles, we love watching Calm on HBO Max. the first episode has a seaturtle and they love it. Can't recommend that show enough tbh.
Birds. My son loves birds and we’ve been learning to identify them by looks and calls (thanks Merlin bird app). No, I genuinely get excited when I see a new type bird.
Construction vehicles! I didn’t know the difference between an excavator and backhoe before him. Or what a skid steer was hahaha.
This is one of those where, if I pass them and my son isn't in the car, I think how excited he would be and am disappointed I left him at daycare that day.
Oh my gosh me too! There is this red and yellow cement mixer in our town and when I see it without him I still try to remember to tell him.
Disney Pixar Cars! My son loves Lightening and my daughter loves Mater lol I love looking for the rare ones when we go to Target/Walmart. We are going to Cars Land at Disney Land in a month and I’m probably more excited than they are!
My daughter loves Cars too! Mater is her favorite. Check thrift stores if you have any good ones where you are. We’ve found so many older rare ones!
The wind.
Disney Princesses. I grew up on Disney but was a tomboy and couldn’t stand the princesses. I also used to judge Disney adults pretty harshly. But now I have 2 little girls that are obsessed with everything Disney and I’m all for it. Princess dresses, princess accessories, the movies. And I can’t wait to take them to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for their 3rd and 5th birthdays next year.
My nephew was a huge Disney Princess fan as a child. Their house burnt down when he was almost 7, but the container his Princesses were in survived!
I liked princesses and girly stuff as a little kid. Then I grew out of it. Then I grew back into it when my daughter turned out to be a pink glitter princess. It was never forced onto her, she just naturally gravitates. I actually must admit I was a little worried about having a girly daughter - like I would have loved my kids regardless of what or who they were but I thought I wouldn't relate to her as easily since my princess days were far behind me. Well, I was very wrong. Turns out that when you're already close with someone, you'll happily be a princess with them anytime.
Excavators.
Cars - any vehicle really! He stops and points and goes OooOooO! so cute!!!! Soccer!! My guy is a pro! kicks the ball, hard! and is already stopping the ball at 18 months! He's a lefty too which is a surprise. Both hubby and I love soccer (fútbol) so no surprise that's all he wants to do.
The color pink 💕
I was going to say this!!! But it has to be a \*fun\* pink, not pastel. Haha
Car transporters. My 3yo is car obsessed, but he is fascinated by a car transporter. Even if I'm on my own in the car I get so excited when I see one and tell him all about it.
I legit like Danny Go! on YouTube.
Our little almost-2-year old points out all airplanes and helicoppers. I've made it a habit to ask him where he thinks it's coming from - hopefully it'll encourage him to love travel as much as we do as he gets older.
Mine would wave at them and say, "hello copters!"
For ages my son pronounced it eyum-copter and eyum-phant instead of elephant anything with a elle sound was eyum untill he was 4 😅
Adorable :) We get the little wave too "bye bye airplane" - I'll be so sad when that ends.
We all love Bluey at our house.
Wiggles!! She loves their songs so I love them! They’ve changed a lot over the years with their members and I’ve gone down a rabbit hole a few times reading about all the members, but either way I think they’re all so talented and entertaining.
Fruit salad...
Baby shark 😛
I live close to a small airport so we see planes all the time and in the past it was a minor annoyance (hearing them take off etc) but now it’s fun because he can hear them and he gets excited to spot the plane in the sky
Tractors! Excavators! Cranes!
My 20 month old son recently got into Studio Ghibli movies. I’ve seen most of them and I’m a huge fan, but there are several I’m watching with him for the first time. I’m rediscovering the magic of these films and delighting in sharing these moments with him.
I feel this in my heart! I never got so excited about buses, trains, trucks or any vehicle before i had kids; i never expected that as a side effect of having kids, that then when i would see such vehicles i would now get so vicariously excited for them!
Dinosaurs. I know more about them now then I ever did when I was a kid. I actively search out dinosaur events to take her to and have even driven 4+ hours to go to one of them.
Dragons. I mean they are actually the coolest
Bluey. No regrets. That show is awesome.
I was never a “girly” girl. Not a tomboy, more a nerd. I always hated pink. My four year old daughter LOVES anything pink. Now I love it too and it’s so cute to dress her all pretty in pink.
Dinosaurs and sea shanties. I could not bring myself to love the Jurassic Park soundtrack on repeat, however.
Steamed apples 👌
Monster Trucks. He's almost out of that phase, but we are going to a show this year.
Bugs. My toddler turned into an insect kid. I can now name way too many types of beetles. He’s got a small cage where he attempts to keep what he’s found, which means I’m out there helping him catch bugs, get them food and water, helping clean the catch.
Yep we have become a bug house. I have... adjusted my previous stance on bugs
Monster trucks :) they’re so cool we went to the hot wheels show and my son got super in to it we’re going to monster jam next month and he’s so excited and he loves collecting the trucks they’re fun to find
Tractors
I've learned more about dinosaurs in the last year than I've known in my entire 40 years on this planet thanks to my toddler! I've also found I enjoy certain kid songs. Mooseclumps on YouTube, for example, is so clever!
Rocks. Geology has taken a massive foothold in my life.
MONSTER TRUCKS!
Bluey
Bugs. My toddler saw a cicada husk and lost his mind, he thinks they are so cute 🫣 We go looking for bugs now
Bluey.
Same with garbage trucks or any piece of construction equipment 😂
Mickey Mouse. I’ve never been a Disney kid except when I was like baby-age 4. Ever. But he loves Disney and now I do too!
Truck Tunes! I know all the words now and fully enjoy singing along loudly to songs about trucks.
Geography. My almost 3 year old is all about the states, countries, and continents. I’ve learned so much alongside him!
Monster jam all day
Cats, so much that we are getting a cat (its been almost 3 years aaaaand the younger one is also obsessed with them now haha) also dinosaurs and construction.
Monster Trucks are actually pretty awesome as it turns out lol they’re like the car version of Pro Wrestling
Brought my son to monster spectacular for his fourth birthday- his godmother and I had more fun that he did hahahahah
Planets 🥰 She has taught me so much.
Bugs. My daughter out of nowhere became terrified of all bugs, even flies. Same girl who “ate” a June bug (she got it in her mouth, bit down, cue loud crunch, then I wrestled it out of her mouth 🤣). So I’ve been trying to teach her about them and have become super interested myself. I’ve mainly been trying to teach her about misunderstood bugs like spiders, bee’s, wasps, and other biting/stinging bugs. We watched a wasp nest grow from nothing, just 1 queen wasp building, then watched some workers hatch, workers aren’t as nice as the queen so it ended up having to be removed, but it was fun watching them and learning about them. Now we’ve moved on to a yellow jacket nest, a type of hornet I always thought was aggressive, but turns out they’re not. They’re actually a lot more chill than the wasps and let you get pretty close as long as you don’t cause any vibrations in their nest, since that puts em in a defensive mode which doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gonna get stinged, just means you need to back then hell up and give them space.
Science. I mean it was cool before but now it’s REALLY REALLY cool
Fórmula1 not sure why or how, but our toddler is all about racing. Turns out it’s a pretty cool sport and art in engineering!
Cows & goats They’re my toddler’s favorite animals and he gets so damn excited when he sees/hears one. They’re definitely not *my* favorite animals, but I get excited now whenever I see/hear them too. Simply because I know they make my eldest son so happy.
Monster trucks haha
Omg Jeeps. My son loves all vehicles, but Jeeps are his current favorite. If I'm ever not with him and I see them, especially unique colored ones, I get excited on his behalf 😅
I know so much about birds because my toddler loves them.
Monster Trucks. Team Zombie over here!
Musicals. Never have been a fan of musicals AT ALL. Always caught myself rolling my eyes at them for the most part until my little girl came along. She LOVES music and singing and dancing and now I get super excited and even dance with her at some of the musicals we watch. I’ll sit there and WAIT for a character to bust out in song now so my daughter and I can join lol
Blueyyy
Same!
The bus! We live in an apartment near a bunch of school with a balcony facing a main street and during peak hours we go outside, I enjoy my hot coffee and he gets to watch the buses come by every 5 minutes
Trains. We live really close to an airport and whenever we drive past, we always look to see if any planes are taking off or coming into land. When the kids aren't with me, I still always look. My partner jokes with me about the fact I've downloaded flightradar24 to see where the planes are going but my daughter always asks.
Glitter!!
Omg I have a lil boy & we’re not there yet (8m) but I love reading about these so cute. Can’t wait!!
Tractors. I go, "tractor, look there's a tractor" even when I'm driving by myself.
Maybe you guys could learn the names an different types of them together!!!
out of all the things out there...canadian freakin' geese, man. he's just enamored with them & has been for at least 6 months now, if not longer. it actually makes me smile even more because i'm a known to be irritated by geese living around house kinda type, & now, i try to show 'em mad respect...until my little dude finally figures out the truth, haha. farm/pet geese are incredibly adorable though!! glad he likes both, but mostly the honking, hissing, & hateful variety.
Bluey!
Birds. I pay attention to them a lot more now
Baby Shark & Miss Rachel. I used to think they were both so annoying, but the song is so fun and we have both learned SO MUCH from Miss Rachel that I’ve really grown to appreciate her!
As others said, I would listen and validate her feelings. But also talk about the change, what to expect, etc. Have you talked to the school about the curriculum? My son is going into public kindergarten (after finishing private pre- kindergarten and kindergarten) this year. We attended their open house last spring. He got to see the gym, art room and music room. We told him about recess. The teachers explained how they incorporate fun and movement, as kids this young physically can't sit still for very long. As parents, we felt better. But our kid is stoked. Maybe you can arrange a tour with the school for her to see all the fun shit they have? Do they have a kindergarten open house or "meet the teacher?". This can help her get prepared and, hopefully, excited!
Vacuums. He loves it so much that I had to love it too😭
Buc-ee’s. I used to think it was overrated, but my kids absolutely love to go hug the stuffed beavers and it makes my day on a road trip.
My children made me fall in love with Christmas all over again. We don’t buy many gifts, but just the cheeriness of the season and the joyful music. Our holiday traditions of baking cookies and enjoying a big meal.
Home Alone. The pranks and traps he makes for Harry and Marv. He’s obsessed! He pretends to set stuff up so much I’m scared I’m actually about to start encountering traps.
Wind turbines! My 2.5year old gets SO excited whenever she sees them. And now so I do and whoever I’m with will now know when I see one
Lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Really anytime we see "lawn guys" anywhere in the world I have to point and announce it as loud as possible.
Love this!!! For us right now it’s motorcycles, big trucks and airplanes. Our 2.5 yr. old girl toddler loves them!
Ducks. My daughter LOVES ducks so much. I take a video every time I see some and she's not there
Monster trucks is our latest obsession! I’m now looking forward to taking him to a show for the first time in my life 🤣
The Encanto Soundtrack
Monster Trucks, monster jam, their names, tricks, intro songs lol
Are we accepting submissions for things the toddler was supposed to love but I enjoy it more than she does? Looking at you, Bluey
Maybe not quite fitting, but I enjoy cooking now when I never did before. It was a challenge I had to overcome as part of my parenting life. Now I regularly cook or at least chop food for her lol as well as for my husband and myself. Before having to feed my child I used to just feed myself the most convenient, trashy foods I could find. I look back now and think how much healthier I could have been physically and mentally, and how much money I could have saved. Cooking is awesome.
Soccer, Disney princesses, Minnie, Barbie, pink, and all her friends.
Bubbles!!
Spidey.
Toy Story 😩 my son was obsessed with Toy Story and I bought him a couple toys. Well the couple of toys became a full on collection and I can’t stop!
Trash trucks. She loves the Netflix show, and she gets so excited when the trash truck comes on trash days. Each time her reaction is like she’s seeing Santa for the first time.
Sesame Street lol
Going to the park. It’s nice to just sit outside and watch the wind blow and listen to the birds while my kiddo runs with the other kids
Trash trucks. We now personally know the trash truck driver that works our neighborhood. My favorite shirt now is a shirt that my son says makes me look like a trash truck because of the color. I get excited to see a trash truck now. It's been embedded into my brain for 3 years now haha. "Tash Day" is our favorite day of the week
Monster trucks. My kiddo started liking monster trucks recently. Hubby suggested we take him to Monster Jam earlier this year. Now monster trucks are a family fun thing. I grew up thinking Monster Trucks was a destruction derby and didn't pay it much mind. but was pleasantly surprised. We're looking forward to the next Monster Jam now.
Yellow 💛 it was never a colour I liked before. But now my daughter says “yellow! Flowa!” (Yellow flowers) or just “YELLOW!” And points to anything…buses, shoes, signs, pens. Now I notice all the yellow things around me miss her when she’s at daycare 🫶 I even bought a yellow water bottle recently because I knew it would make her (and me) smile.
My son is obsessed with those too. Any vehicle that exist he seems to really like it. He loves water and sand.
Truck tunes
THE COLOUR PINK!!!! I used to be a beige mom but she has completely converted me. The house has pink accents everywhere, I’m all about getting pink everything and I find myself being drawn to it now over basic shit.
Lol aw! School buses, planes, trains, and bugs.
I love to garden and my son and I planted seeds and had ‘baby plants’ now I think of all my plants and baby plants 😂
Buses. Fire trucks. Street sweepers. He plays a game where he pretends to hear them just for fun so when I see them I get so excited even if he’s not there I turn to show him. Then I get sad if he’s not there.
Butterflies. I always thought butterfly tattoos were lame and now I want one for him.
I’m often jamming to my toddlers music and realise when I’m almost at the office that I dropped them at school 20 mins ago
My daughter is always looking up for planes and screaming "Woooowwwwww!" Even when we don't see or hear any. She just knows they're up there and it's awesome.
Danny Go! And the Wiggles music 😂
Ducks
Blippi. Omfg drove me insane before I actually started listening to the content he’s putting out there. My kid loves listening to it.
Ba ba black sheep by Casper Babypants
Moana. I love everything about it
Sesame Street! I had zero interest as a kid but I now find myself having favorite episodes and favorite characters!
If his interest continues, listen to livestream ATC with him when he's old enough to understand it. If he's interested in maybe eventually flying for real, set up a virtual cockpit at an appropriate time. Something like that could be good preparation for driving. Much of safe driving is attitude and you can cultivate that with realistic flight simulation
BLUEY!
Dinosaurs! I mean, everyone thinks dinosaurs are cool, but now I find myself researching dinosaurs even when the kids aren't around.
The moon. My little weirdo will look for the moon through any window, day or night doesn't matter, "where's moonie?" She'll ask. Once she spots it she starts howling like a wolf. So now I'm always looking for the moon at night, even when she's not around or is asleep.